Economic
Highlights
New Delhi, 13
January 2020
New Vision
2040
HOW CAN
LAST MAN GAIN?
By Shivaji Sarkar
India has stepped into a new decade, like the
rest of the world. It needs a new vision 2040 to propel the country – its
politics and economics and junk the present system.
At the year-end, Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman unfolded the Rs 102 lakh crore NIP – national infrastructure
pipeline – a good effort but with limited aim. The Narendra Modi government has
given a call for $5 trillion economy – robust aim. Now the nation needs to
rethink how it can be made broad-based. The NDA thinks in terms of reaching the
last man – antyodaya. A review is
needed whether the policies are percolating down to him or not or if GDP –
rising or plummeting - has a meaning for him.
A vision 2040 document could offer a model to
the rest of the world that at present is in awe of the lone super power, the US
and is forced into submission before its bullying tactics. America is having the world’s largest army for
perpetuating jingoism and keeping the Asian countries in awe. On flimsy grounds
it has waged wars since the attempt to subjugate Vietnam to the present
destruction of the Middle East from Libya to Iran. The recent threats to Iran and
killing of Gen Qasem Soleimani do not bode well for India.
The US is the largest economy but it has
millions in utter penury. An average American is struggling to eke out a
living. It led the global sub-prime collapse. It cannot be an ideal for India.
It exemplifies that large does not mean an efficient pro-people economy.
India rooted in panchsheel and ideals
of sarve bahavantu sukhinah cannot emulate the US. So despite the vision
of a capable army in the Vision 2020, India did not envisage a predatory army
despite a rogue and belligerent neighbour in its West. Prudently it countered
that with removal of Article 370 and 35A.
Still a nation has to relook at why most
political parties are losing vibrancy, why ideologies have failed – and if these
had any strength, why violence is becoming culture in some States like West
Bengal or Kerala, why different States have different economic growth pattern,
why two Chief Ministers should speak in similar vein on the deaths of children
in hospitals or why Mamata Banerjee is insensitive to Park Street rape victim
or she and Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala keep mum on political killings. Is
politics getting too ghettoized?
Or is it the result of a sagging economy?
Should the budgetary process be altered? Else how could 25 per cent cut in
department allocations, about Rs 40,000 crore, be justified in fag end of the
financial year?
India is conquering space but faltering in
managing mundane agriculture or rising prices or profiteering motives of
governments or privatising public assets or treating private education as
pariah or heaping innumerable tolls and fees or disallowing the poor through
high fares, uses of rail, metro or bus. Has not its market ideology heaped with
it problems in every sector --education and health to industry to deciding its
priorities?
As India progresses it has to find out
whether the neo-rich getting into the portals of power are becoming
insensitive. Are not they misguiding governance through trade bodies,
bureaucratic functioning and making every bit of service beyond the reach of
the people?
The Constitution guarantees barrier free
travel. Why should atrociously high toll or fee hinder it? The roads are built
on public land. It needs to be explained how a private body can be given its zamindari.
A villager or a farmer travelling across the tolls are levied an unnecessary
cost. The Vision needs to find out how it is making living expensive and
increasing prices -- that too after multiple tolls, cess and road taxes.
Education cess is not making education affordable.
The NIP has yet to look into why a new
parliament building or central vista is needed instead of pride in continuity
in a heritage building. Or why road allocations are made for the same set of
roads – in the name of refurbishing, redesigning or and adding lanes.
The people want a white paper on IL&FS
collapse after doling out Rs 91000 crore to the toll roads and not getting
repayment despite toll collections. It is essential for preventing a new proposed
Central funding body meeting the same fate.
More power 619 GW is to be produced. Why? The country is unable to utilize 356
GW present production and power tariffs are bleeding every sector.
For the sake of private, Air India was
annihilated, MTNL-BSNL is sent to sick bed, hosts of other sold to competitors,
bank coffers are opened up. It has led to enormous losses to public financial
institutions – UTI (losing Rs 64,000 crore shut), LIC, GIC and almost all banks.
These have lost about Rs 50 lakh crore since 1992 Harshad Mehta scam. Still the
private sector is dependent on the government. Is it not slowing down the
economy?
More so, wages are not keeping pace with the
rising prices. The price indices have been modified in 2011 so as to reflect reduced
impact of the rises. Even the modified index reflects 19.5 per cent inflation,
may be actually 30 per cent as per the old matrix. India is becoming expensive
for its residents whose income is low and being eroded by high 42 per cent
income-tax (I-T) and plethora of indirect taxes estimated at 40 per cent,
including profession tax in many States, despite GST.
Yes, an Indian pays over 70 per cent in taxes.
Innovative bureaucrats despite that go on increasing the prices of fuel, rail
fares, bus fares, freight and consequently jacking up prices of commodities. It
is affecting nutrition, as people are unable to take proper meals, consumption
and GDP growth.
The bankisation of the society has created
new middle men in payment portals. It has made dealings expensive. The note-ban
alone turned at least 15 per cent more black money. The people of West,
Australia and Japan are protesting to come out of the clutches of banks. Why
should not India go back to no-cost cash transaction?
The list is long. Wider review of the past’s
follies and road map for the future has to be drawn. For the new vision, the
country has to review its past mistakes so that the future generation does not
have to go through the same trials and tribulations as this one has
encountered.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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