The election season, almost always, is flavoured with populist promises. To address rural distress, which is a top election issue this time, repetitive sops such as farm loan waivers and increased MSPs have been promised by both of the country's national parties. But former Reserve Bank of India governor and economist Raghuram Rajan says it is not a solution to the long-festering distress in the sector. Fiscal transfers in terms of loan waivers, Mr Rajan suggests, are not the best way of addressing it. "I have written to the Election Commission saying loan waivers should be taken off the table."