Post 91 India has two narratives- one is that of high economic growth, increased risk-taking by entrepreneurs, Indians- individuals and companies- going global and a confidence in ourselves thanks to the opening up of our boundaries, connectivity accelerated by internet and economic freedom. More and more Indians are growing rich, travelling by air, buying cars and rising into the upper and lower middle class. A good thing for the economy because with each job generated in the organised sector, dozens are benefitted in the unorganised sector ranging from construction workers to restaurants to auto-rickshaws. There definitely is a case for being glad about a high economic growth rate.
There has been significant increases in literacy rate, life expectancy and certain sectors in India are the envy of the world- IT and Pharma being the major ones. But along with the optimism, there has been stinging criticism of the economic growth citing reasons of inequality, still persisting poverty, lack of access to basic facilities like health , education and infrastructure to vast majority of the population and this is the second narrative of the post 91 era. In many of these criticisms, I find there is a lack of alternatives. I agree inequality has increased- it is because the incomes of those in the upper economic classes have increased while those in the lower sections have not increased at the same rate and inflation is eating into their ability to survive. But blaming or presenting an anti-reform front, only shows a lack of practical appraisal of the situation.
The current growth owes a lot to unregulated capitalism- throwing away resources like land, spectrum and fuel to those close to the decision makers, under-employment and even exploitation by paying little or no wages (a) and this has added weight to the argument that 91 reforms are evil and does us no good. Consider the alternative, what if we stayed the same way and continued with state owned enterprises that produce little or nothing for huge losses, there we no expansion of industries and we have a population of 1.2billion?
Completely ridiculing the benefits of the reforms is a mistake because without it, we wouldn't have generated employment and education and the gains, albeit incomplete, made in the social sector. Rather than blast the reforms, wouldn't it be better to must make sure the reforms and their benefit reach everyone? Rather than ridicule or view with contempt the malls or multiplexes or swanky cars, we should make sure this economic growth is sustainable- environment friendly, fair allocation of resources, compensation for those deprived of lands and protecting the rights of those who have been disadvantaged.
Right now these fair needs are paid only lip service or the criticism is stifled through token measures- attempts to pass a land acquisition bill that will be watered down through rules and pathetic implementation, Forest Rights Act that is poorly implemented, promises of reservation in government jobs (its funny though, over a century ago Gopal Krishna Gokhale asked Muslims and Hindus to unite and not be satisfied by the breadcrumbs offered by the British through communal electorates-their version of reservation in Legislative Councils- without any majority and law making powers) along with media campaigns that highlight these "achievements".
The focus should not be on vitriol against reforms, but on how incomplete it is and where we should do better. Education, health and infrastructure are three main areas where we have to do a lot more. If the population is not educated and healthy, if we do not build quality roads and supply electricity and water, we will not able to achieve sustainable and fair growth. Education provides better jobs, ensures accountability of the government and creates an alert citizenry who will not be swayed by emotional appeals to divisive politics and build our capacities for making use of the benefits of decentralised governance. We need better health so that we can live not just longer but also better, we need electricity not just to watch TV and rant away on the internet but so that our micro, small and medium scale enterprises are not hamstrung having to spend large part of their money on generators or have to shut down entirely. We need roads not just to speed away in a fancy car but for farmers to move their produce to the market before they are damaged. We need technology not just to send satellites but in retail supply chain and for farmers to preserve their produce, we need IT not just to provide services for the rest of the world but to ensure transparency, accountability and better delivery of public services through e-governance.
Rather than a polarised argument where one side calls for a rollback on reforms on ideological grounds or rhetoric like 'imperialism', 'western-imposed reform' while the other side asks for more reforms, doing away with all regulations (including environment protection) and talks about 'animal-spirits of the economy', 'investor sentiment' etc, we need an agenda where inclusive, sustainable development are not just economic terms, but are translated into real action.The two narratives must merge so we can implement the laws and rights properly, invest in areas of health, education and infrastructure so that the benefits of reform reach those who have been neglected by it, they are sustainable and devoid of nepotism and corruption that currently plagues our country.
There has been significant increases in literacy rate, life expectancy and certain sectors in India are the envy of the world- IT and Pharma being the major ones. But along with the optimism, there has been stinging criticism of the economic growth citing reasons of inequality, still persisting poverty, lack of access to basic facilities like health , education and infrastructure to vast majority of the population and this is the second narrative of the post 91 era. In many of these criticisms, I find there is a lack of alternatives. I agree inequality has increased- it is because the incomes of those in the upper economic classes have increased while those in the lower sections have not increased at the same rate and inflation is eating into their ability to survive. But blaming or presenting an anti-reform front, only shows a lack of practical appraisal of the situation.
The current growth owes a lot to unregulated capitalism- throwing away resources like land, spectrum and fuel to those close to the decision makers, under-employment and even exploitation by paying little or no wages (a) and this has added weight to the argument that 91 reforms are evil and does us no good. Consider the alternative, what if we stayed the same way and continued with state owned enterprises that produce little or nothing for huge losses, there we no expansion of industries and we have a population of 1.2billion?
Completely ridiculing the benefits of the reforms is a mistake because without it, we wouldn't have generated employment and education and the gains, albeit incomplete, made in the social sector. Rather than blast the reforms, wouldn't it be better to must make sure the reforms and their benefit reach everyone? Rather than ridicule or view with contempt the malls or multiplexes or swanky cars, we should make sure this economic growth is sustainable- environment friendly, fair allocation of resources, compensation for those deprived of lands and protecting the rights of those who have been disadvantaged.
Right now these fair needs are paid only lip service or the criticism is stifled through token measures- attempts to pass a land acquisition bill that will be watered down through rules and pathetic implementation, Forest Rights Act that is poorly implemented, promises of reservation in government jobs (its funny though, over a century ago Gopal Krishna Gokhale asked Muslims and Hindus to unite and not be satisfied by the breadcrumbs offered by the British through communal electorates-their version of reservation in Legislative Councils- without any majority and law making powers) along with media campaigns that highlight these "achievements".
The focus should not be on vitriol against reforms, but on how incomplete it is and where we should do better. Education, health and infrastructure are three main areas where we have to do a lot more. If the population is not educated and healthy, if we do not build quality roads and supply electricity and water, we will not able to achieve sustainable and fair growth. Education provides better jobs, ensures accountability of the government and creates an alert citizenry who will not be swayed by emotional appeals to divisive politics and build our capacities for making use of the benefits of decentralised governance. We need better health so that we can live not just longer but also better, we need electricity not just to watch TV and rant away on the internet but so that our micro, small and medium scale enterprises are not hamstrung having to spend large part of their money on generators or have to shut down entirely. We need roads not just to speed away in a fancy car but for farmers to move their produce to the market before they are damaged. We need technology not just to send satellites but in retail supply chain and for farmers to preserve their produce, we need IT not just to provide services for the rest of the world but to ensure transparency, accountability and better delivery of public services through e-governance.
Rather than a polarised argument where one side calls for a rollback on reforms on ideological grounds or rhetoric like 'imperialism', 'western-imposed reform' while the other side asks for more reforms, doing away with all regulations (including environment protection) and talks about 'animal-spirits of the economy', 'investor sentiment' etc, we need an agenda where inclusive, sustainable development are not just economic terms, but are translated into real action.The two narratives must merge so we can implement the laws and rights properly, invest in areas of health, education and infrastructure so that the benefits of reform reach those who have been neglected by it, they are sustainable and devoid of nepotism and corruption that currently plagues our country.
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