Economic Highlights

Delhi, 18 April, 2014

I-T Says India Regressing

DEVELOPMENT MYTH EXPOSED

By Shivaji Sarkar

The ongoing elections have one common agenda. Every political party is talking in terms of development – be it to support it, reject it or dish out something new about it. Thus, it’s not just that BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi talks of development, albeit the Gujarat model, all others do it. Within the BJP its Chief Ministers in Goa Manohar Parrikar, or in Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chauhan or in Chhattisgarh Raman Singh define it in the light of their performance.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, a day after Modi visited her State, too has joined the chorus to claim that her State’s development on every front -- be it social indicators and industry, poverty ratio -- minus the BPL families, infant mortality rate and better PDS coverage – was better than Gujarat.

Not to be left behind, tiny Tripura’s Left Front Chief Minister Manik Sarkar says the State’s model of development was far better than others and could be a national model. Moreover, in a jibe at BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh, Sarkar claims his government has effectively solved the problem of terrorism.

The economists with either Left or right leanings vie with each other to project whether Gujarat is developed or not. Even a newspaper group, India Today, has promoted a book Centrestage-Modi Model. The economists Bibek Debroy and Surjit Bhalla share the dais with Aroon Purie to project Gujarat (or is it Modi - to curry his political favour?).

So what is the real development in this country? The best possibly has come from the income-tax department. It carried out a nationwide advertisement blitz to say that it was prying on every citizen and has found a “whopping” 40,72,892 persons  having “high value” transactions over Rs 10 lakh in bank deposits, land dealings or other activities! The figures are a stark revelation that in a country of 125 crore not even 40 lakhs --- 0.3 per cent of the total population -- have the capacity to have a million-rupee deal.

Today Rs 10 lakh, with almost 200 per cent inflation in ten years, is a small sum. With it one would not be able to buy a bathroom, whereas in 2004, one could have acquired a three-bedroom flat or an independent house from the Government housing board in National Capital Region. This now costs at least Rs 90 lakh – nine times more. The I-T department figures testify the country has only regressed and not developed as inflation in the last decade has eaten into the prosperity, an essential basic for development.

In addition, the corporatized world has taken control of the food market through skewed futures trading. The commodities stock exchange, MCX, severely indicted by the Supreme Court, has been stated to be the reason for galloping prices despite no supply side problem. So the stark example of regression, Food Security Act, is enacted. It is a testimony that the country’s 81 crore people are not in a position to buy artificially high-priced food items be it grains or vegetables. Neither the Left nor the right had the courage to call the UPA Government’s bluff. All meekly submitted to the Corporate’s diktat to pass the law, lest there was general unrest against the perpetrators.

Since the ushering in of Manmohanomics these past 20 years witnessed less jobs being created and more being lost, the rural employment guarantee act (NREGA) was brought in to give doles to 12 crore unemployed. Both the food security Act and NREGA cost the nation a whopping Rs 2 lakh crore for non-productive purposes to keep a seething unrest tamed. Worse, the two have caused severe budgetary deficits and propped up corporate profits as nobody protests the high prices at their retail stores. This is best testified by their balance sheets.  

Whether Gujarat is following the right course or not is not the issue. Are we on the right track? Does any political party understand the core principles of development? Or are these only statistics?

The debate had started if not with Pt Jawaharalal Nehru’s setting up of the Planning Commission in 1950 then certainly during Indira Gandhi’s high-pitched “garibi hatao” slogan in 1971. Whether it is 64 years or 43 years, the country has not moved an inch – may be it has scored sporadically in some sectors.

The nation neither has policies for creation of jobs, protection to working class nor boost up a competitive manufacturing market. All laws suit the violators rather than who are supposed to be protected. Besides, weak implementation of laws hinders societal growth.

The Delhi High Court, on April 17, directed the Delhi Government to ensure constitutional obligation of providing free treatment to a poor man, who was denied the same by public sector AIIMS because of his inability to pay Rs 4.8 lakh a month to treat the rare disease. Justice Manmohan stated: “health is not a luxury and should not be the sole possession of a few privileged”. His assertion was that healthcare is a “constitutional obligation”. True, but it remains enshrined only in the book.

All governments have made health, highway travel, real estate, education, water, power, telecom, fuels, commodities market jagirs of the privileged few. Companies earn soaring profits even in gloomy years. Fleecing has become the norm and no government stops or even interferes in their affairs. Companies like Saradha or Sahara collect money selling dreams to the burgeoning poor. In most cases, such Ponzi promoters through their political connections have not only deprived the poor but virtually escaped the due process of law or hoodwinked it. This happens only when the nation talks of development but in reality it is deprived of it.

Figures in Gujarat may speak better than others. But that needs to be honed up to have an all-round development. Even Modi feels concerned that his growth model has not included all. He speaks of disparity. That is where the debate must start. Why is it that more people today are denied progress than they were in 1950?

The Lok Sabha election should have started this debate instead of selling dreams to garner votes. In a democratic polity, the issues unfortunately are not decided by the aspirations of the people. The people, in reality, have the least say. It is decided by an organized, powerful corporate and other stakeholders who can milch the government through control of political parties. That is where development is thwarted.

The Left or right has tamely surrendered to create euphoria of a development debate. But the euphoria is likely to die out after the polls in a chaotic parliamentary process. So, it’s good bye till the next General elections. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)