Open Forum

New Delhi, 27 October 2014

Doles To Development

ALL-IN-ONE MODI APPROACH

By Dharmendra Nath

“Let’s think big. Let’s think far. Let’s think above politics.” This message by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to NDA MPs over Diwali Milan is all encompassing. Five months in Government, Modi is providing a leadership whose key constituents are good citizenship “swachch Bharat” (not the controversial concept of Indianness) and mass movement/urge for development, his Make in India slogan (he has special praise for Gandhi for creating a mass following during Freedom movement). There is nothing sectarian about this agenda. Issues of Ram Mandir and Babri mosque have been left far behind. No trace of these. His journey hopefully is in search of a better secular future for all countrymen.

General Elections 2014 brought about a significant change in Indian polity. Some have hailed the event as a page turner while others have described it as the rebirth of the nation. To a dispassionate observer, the event is still in the making. However, one can read the indications and try to figure out the silhouettes of the emerging phenomenon.

At the ground level, Congress party rule at the Centre has been replaced by the BJP. Secondly, while Congress ruled through a coalition by compulsion today’s government has outright majority in Lok Sabha though it retains its coalition alliance with its old partners. All these are known entities. What is new and in a sense intangible in the situation is the emergence of Narendra Modi as the virtual head of the Government and the ruling party. Hence, a lot of speculation is going on.

Since early days in our national life we have traversed the path of a socialist pattern of society. This has involved a dominating role for the State in our economic life. Many areas of activity belong exclusively to the State. In many other areas the State is a dominant player. The remaining area is heavily regulated. One needs to obtain various permissions and has to file various compliance reports. Private enterprise has thus largely been at the mercy of the Government and the regulations. In pursuance of the socialist agenda, the State has also regulated private wages and labour employment conditions etc. It has also introduced various cross subsidies and floated several State-sponsored social welfare schemes.

Net result of it over the years is before us. There are shortfalls everywhere, and more particularly in areas reserved for the State. Be it power, be it railways or road network. This has happened despite the continued existence of the Planning Commission which was supposed to plan and take care of our future needs. We find the State withdrawing itself in desperation from a lot of activities due to its inability to deliver. That gave birth to the concept of public-private partnership. Let the government seek the helping hand of private sector.

Circumstances have brought us to a crossroads today. Why not make an effort to look at things differently? What if we unleash not the control of the State as we did in the first instance but the entrepreneurial power of the people? That is the economic context of Modi.

Our quest for State-controlled socialist pattern of society led us to offer rations and kerosene etc at highly subsidized rates. The resources thus forgone could have been deployed in nation building and infrastructure strengthening works and they could have generated further resources for development. But the lure of subsidized prices was not only ideologically pleasing, it was a great vote catching device and also useful in keeping the party down the line economically satisfied. It was totally ignored that subsidies perpetuate stagnation and create corruption.

Similarly, despite rising costs Railway passenger fares have been kept static for the last so many years in the name of not burdening the common man. Starved of the needed resources railways have failed miserably to deliver against the rising demand.

Other instruments of socialist policy such as repeated rounds of loan-waiver schemes too depleted our resources while at best giving doubtful relief to the needy but always enabling the channel to absorb much of the flow.

MNREGA is a much-touted rural employment scheme. With all our accumulated experience of manipulated PWD muster roles we still chose to go the whole hog. Studies have shown that States with lower poverty rates have absorbed greater MNREGA outlays. How did that happen unless the musters were false? All over the country rumour is rife that MNREGA spillages all along the administrative chain have miraculously transformed themselves into SUVs. That remains a largely unwritten story. We must create jobs but not fake ones.

The chief lesson our socialist experiment taught us was to expect something for free. Most of our national energy went into that lack luster exercise instead of going into an effort to enlarge the size of the cake. That led to shortages we face today.

We are now being taught to aspire and to achieve. It is a totally new lesson for many. A nation which was being pulled along with the help of the opiate of subsidies is being led to aspire and to strive and to grow. That reminds us of poet Rabindranath Tagore’s exhortation to create a country where “ceaseless striving stretches its arms towards perfection”. That is the attraction of the slogan that better days are to come “acche din aane wale hain”. It may be a distant memory recall for us but still a great confidence booster.

As a follow up to his vision, Modi is prioritizing on infrastructure development (power, roads, railways, ports) and liberalization (reforms in regulatory, energy and labour sectors). He is encouraging decentralization through an enhanced role for State governments in the policy making process. His search for inclusive growth leads to mass opening of zero-balance savings accounts in banks. That step is again a charismatic mood enhancer (giving a foretaste of ownership) and creates expectation of participation in current and future growth. Latest we learn is that RTI enquiries/answers are to be put on line creating mass viewership and participation. How close do we get to Plato’s democracy by using modern technological instruments?

As has been said in the beginning these are early days to judge. But the indicators all point to a hopeful direction for all and a sound future for the country. Provided the Modi approach doesn’t get deflected. --- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)