Across the Aisle: Toward USD 5, 10, 20 Trillion Economy
P Chidambaram, in his column for the Indian Express, points out that he had urged the Finance Minister not to stop at the goal of a USD 5 trillion economy in 2024-25, but instead look at how the size of the economy would become USD 10 trillion six or seven years later, and 20 trillion six or seven years after that.
Chidambaram mentions that while the first goal is not a bad one, it isn’t extraordinary, and explains the logic through simple math and a table. He also asks some critical questions:
“1. How do we quicken the rate of nominal growth from 11 or 12 per cent to 14 per cent (which is when India will achieve the double digit GDP growth rate of 10 per cent). 2. What will be the rate of increase in the per capita income of the average Indian? 3. Will inequality between the poorest 10 per cent and the richest 10 per cent widen or narrow?”
Out of My Mind: Narendra Modi Must Take Risks
Meghnad Desai, in his column for the Indian Express, points out that Narendra Modi has the opportunity to shape India as he wishes and that, therefore, the vision he presents to India must be an enriching and inclusive one. He traces India’s economic policy right from the outset, looking first at how we pursued the Soviet model “unsuitable for India”. He looks at how Narasimha Rao deviated from the Nehru-Gandhi line and actually managed to guarantee 30 years of moderately high income growth in the 5-10% rate. But what needs to happen now?
“Narendra Modi once said government has no business being in business. He has to deliver on that now. Air India, PSU banks, hotels, shops, factories — any enterprise wasting taxpayers’ money should be sold off. This should be the next revolution in Indian economic policy. Modi has to erase the ill-effects of Old Economics. Just think of the benefits of abandoning the Nehruvian model. It took India 20 years after 1991 to accept FDI without reservations. But its benefits have been immense. The slimming down of the public sector must be the next transformation. It will be the Modi Revolution in economic policy. India will win.”
Without Gandhi Glue, Cong Will Come Unstuck
Swaminathan Aiyar, in his Sunday column ‘Swaminomics’ for The Times of India, focuses on Rahul Gandhi’s resignation as Congress President, which has led to an exodus of MLAs from Karnataka and Goa. He says, “The party has long been a bunch of opportunists held together only by dependence on the Gandhis to attain power. Without that glue, the party will disintegrate.”
Aiyar insists that all previous attempts to create a Congress minus the Gandhis have failed. He traces the Congress journey from Indira Gandhi, at the time of the Janata Dal’s formation and squabbles, Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, and how Narasimha Rao came into power.
“To meet the BJP threat, the Gandhis dumped Nehruvian secularism and began to ape the BJP. Indeed, even in the 1989 election, some Congress stalwarts said that their party had unlocked the doors of the Babri Masjid and performed shilanyas at the site, and so should get credit for moving towards a Ram Mandir. The worst aping of the BJP came in 2002 after the Gujarat riots. Instead of taking a secular line, the Congress inducted Shankersinh Vaghela, an RSS apparatchik who had defected from the BJP, to lead the party in Gujarat. This brazenly broke its secular traditions, trying to beat the BJP at its own game. Unsurprisingly, it failed dismally.”
With Gandhis Sulking, Cong Family Drama is Taking a Toll on Our Democracy
Chetan Bhagat, meanwhile, in his column ‘The Underage Optimist’ for The Times of India, condemns Rahul Gandhi’s resignation as not “genuine at all”. If it was, he says, the party would have found a replacement by now. In fact, he believes that it is an old trick of the party: to resign from a post, but not from power. He points towards Manmohan Singh’s government during which, he believes, the Gandhis held the reins.
“With time passing on the current resignation, and no one credible being even discussed as the future leader of the party, one thing is clear. The family has cleared the decks but is still watching from the side on who dares to take their place. The person who is foolish enough to try would be instantly considered a threat to the family, to be blacklisted and sidelined. It reminds me of the parent who tells the kids ‘go watch TV, I don’t care anymore. I am leaving the house.’ In reality, the parent stands outside by the window. Whoever dares to switch on the TV is taken to task later.”
How to Win Hearts in Defeat? Learn From the Kiwi Captain
In her column ‘Politically Incorrect’ for The Times of India, Shobhaa De looks at how New Zealand’s captain Kane Williamson has won a million hearts and has everyone crushing on him. She also recalls the match between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, where Federer’s loss also affected us deeply – just as much as Williamson’s/New Zealand’s in the cricket world cup. Why did we feel so very much? De ponders.
“It isn’t just the pedestrian ‘rooting for the underdog’ syndrome. It isn’t about extending sympathy, experiencing deep empathy for losers. It is far more than that. Basically, what we identified with was their dignity and grace in defeat. In a world full of braggarts and show-offs, in an environment that celebrates chest thumping and aggression, these two sportsmen demonstrated admirable restraint by maintaining perfect equanimity under pressure. One must also hand it to Djokovic for his brutally honest admission. Knowing he was playing in front of an obviously partisan crowd chanting ‘Roger Roger’, Djokovic didn’t allow negative energy to distract him from his goal. Post-match, he shared another priceless takeaway, “When the crowds chant Roger, I hear Novak.””
In Its Hegemonic Moment, the Challenge
Chanakya, in his column for the Hindustan Times, writes that the emerging consensus among political scientists is that the BJP is not just dominant in the political system, but is also the hegemonic force. Having said so, however, he points out how India has always been a vibrant democracy, with a diverse and assertive electorate and that, therefore, while the BJP may appear invincible at the moment, challenges would soon emerge.
“Governments make policies. Policies benefit some groups more than others. Those who feel they have got a raw deal look for alternatives. The budget is instructive in this regard. India’s tiny elite – demographically insignificant but politically influential – feels let down down because of the surcharge on high incomes. The middle class is unhappy that it has to pay more for fuel. Young people are not quite sure if the budget will indeed translate into investment and opportunities they need.”
Domestic Violence Has Not Got the Attention It Needs
Lalita Panicker, in her column for the Hindustan Times, talks about a poignant and pressing issue – that of violence behind closed doors – and mentions how worrying it is to think that seemingly loving partners can overnight turn into monsters. She also looks at how many choose to continue in that abusive relationship till it becomes life-threatening. Inspired by a documentary she watched on the issue in England, she is heartened by the fact that the support system is efficient, however, and the police are quick to respond to complaints. Panicker then turns her attention to the issue in India:
“We have very few domestic abuse counsellors in India and the police, who are the first port of call for a victim, often do little more than warn the husband and then send the woman back to an abusive home. This has often proved dangerous in many ways. The abused woman suffers serious health problems, eating and sleeping disorders, mental trauma and even suicidal impulses. In the worst case scenarios, she is killed or maimed.”
Inside Track: Snatch and Grab
Coomi Kapoor, in her Sunday column for the Indian Express, looks at how Amit Shah has mounted an ambitious game plan to trigger enough defections in the Upper House by year end. The BJP believes it needs this, she asserts, in order to have enough numbers to pass legislation such as the triple talaq bill in the Rajya Sabha. Shah’s operation, she believes, started with four of the six TDP MPs switching to the BJP, followed by the lone INLD MP. Kapoor, in another snippet, also looks at how the capital’s journalists are finding it increasingly difficult to get news breaks.
“The Capital’s journalists find it tough to get exclusive news breaks, since the usual sources are increasingly fearful of being seen talking to journalists. When the Finance Ministry restricted access to PIB-accredited newspersons at its North Block offices, many feared that this was the prelude to a blanket ban on journalists in all government offices and possibly even in Parliament’s Central Hall. But reassurance that no such prohibitory order is in the offing came from Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s neighbour in North Block. Shah assured reporters that he would not prohibit their entry. “I am a large-hearted man, I don’t impose such restrictions.””
How Many Rivers Will Bengaluru Drink?
Ramachandra Guha, in his column for The Telegraph this weekend, looks at the worrying trend of how Bengaluru has had to forage further and further away for water. He talks about how Bengaluru’s needs were once sufficiently met by a network of lakes, reservoirs, tanks, located within the city or close to it. But as the population grew and the town became a city, these lakes and tanks were paved in and filled with concrete. Only Ulsoor Lake and Sankey Tank, among the old tanks, still remain.
“A reservoir twenty miles away; then a river sixty miles away; now, a river one hundred and eighty miles away. As Bengaluru has grown, and grown, it has had to forage ever further in search of the liquid that is most essential for human life. However, what my city is doing is economically profligate; since it costs a lot of money to lay the pipes, and to use electricity to pump the water long distances and up the plateau on which Bengaluru spreads itself out. It is also socially unjust; since Bengaluru’s capture of these waters means that the countryside as well as smaller towns are deprived of its use (notably, Shivamogga, the headquarters of the district in which the Sharavathi originates, recently observed a bandh against the diversion of the waters to the state capital).”
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