Monthly interest

Banks have been charging interest on loans and advances at monthly intervals (as against quarterly intervals earlier) since 2002. Due to reduction in the interest application frequency, the yield on bank loans has increased. However, banks pay interest on saving bank (SB) and term deposits at ‘quarterly or longer intervals’ resulting in depositors getting relatively less yield on their deposits.

At present, there is no standard on the interest application frequency. This has resulted in the annual percentage yield on the deposits being different for different banks. Depositors are not able to make an objective comparison of deposit rates as interest is credited at quarterly or longer intervals. 

Usha Thorat, Director, Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning, in a speech last year, said that the current asymmetry between the periodicity of interest paid to depositors on their savings account and the interest charged on their loan account needs to be reviewed by regulators to address the existing anomaly. As per RBI data, banks in India had deposits aggregating to about Rs 65-lakh crore as on September 28, 2012.

S C DHALL, Zirakpur

Son rise

Every human being, as defined by great political philosophers from time immemorial, is by nature an arrogant, quarrelsome, shaky creature who hardly absorbs prosperity of even close companions and in the political arena, envy over emergence of sons of political leaders is natural (editorial “Sons As Candidates”, October 16). But this aspect needs to be viewed realistically.

Political leaders (their notoriety though will always prevail) cannot misappropriate or mislead the public under the veil of public service so easily. 

Instead of raising accusing fingers on politicians, every citizen needs to evaluate his role because it is he who allowed his elected representative to behave at the seats of power the way he does.

MPS CHADHA, Mohali

II

If the intention of the Congress to give a clean governance to the nation is clean and clear, it will fare well in the general elections. There should be no corrupt practices and nepotism in the distribution of tickets. Honest and capable persons who have proven abilities must be chosen as the people’s candidates for the next general elections if the Congress really wants to come with a majority in the Lok Sabha.

R K KAPOOR, Chandigarh

III

The by-elections at Tehri in Uttarakhand and Jangipur in West Bengal is a curtain raiser for the Congress for general elections. While in Tehri, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister’s son lost the election, President Pranab Mukherjee’s son won by a very narrow margin in Bengal.

BJP nominee’s surprise win in the Tehri Lok Sabha by-poll by a margin of 22,000-odd votes against the Chief Minister Bahuguna’s son Saket, may be a result of a divided state Congress.

In Bengal, TMC needs to learn its lessons as in Jangipur, the BJP secured 10.5% vote as against 2.3% in the last election. Congress failure does not hint at BJP’s success in West Bengal.

Moreover, though CPI(M) candidate lost its vote percentage slightly but in true sense the Left is not finished, hence it will be difficult for TMC to capture 30 LS seats in the general elections.