Saturday 2 June 2012

Economic State in India

   One does not need to be a keen economist to know that India is facing a tough economic scenario. Just observe this: the rupee has slid to an all time low, the price of petrol is soaring at a rate even oil sheikhs would be stunned. Is this an outcome of a policy paralysis or gross financial mismanagement of this government.
   A few years back, the government was proudly boasting about its 9% economic growth rate. But frankly, does it matter to a common citizen like you and me if the Sensex hits 20,000 or 15,000. I think not. By economic growth, the government refers to the income generated by the industrialists. And by boasting about that, haven't we shown that we have sunk to such base levels where we celebrate a few million dollars earned by our celebrities when the majority of our nation is reeling under an economic crisis.
   This government has time and again demonstrated that staying in power is of utmost importance rather than going for a few good decisions which would help the economy in the long term. It is understood that coalition politics has its own limitations but that should not be at the expense of the well-being of the country. This is the same India where the ruling Central Government heeded to the decision of an ally and put off the idea of FDI in retail for the time-being. We should start giving up this communist mindset and be much more receptive to the ideas of Globalization and Liberalization. Another policy paralysis of the government is the much-hyped decision to disvest the public sector companies. Started with a bang but completely fizzled out.
    A few good things to point out about a few men in this government. Dr. Manmohan Singh had done one of the best things that could happen to India in the recent decades. India shall forever be indebted to him for his Globalization, Liberalization and Privatization policy. But a government of a country that is tipped to drive the global economy in the near future should not rest only on its past laurels. It should focus relentlessly on evolving means to bring our country to the forefront of human welfare development and economic progress.
    An irony to note is that while several thousands of our countrymen are dying out of hunger, there are several tons of foodgrains that are rotting outside the FCI godowns. What might be the reason? Our government in order to be the largest buyer of foodgrains from the farmers just goes on accumulating the foodgrains without even bothering for proper storage facilities. The result is that several tons of grains are just left to the mercy of the elements of the weather with only a sheet as their cover. So, why does the government not improve the storage facilities? The answer is simple enough. The government simply lacks the required funds. Supposing, the government builds new godowns, what happens will be that the government wouldn't have the funds to buy the grains in the first place. It is like a person who sells the cow in order that he can buy better fodder to increase the milk production. Ultimately, he gets better fodder but now where is the cow to get milk?
     And one more thing, freebies are not going to do a world of good for the common man. The government is too keen on giving free fans, mixers, grinders, laptops and what not. Tell me how does the common man get benefited by this. One should remember that these freebies are given when people are already owning atleast one of them. Isn't this a ploy to improve the domestic consumption thereby favoring a select few industrialists. Ofcourse, it would help them to cash in on the vote-banks too.
    The time for decisive action has come. History would judge us by the action or inaction that we take now. It is therefore in the best interests of all that some solutions to these problems be found. A few recommendations include:
1. Disvest the public sector companies
2. Throw open the electricity distribution and collection to the private sector
3. Stop freebies of all kinds
4. Enhance the usage of renewable and alternate sources of energy
5. Stop populism and present budgets with a long-term view not just limited to five years in power.
 
We are now standing at a wonderful juncture in our history. We must lift our country to our golden days and justify the epithet "The Golden Sparrow" before it's too late. The onus is on us. This is a battle we cannot afford to lose. All the best!

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