Your cover story (For the Long Haul, October 2011) is an eye-opener for many. With inflation refusing to come down and prices of all essential commodities going up relentlessly, it is necessary for us to plan our finances for our retirement years. The requirement of money for a decent living post-retirement will only go up.
Medical inflation itself is high, with some putting it at nearly 20% annually. Unfortunately, India does not have a good social security system, which provides the aged with quality medical treatment at government expense. We have seen how the pension reforms have been mismanaged by the government which does not consider it among its priority.
The National Pension System (NPS) that was supposed to provide a new medium for old-age income security for those in the unorganised sector has also failed to take-off.
VIJAY RATHORE, Jamshedpur
The story on how investors can gain from the growing economies of Asia (Betting on Asia's Might, October 2011) shows how the equations in the global economy have shifted. While the US and the countries in the Euro zone are struggling to come out of the impact of the previous recession and are, in fact, staring at another possible slowdown, the Asian region has grown in strength.
Several countries in the region are showing solid growth and the future also appears to be bright. Indian investors globally can make good gains by riding the region's strength to make money. However, it appears that there are not many options available to investors in India to take advantage of the Asian story since only a handful of funds have been floated that invest in the region.
There needs to be a change in mindset among fund managers, who should come up with new options and market them adequately. The story will surely improve awareness of this trend.
ANURAJ BHASKAR, Bombay
Your cover story (For The Long Haul, October 2011) rightly points out the dangers of underestimating inflation while making a financial plan for the future. As a high inflation rate can be a heavy drain on your savings by eroding the value of money, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government need to use all their might to check the rise in prices.
Those who say that RBI's efforts to tame inflation are choking growth should understand the damaging consequences of high inflation. The report also rightly points out the benefits of early financial planning.
Unfortunately, most of us start worrying about our old-age financial security until it's too late to accumulate an adequate corpus.
VIJAY P SINGH, Jaipur
ERRATA
In the story 'Want Money, Pledge Assets' (October 2011), HDFC Bank executive VP and business head Biju Pillai's name was spelt wrongly. We regret the error.
