Currency collapse is the signature of an economy that consumes more than it produces, imports more than it innovates, and talks more than it builds. It means India is paying the world more than the world is willing to pay India. It means we are structurally dependent—on energy, on technology, on capital, and on foreign confidence. Sovereignty cannot coexist with such dependence. It also means that we exist more in words and papers rather than in numbers.

Nibeer Akash, Tezpur

Cost to nation

Former Chief Economic Advisor of the IMF, Geeta Gopinathan, has pointedly drawn attention to the environmental problems in India at the recently concluded Economic Summit held in Davos, Switzerland. She explained that tariffs imposed by Trump on India are secondary compared to the economic costs due to environmental deterioration in our country. Air pollution adversely affects the health of the people, which results in loss of labour, more medical expenditure, and the eventual lowering down of national income. 

Martand Pawar, Kalyan

India-EU trade

Negotiations have been concluded, and the India-EU trade deal has been finalised after almost 20 years of talks. Massive tariff reductions in the agreement will eliminate or cut tariffs on over 90% of goods traded by value. European exporters stand to save roughly €4 billion a year, and Indian goods get significantly better access to EU markets. This “mother of all deals” comes as a shining example of pragmatism amid global trade tensions and diversifying supply chains while positioning India and the EU as stable partners across goods, services, and investment.

R. Narayanan, N. Mumbai

Lone wolves

Apropos, ‘Gujarat ATS arrests lone wolf tailor, foils targeted killings plot’, one wonders how these young people are radicalised by organisations like Jaish-e-Mohammed. Young minds getting radicalised with a few speeches and videos, so much so that they are ready for jihad, is concerning. We were aware of sleeper cells, but these lone wolves are more dangerous to society, as they don’t need much preparation to start killing people. The Muslim community needs to have a dialogue with the youth to make them aware of good opportunities in life. 

Maya H. Bhatkar, Pune

US killing

The killing of ICU nurse Alex Preeti demands a serious introspection. He was filming immigration agents and legally carrying a gun. This second fatal shooting of a protester in Minneapolis within a month is a worrying sign. Immigration policy can be strict yet lawful and restrained. Law enforcement agencies must not treat filming public officers as a provocation. What makes the matter worse is President Trump’s inflammatory message posted after this murder, where he echoed Stephen Miller, calling him a would-be assassin. This kind of response or behaviour does not augur well for a US president.

Bal Govind, Noida

An act of madness

The cold-blooded murder of a fellow passenger in a crowded Mumbai local has sent shock waves among commuters. Petty quarrels in a crowded local train for a ‘seat’ are common, but physical violence is unacceptable. The intention may not have been to ‘kill’, but a family has lost their near and dear one due to an act of sheer madness. The accused needs to get capital punishment so that it acts as a stern warning to others committing similar such crimes. We must have the patience to accommodate fellow passengers in the short local train journey we take each day!

S.N. Kabra, Mumbai