During the second fortnight of July 2020, our honourable Prime Minister had talks with the CEOs of a few MNCs like Google, IBM etc. These were followed by his addresses to the meetings of the European Union and Indo-USA association. The main theme of his discourse was urging massive investment by leading corporations from all over the world. And all this when the whole world is desperately fighting the pandemic of COVID-19.
The irony of it is that in his and Home Minister Amit Shah’s frequent addresses to the nation they were boastfully saying that India’s war on the Coronavirus is unique because the rate of incidence is very low and recovery rate has been very high compared with other countries. Actually, the media is telling the world that everyday the number of affected persons is setting a new “record”. Recurrent lockdowns have completely dislocated all economic activities (barring actual cultivating processes on the farms). Self-employed families who had had very painful experiences of demonetisation and clumsy implementation of ‘One Nation One Tax’ i.e. the acrimonious GST which left them high and dry, are now reeling under the onslaught of COVID pandemic. The central government made many loud promises but eked out a pittance to the billions of suffering families. And nobody knows when will it end.
Instead of concentrating on the COVID front, our Prime Minister is appealing to the big money-bags of the world to rush in and invest sumptuous sums to help boost the Atmanirbharata or self-reliance of this great nation named India. Does he not know that businessmen take decisions about investments only after weighing the pros and cons of the business situation and the prospects of attractive profits. Everybody knows that depression has been lingering all over the world, much more so in India. Did he take stock of the measures initiated by the Govt during the last few months?
Need of the hour is to do silent homework. Much remains to be done about cutting down red-tape in the departments with whom the enterprisers have to deal about umpteen number of matters. There are bottlenecks in the banking system as well as in agencies engaged in supplying good quality seeds etc. to the farmers. Frequent shutdowns in electricity supply is another major hurdle.
Our honourable Prime Minister would do well to remember that the devil is hidden in the details. If we streamline our administration and take firm steps to raise the incomes of our farmers and other toiling masses so that more purchasing power reaches their hands and boosts demand in indigenous markets, the investors will come here willingly. It is wise to stop transmitting signals of desperation and doing the business of the government in a prudent manner.
Pannalal Surana (9423734089)
