Economic Highlights
New
Delhi, 18 April 2016
Modi’s Rural Vision
CREATING ECONOMIC
HUBS
By Shivaji Sarkar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three announcements may
broaden the prospects of economy. The National Agriculture Market (NAM), Gramoday Se Bharat Uday and Sagarmala – a
plan to double port capacity – are likely to ensure a major shift from an
urban-industry-based system to a farmer, rural, coast-based economy.
The parameters of the economy are to widen and engulf far
more people than a globalised Manmohanomics had done. The only caution Modi has
to ensure is that there is no lag in implementation. In the past, many
initiatives lost their steam after their formal launch. Hopefully there is a
change in style of governance and it may ensure that India having taken the stride would
be able to sustain the momentum.
Another quite an event was the direction of the Road and
Transport Ministry to the States for removal of speed-breakers on all national
highways to save lives and ensure smooth road travel. The speed bumps led to
loss of 4726 lives, enormous man hours, misery for many families and terribly delayed
journeys. The move would speed up road movement, minimize losses and add to
faster economic activities.
The electronic NAM and Bharat Uday are major
policy initiatives. It would ensure marketability of farm produce sans borders
– a vision for empowerment of all by strengthening of the villages.
The government has accepted the farmers’ pleas and cries of
villagers who together number 80 crore. This segment was ignored as the
industry wanted focus to remain on it during the socialist euphoria and the globalization.
The NAM
online system ensures connectivity to 21 wholesale mandis (local market) in eight States at the initial stages. This
would gradually increase to 585 mandis by
2018. Accordingly, farmers would be its direct beneficiaries but others such as
the consumers or traders too would gain enormously. Rather than being out of
the system, the traders would be very much part of it and would emerge as
bigger facilitators. The consumers, it is hoped, would benefit as it is
expected to bring down the overall prices as many bottlenecks would be removed.
The NAM
importantly promises more options for sale. It increases access to markets
through warehouse-based sales and thus obviates the need to transport farmers’
produce to the mandi. For local
traders, it offers the opportunity to access larger national market for
secondary trading. Both the bulk buyers and exporters are likely to benefit
from being able to participate directly in trading at the local mandis through the NAM e-platform.
This is expected to reduce their intermediation costs.
However, all the positives will happen as and when NAM is fully
functional. Farmers will initially be able to sell produce through the mandis within the State. It will
gradually be extended to cover the country by 2017. Once this happens the
farmers would have access to wholesale markets across the country.
In the next few years, the eventual goal of “one nation one market”
for agriculture and horticulture produce may hopefully become a reality. Some
hurdles such as dismantling of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Act
(APMC), which regulates the farm market in States, still remains. Though some States
have agreed to amend or do away with APMC Act, a lot still remains to be done
in this sphere.
So despite the Central government providing the software
free of cost to States and grant of Rs 30 lakh per mandi as a one-time measure, the actual momentum may take a bit of
time. Only two States – Bihar and Kerala –
presently do not have such law. Each State has different kinds of mandis and the e-market would link
these. Gujarat has castor seed, chana and wheat mandis, Telangana has paddy, turmeric, maize and onion; Haryana has
mustard and wheat; Jharkhand flowers; Himachal shelling peas. So, soon a trader
located in any corner of the country can access any of these markets. Similarly,
a farmer can see the prices of his produce in different markets and sell at the
best price.
The Gram Uday (GU) would be a major step to energise the
rural economy. It would not only supplement the farm activities but would also ensure
that overall economic activities are geared up to meet the expectations of
increased economic activities. The RSS has already started village clusters for
integrated development in many States. The Government is likely to follow the
model to make villages self-sustaining economic and production units. It aims
at creating “samarasta” (harmony) in
socially-divided villages and orient and gear these to work together for
overall development of the society.
The GU programme is a realization that “50 cities and 50
individuals doing good business” cannot turn the fortunes of India. Modi
wants to combine Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘Gram Swaraj’
and BR Ambedkar’s social harmony. The ‘Stand Up India’, ‘Skill India’ and similar other programmes are aimed at
creating entrepreneurs in 1.25 lakh bank clusters in the rural India alone. And,
the GU aims at ensuring substantial development to strengthen the foundation of
villages.
The Rs 1 lakh crore Sagarmala is likely to double port
capacity by 2025, by linking the ports and inland waterways. Thus, it creates
the highways for development of hinterlands. It can provide faster movements
for farm and rural cluster produced goods, integrate SEZs, smart cities,
industrial and logistics parks. Apart from creating jobs, it can ensure a
sustainable model of development. The project was conceived by Former Prime Minister
Atal Behari Vajpayee. Modi has simply revived it.
The Sagarmala can save up to Rs 35,000 crore through optimal
use of multi-modal transport as port capacity increases to 3000 million tonnes
by 2025 from 1555 million tonnes now. It is expected to boost exports to $10
billion.
Undeniably, people have seen many such programmes being
launched and being dumped too. Sometimes this has happened by the same
political dispensation or other by different political set-ups. Many programmes
launched during the NDA-I were dumped by UPA-I. NDA-II has to ensure that these
programmes do not become victims of whims and fancies of anyone. It should
remember that tailoring a programme is not difficult but continuing it, is a
herculean task.
Modi has made a good beginning and raised aspirations. Now
he has to ensure a system that makes his political plans widely acceptable. The
success of an economic vision depends on successful political sustainability. The
Prime Minister has to ensure this so that the change he envisages continues and
the country’s hinterlands become the hub of economy. --- INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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