Why India must focus on water

Poor water management is taking a toll on India's economy, a reader says. Other topics: Emiratisation, Samsung S7 Edge, debt

Poor water management is affecting the Indian economy, a reader says. Subhash Sharma for The National

You are right to conclude that a combination of poor policies and practices has contributed significantly to India's current water crisis (India must solve its water crisis, May 1).

However, water maladministration not only has an impact on human health and sanitation, but it also impedes wider social and economic development.

A major report concluded recently that “water insecurity acts as a drag on global economic growth”, with worldwide economic losses due to poor access to water and sanitation estimated to be in the region of $260 billion.

It is hard not to hypothesise that India’s generational failure to resolve systemic water management problems has not only held back its economic potential, but also profoundly disadvantaged its most vulnerable people.

Prime minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to modernise the agriculture sector will depend in large part on addressing India’s water challenges. His government’s budget announcement to invest billions in irrigation and aquifers will be key. But funding is only part of the equation in successful policy-making. So, too, is robust science and data.

Only with strong science can political leaders take the necessary measures to enact policy changes that nullify the destructive aspect of water while unleashing the constructive benefits that water security enables.

Callum Clench, executive director, International Water Resources Association, France

Survey does not reveal the whole picture

According to the article Satisfaction in job key to hiring more Emiratis, survey shows (May 2), competitive pay, benefits and career progression are among the key factors Emiratis consider when deciding to stay or leave an employer.

Did it really take a quite substantial survey from a large global company to tell us this? Isn’t this what drives all employees? If the attraction and retention of Emiratis is a “top priority”, why do Emiratis only comprise 0.55 per cent of the private sector workforce in 2016?

Job-hopping may, at first, appear to be driven by greed, but I suspect Emiratis are being very strategic in choosing how long to remain in a company and quite deliberate in their criteria for selecting their next company.

In conversation with several Emiratis over the past few months, it is becoming clear that Emiratis, as hinted in the article, are much more tactical than many people give them credit for and are considerably more interested in career-building than negotiating the highest salary and benefits.

Challenges for the private sector remain. Emiratis are special and merit is becoming one of the drivers towards workforce segmentation. They are special because demographically, they represent just over 10 per cent of the total UAE population with total Emirati numbers of just under 1 million. The private sector needs to do a much better job at creating an organisational culture friendly to Emirati employees – it needs to retool organisational culture to create a “sense of belonging” to a family.

Peter Hatherley-Greene, Dubai

The S7 has an edge over others

I agree with your verdict on Samsung S7 Edge (Samsung S7 Edge: probably the best smartphone in the world right now, May 3).

Unfortunately the screen of my phone has cracked. I tried to get it fixed, but no one could do it so far.

Prishern Pahlad, South Africa

Debt creates complications

I have a total debt of Dh270,000 and my monthly household income is Dh11,000 (The Debt Panel passes verdict on UAE residents in financial dire straits, May 1). I tried to consolidate it with a bank and also agreed to transfer my salary to it. But it rejected my application, saying the amount is more than what I am eligible to pay. I agree to this point, but what's the solution? I want to sort this out.

Name withheld by request