A few days back, while talking to the members of Gram Panchayats, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said that we all should follow the policy of swavalamban. Occasionally, he gets such revelations. But would he stick to it? Would he give a moment’s thought to whether Bullet train is congruous with the idea of self-reliance?
Not he alone, but all classical economists, corporates and media people, should seriously ponder over the model of development that would be desirable for our country. Western model, particularly the globlisation policy, has been proved to be a jobless exercise. It has aggravated inequality. Only one per cent top people are controlling 58 per cent of nation’s wealth. Lakhs of industrial workers have been retrenched, purchasing power in the market is lowered.
Secondly, while the cost of cultivation is increasing but prises of agricultural produce not increasing proportionately, demand in the local markets is declining. So no new enterprises are being launched. Consequently, the rate of unemployment is increasing. The way out is to accord high priority to primary occupations like agriculture, animal husbandry, fishery and forest development where more jobs can be created with much less capital investment. Care should be taken to lessen regional disparities. More attention should be paid to border States like Jammu-Kashmir, Assam and 6 northeastern States. Will Modi opt for this kind of development policy?
Due to the Corona caused lockdown, almost all economic activity has been stopped in the country. Millions of labourers have lost jobs. Many in the unorganized sector are facing a similar situation. True that the government has poured about 1.5 lakh crores into the bank accounts of poor people. But as Abhijit Bannerji has pointed out, this is much less than what is needed. The government has started to allow shops and establishments to restart business. And the financial package announced by the RBI Governor may start oiling the businesses but the majority of the labourers may still not find jobs. So it is imperative that the government enhance disbursement to needy people. For that, the government will need a large amount of cash while its revenues may be dwindling.
One economist, Achyut Godbole, has suggested that a levy of 5 to 10 per cent may be imposed on the wealth of rich people. Bannerji and a few others have suggested that religious trusts like Shirdi, Balaji and Vedavaram [Kerala] may be requested to donate substantial gold and cash to the public exchequer. Luxurious lifestyle should be discouraged. Guest Control Order be made applicable to all marriage and birthday parties. The ministers should also be brought in to the ambit of such regulations. We should keep in mind that for a few years, we all will have to tighten our belts. Foreign tours and use of foreign commodities will have to be severely restricted. If the members of BJP take a lead in living austerely, things will become easier.
We socialists should continue to build up public pressure on the authorities to implement the policies suggested above.
Pannalal Surana
President, Socialist Party (India)
