Letters to THE EDITOR

Exempt tax

The Finance Minister has exempted senior citizens aged 75 or above having no income other than pension and interest from filling income tax return. It is hardly a concession as they still have to pay tax, to be deducted by the bank. If the Government really wants to help senior citizens, it should exempt all 80 plus pensioners of this category from paying income tax. At least their one month's pension goes towards income tax.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog.

Vaccine: The most effective weapon

Vaccines are one of the most effective weapons which work to boost our immune system against future attacks by a particular disease. They, at their best, can be sledgehammers that crush pathogens. But if they fail to sterilize immunity, there is likelihood that the virus will continue circulating and we will hardly see an abrupt end to the pandemic. Undeniably, most diseases that can be prevented by vaccines do still exist in the world. Besides, individual immune systems are different enough that in some cases, a person's immune system will not generate an adequate response. Also, vaccines don't offer lifelong immunity to an individual. So, it's imperative that we should continue to follow the safety protocols like wearing of face masks, frequent washing of hands and maintaining physical distance.

It is hoped that start of vaccination will, however, surely drop cases of infection. Most importantly, the manufacturers should consider the side effects shown by the vaccine to be a lesson to make the product better.

Dipen Gogoi,

Jorhat.

Situation in Myanmar

Myanmar's military coup has resumed. The military has regained control of the country by rejecting the results of the November 8 democratic elections. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the democratically elected government and the National League for Democracy (NLD), a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been arrested along with her fellow leaders and the president. The military has declared a state of emergency in Myanmar for a year and handed over power to General Min Aung Hlaing, the military's chief of staff. The military has shut down all democratic systems, media, mobile phones, internet services, telecommunications, television, etc., and taking control of all rights. Notably, the general election was held in Myanmar on November 8. In this election, the Suu-led NLD party won 396 out of 476 seats in Parliament. It is noteworthy that in the 2015 general elections, Suu's NLD party won with an absolute majority and a democratic government was formed under Suu's leadership. Suu Kyi formed the government, although the military was responsible for some of the most important issues. In other words, in some important cases, the military had power in its hands and arrangements were made to prevent Suu Kyi from holding the presidency. After 25 years of military rule, democratic elections were held for the first time in 2015, and Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest, was released. Suu Kyi's government ruled the country with limited powers. The re-election was held on November 8 after the completion of one term and the NLD party led by Suu Kyi won for the second time with an absolute majority. However, Myanmar's army officers and army chief General Min Aung Hlaing, who are keen on seizing power, did not allow Suu Kyi to form a government for a second term. All the army officers obstructed the formation of the government, alleging irregularities in the democratically held elections. However, the Election Commission has denied any irregularities in the election. But the army officers obstructed the formation of the caretaker government, aiming to ensure that the democratic government in the country did not last long. However, the military has announced that re-election will be held. In fact, re-election is not possible immediately after a clean election. Even if elections are held in the future, there is a risk that the military will play a similar role. In the eyes of peace-loving people, it is extremely unfortunate that after a democratic election the formation of the government is obstructed. Therefore, we condemn the military's declaration of a state of emergency in Myanmar.

Heramba Nath,

Kamrup.

Apology

With due respect I would like to apologize that on 7th February, 2021 i.e. on Sunday an article titled "Transforming Assam and its glory!" was published in the 'The Sentinel'. There was an error in that article. The article was written by two writers, but due to some mistakes from the writers' side one name was not published. So, here is the confirmation that the article 'Transforming Assam and its glory!' was written by Vishal Phukana who can be reached at chao.vishal@gmail.com. The other writer is Hrishikesh Sarma.

Hrishikesh Sarma,

Guwahati,

Lessons from pandemic

President Ram Nath Kovind has expressed that the COVID-19 pandemic has taught the world that one cannot be safe if others are at risk. The President mentioned that the first major pandemic in over a century has taught us to be better prepared for unforeseen public health crises. Though COVID-19 seems to be one-of-a-kind health-crises that happen rarely, a section of scientists has warned us to be prepared for similar challenges ahead. Hope that the world has learned the right lessons. The need of the hour is that the world should pay more attention to boost the public healthcare system with global coordination.

Amit Singh Kushwaha,

Satna (M.P.)

Corporate governance

Corporate governance and transparency act as one of the key core values and strong pillars for a public listed company to evolve in a competitive market, especially in India. The need to innovate key auditing practices and Ind AS principles to be groomed at the Board level is highly essential. Hence the custodians of the regulatory framework should prepare strong policies and adopt them under their respective mandates. It can further be implemented to achieve the key strategic corporate governance changes required at a board level.

The policy custodians also need to work in tandem with the governments including the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Tax regulators, and other regulatory bodies like SEBI to formulate a simple and yet convincing strategy for the investors. There is also an urgent need to identify and bridge the parting gap between the investors and the board, apart from conducting general body meetings. Thus to achieve this goal, extensive Investor Awareness Programmes (IAPs) need to be conducted regularly by the companies, institutions, and regulators which will otherwise help the investors to stay afloat with the changes in a volatile market.

Varun Dambal,

Bangalore.