Glorious past

Sir ? I recently came across Nisha Lahiri?s ?From glory to wreck, mute victim in wane? (April 24, 2003) on the Firpo?s restaurant. It brought back memories of my time with the British 14th Army, where I worked as a member of the American Field Service, volunteer ambulance drivers. The war was over and we were waiting to be sent home from Secunderabad. Sixteen of us went to Belvedere to help ex-Allied POWs who sought their units, relatives or friends. Now, for Firpo?s. I remember eating there one night with some British officers. The fare was curry and chicken. I don?t remember paying a bill. It was $20 in those days. I found Firpo?s on the internet but not Belvedere. Is it still there? I enjoyed roaming around that place. We had quarters nearby. We could hear the music from the dances and see the officers in their dress uniforms. It was a pretty sight for a 21-year-old.

Yours faithfully,
Robert A. Sawhill, San Diego, US

Starting point

Sir ? S. Venkitaramanan may argue otherwise, but it is understandable why banks in India are not lenient while offering credit to customers (?Tripped at the start?, Nov 15). The costs and legal paraphernalia for realization of debt are cumbersome even now. How-ever, it is inexplicable why banks are averse to discounting or purchasing foreign bills covered by ?letters of credit? from recognized foreign banks (and that too without asking for a foreign bills purchased limit), despite clear instructions to do so from the Reserve Bank of India.

A letter of credit from the importer?s bank is a token understanding that the exporter?s bank should pay him on his presentation of certain stipulated documents which constitute proof of export, that is, the goods concerned have been shipped. If the goods are sent directly to the consignee as per instructions in the letter of credit, or if the latter is payable after 60 days, the banks have no reason not to purchase the bills without insisting on a limit from the exporter. This practice is discouraging for small exporters who need to pay the creditors from the available proceeds. The behaviour of Indian banks undermines the very nature of the letter of credit, which is universally accepted by all banks and financial institutions ? all of whom possess the necessary infrastructure to assess the authenticity of the letter or rely on the advise of the bank concerned, as stipulated in the document. The purchase of bills against a confirmed letter of credit is certainly not a clean credit to the customer, but this is a right that is due to him since he is bringing in precious foreign exchange. The Indian practice is a leftover from the era of controls and red tapism which still smells a rat in all international commercial transactions. Unless bankers are forthcoming on this score, we shall continue to fall behind all the nations we are trying to emulate.

Yours faithfully,
Susenjit Guha, Calcutta

Sir ? The odious regulations that govern the starting of an enterprise in India are often a discouragement for entrepreneurs and investors. The prime minister can talk about the Indian economy being able to ?absorb? $150 billion in foreign investment, but the question foreign investors will ask themselves is why invest in India when China, a safer destination, is close at hand? India needs to give them something special. It needs to identify its unique selling proposition to woo investors, both direct and institutional. Added to the hangover from the licence raj, are the appalling infrastructure and age-old labour regulations. Shockingly, the World Bank report even puts Pakistan and Bangladesh ahead of India in the category of those countries which are investor-friendly. We should turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to some of the extremists, both from the left and the right, and let the prime minister and the finance minister do their job.

Yours faithfully,
Aruni Mukherjee, Coventry, UK

Sir ? ?Tripped at the start? was an excellent recapitulation of Hernando de Soto?s thesis on starting and running businesses. One point though. De Soto?s proposals are not piecemeal solutions but they suggest the construction of a complete property law system, covering the whole lifecycle of a business ? startup, operation and closing. Credit, hiring and firing, and so on are parts of a solid, sensible legislation that will come with comprehensive reform. This is the model followed by every successful, modern and prosperous country. No country has modernized without such a system.

Yours faithfully,
Peter Schaefer, Washington DC

Parting shot

Sir ? Rabindra Sarovar has been an asset for south Calcuttans. During the chhaat puja recently, the area turned chaotic as thousands of devotees descended to pollute the lakes. Over the years, the number of migratory birds has decreased. The figures will go down further unless we stop people from performing their religious rites here.

Yours faithfully,
Soham Gupta, Calcutta