Apropos ‘Primary concerns’ (January 23), the rapid growth of the primary market makes stronger safeguards around IPO pricing both timely and necessary. The regulator’s move to tighten surveillance and refine the call auction process is welcome. Introducing standardised price bands, widening participation by genuine investors, and extending the price discovery window can improve transparency. Equally important is a more realistic method for fixing base prices, especially for relisted stocks. These steps can curb excess speculation, protect retail investors, and reinforce confidence in India’s capital markets.

M Barathi

Bengaluru

Investment pitch at WEF

Apropos ‘At WEF, India invites investors to tap $300 bn clean energy opportunity’ (January 23). Prime Minister Narendra Modi rarely attends the World Economic Forum at Davos, preferring to send Union ministers, Chief Ministers and CEOs to showcase the country’s diverse strengths. This decentralised model highlights State autonomy but risks fragmented messaging and competition among various States, which may confuse investors, thereby preferring other countries.

O Prasada Rao

Hyderabad

Trump on the back-foot

This refers to ‘Why Trump softened push for Greenland takeover’ (January 23). President Trump’s assertion that the US could deploy full military power to seize Greenland was less a concrete policy than a calculated attempt to intimidate NATO allies resisting his demands. However, when those allies responded with hardened positions and credible military preparedness, the asymmetry of power Trump sought to exploit dissolved. Confronted by collective resolve and alliance unity, he retreated. The episode illustrates how brinkmanship, while theatrically assertive, becomes strategically untenable when met with organised resistance and institutional constraints.

N Sadhasiva Reddy

Bengaluru

Published on January 23, 2026