Hi all,
I just wanted to start such a thread or hoped someone will to discuss all the actions taken by the government, their impact and implications/consequences. This would help everyone in recollecting and remembering all important events.
The topic is not to create any conflict or a verbal vitriolic war among people but to analyse the implications and the impact of the various policy measures of the ruling dispensation.
1. Cutting and pruning of social welfare programs and not compromising of infra expenditure to rein in fiscal deficit
a. Wage/material ratio of NREGA, targeted subsidies
b. reduced spending on SSA, Rural Development
2. Labor and Industry policy
a. FDI cap increase in Insurance, Defence and FDI in railways
b. Recent labor law amendments (Factory act, Industrial disputes Act)
c. 'Make in India' and also curbing or stopping non-essential imports - going back to autarky era and import-substitution that failed in the past
3. Emphasis on technology and usage for programs like financial inclusion
a. NOFN is it failure/ success.
b. Rural branches, Service area approach, swabhimaan have all failed, why would PMJDY be a success. (Also the overdraft is effective credit default - credit guarantee fund - can it cover all, how are insurance premiums paid by NPCI)
c. Digital India - with low literacy and even lower digital literacy and the huge digital divide prevalent, is it what we need
4. Skill development and Tribal policies
a. How are we empowering the youth - I haven't seen any new measures
b. Are Nehruvian policy of Tribal Panchsheel - of letting them grow the way they want not respected - Easing environment regulations - Easier clearances, the reconstituted NBWL etc.
5. DBT/DCT etc. and other initiatives
I just want to know people's perspectives on these issues as that would help in forming views and help in framing better answers. I hope this thread is not considered redundant
Comments
Though creating a business friendly environment is good but govt must not go overboard and not depend solely on trickle down effect.
It is a flawed assumption. Even in the 60:40 ratio, the 40% of the money bound for material remains unutilized. Increasing it to 49 would not mean that more durable assets are being created.
a) wage:material issue i believe is a positive issue if implemented at district level (above it ie state level will invariably bring in politics red tapism etc below it ie at panchayat level is way too stringent eg what if a panchayat wants to build a structure to cater to its specific need like a very small bridge , embankment , crossing , library etc ,then, owing to the specified ratio it will not be allowed through mgnrega )
b)restricting mgnrega to few districts /blocks : debatable . It would be regressive step since unemployed are not really restricted to particular blocks/district. An invite for mass level protest ,almost akin to withdrawing reservation quota so doesnot seem practical. Plus it alters the very soul of MNREGA so why at all keep the act . Better solution would be to make use of jan dhan yozna + adhaar cards to target unemployed section. Monitoring progress in skill level and categorization on the basis of the same for unemployed would be again a progressive step.
2.SSA / rural development : Stress on Infrastructure development : positive step. Possible to monitor , long term investment ,etc.
But is it at the cost of monetary benefits ? Debatable . Since thanks to leakages i, the efficiency is already low . Plus monitoring and quantifying exact benefits of such programs are again difficult . So again , spending/investing Rs50 with 80 % efficiency is better than rs 100 with 20 % efficiency.
3. FDI cap :
Insurance : Not really convinced with any pro arguments except that it will bring in international outlook etc. Domestic demand itself is so low that it doesnt make a lot of sense. A scheme like Jan Bima/ Jan Swasth Bima yojna on the scale of current jan dhan yojna would probably have made sense. So i believe it is too early a step.
Defense+ railways : A very welcome and much needed step . Both sectors are technology fed so a huge opportunity for economy. Again , effective regulation and control of such vital sectors is a reflection of governance . So success and failure would depend a lot on this.
4 Make in india: Welcome . But it is in nascent stage . Pros are many Employment + manufacturing +technology + domestic cushion to economy ,security against global fluctuations . Possible cons raised in media and politics is import substitution . I believe there is a flaw in this argument . Make in india is (i hope it is) different from the swadeshi type inclination since collaboration from the industries of the world is an essential part of the policy . It would reduce cost , increase domestic consumerism etc apart from reducing deficits. But to say that there will be a total stop on consumer imports (say chinese , food based , cosmetics etc) , gold , industries based (coal , steel? , ) is a bit much . So it mostly looks positive but again it is too early.
5 Digital India : Certainly a way forward since internet usage , electronic usage would only increase. And to argue that only a small fraction (15 %, which still is a huge number ) uses internet and even less are digitally literate therefore digital india is not required is almost the same version ,though at different scale, of : what was the need to invest in mangalyan when so many people dont even have food security.
6. PMJDY : Pros: Bringing in a large fraction of unorganized sector to mainstream banking. Saving culture + safety from clutches of ponzi schemes +rural moneylenders etc .
Cons : domestic Blackmoney parking place (but then even today it is easy to park black money owing to active involvement of banks themselves : some sting an year ago )
7 Skill development and tribal policy : Too early . Emphasis is mostly on continuing / tweaking old policies. I believe LARR + Environmental clearances + tribal rights + green cover issues taken via Single window + stake hoders and experts : is a way forward .
8 DBT /DCT : i dont see any substantial cons .
9. Clean india drive + river cleaning : even the optics of it very welcome as it is more about changing attitude . However there doesnt seem to be any progress so far policy wise.
10. FCI and cacp: Restructuring :procurement storage distribution and price fixation to be diversified.
11. Planning commission : the usual rants
12. Himalayan states development : too early but good initalive since it is focused approach .
......will keep adding
Interesting Article from ET dated 26th Nov on the new Planning body and what to expect in the coming months:
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-11-26/news/56490119_1_finance-ministry-dbt-planning-commission
Brief summery:
The below 3 division will be part of the New body to replace the erstwhile Planning commission and will be placed under an overhauled Planning Ministry with each division headed by a Secretary :
1) Interstate Council, to be moved out of Home Ministry
2) Planning and Monitoring Division
3) UIDAI + DBT , DBT to be pulled out of Finance Ministry placed under planning ministry to give thrust to targeted subsidy directly to Account holders.
The Interstate Council with the greater say of states will now liaison with line Ministries and the Finance Ministry on the State Plan.
If things go to plan.. big changes coming up .. brace yourself
Present ports, except for ennore, all come under port Trust act. It is effective govt. undertaking and the units work as trustees. Now, off late this port Trust act has been restrictive in the functioning of ports as such.
JNPT and other ports have huge land banks which they cannot use for other purposes due to restrictions. Also the huge labour problem in trying to privatise the existing ports. All these lead to lower than optimal performance of port authorities.
Government now thinks having corporate entities would improve the culture, functioning of ports and improve profitability and also employ modern technology. Even they can act tough on unions if needed.
Success depends on parameters, both models are good. But privatisation can be a little dangerous in areas where there is chance of huge monopoly. We have 13 government ports and now someone comes up and does his trick, it can be dangerous.
On the other hand Indian ports cannot cater to 3rd generation ships. Private parties can infuse and diffuse newer technology and reduce the shipping costs drastically by adopting latest dredging and deep port technologies.
There are 2 models I know of,
Land port Trust model - what we followed till now
Corporate model - sagar island and ap port dugirajpatnam under this model
I am unaware of landlord model of port development. (Edit) land port model is also called landlord port model as government acts as landlord and port authority as trustee.
Maybe others can help
Well govt is coming up with modifications to mpt act that give 30 year leases of port land for development.
Also, govt can infuse technology anyday. The problems can be rectified but you know governments do have a mindset. Privatisation is the mantra for few.
an independent assessment by a reputed neutral agency should be done by government to assess the pitfalls of the schemes..and improve on accordingly
if the schemes remain dead after a gala opening then it will be a sad commentary.
adding
13) land acquisition
14) changes in foreign policy- focus on neighbours, Act east policy
15) Ease of doing business- bankruptcy code etc.
16) JNNSM renewed target of 1 lac MW by 2022 instead of 20,000 MW
17)FPI and FDI to be merged into one.
18) Home minister pointed on central legislation for cow slaughter bill
19) Many newer ministers can be seen moved out of their offices most of the time, a sign of their active participation and direct involvement and interaction with public and national issues.
20) FEMA to be amended to curb black money and sychronise with PMLA Act.
@Kitty @others please add more.