 For Daily Job Alert |
Join Our Whats App Channel |
| For Free Study Material |
Join Our Telegram Channel |
Poll Budget: Boon or Bane for Bharat?
Why don’t the needs of the rural economy garner attention in every budget of every government?
The message is clear. You can’t ignore this segment. If you dare to, it will be perilous. If proof is required, bypoll results in Rajasthan offer them in plenty. Perhaps this truth has hit the NDA government hard as it enters the last leg of its term before facing the people in the 2019 general elections.
The word ‘rural’ has become the fulcrum around which the final full-fledged budget of the NDA-government is structured. Observers and analysts are quick to dub it as an election budget. The glass is half-empty or half-full as one sees it. And, it depends on which side of the political divide you are on. One can endlessly debate the budget.
This rural focus — nay, pinch hitting as in a T20 game — by successive governments in their final lap givesammunition for wider interpretation. Is it an admission of failure to focus properly in the first instance? Or, is it an articulation of genuine course-correction? Whatever be the reason, it raises serious questions on the way governments prioritise issues impacting the economic status of a vast part of the population.
Occasional focus
Thankfully, elections happen every five years in India. But for that, the word rural, it appears, would have remained in the realm of a distant memory in the minds of political masters. If ‘rural economy’ is the core for India, why is it that the legitimate concerns of the rural population are sought to be addressed only in the eleventh hour (at almost the end of their terms) by governments?
Gas links, support price for farm products, electricity connections, toilet facilities and health cover are arguably the minimum that the underprivileged lot, who form the bulk of the rural society in India, rightfully deserve but are denied.
In a country like India, State-driven institutional support mechanisms for the masses — be it for education or healthcare — are conspicuous by absence. At best, it is minimal, and support comes largely from members of the extended family.
Given this, it is incorrect to indulge in comparisons with developed economies on the subsidy issue. The latest Budget has rightly focussed on these issues. The intentions are welcome.
The timing of its announcement — ahead of general elections — however, is a sad commentary on the governing class. Everybody understands that Bharat(rural economy) is the core of India. But why is Bharat invoked only when the nation is about to go for the elections? Is Bharat a handy seasonal tool used only for poll times? Will the focus on Bharat see delivery in time or remain a part of the Budget papers? Election 2019 will give a decisive verdict.
The contrast in the India-Bharat divide is sharp. You have, on the one hand, the extravagant style ofrecalcitrant businessmen such as Vijay Mallya and the like whose shenanigans have triggered a massiveoverhaul of the corporate and banking rules. On the other, you also the see rural poor demanding the conductor of a bus to issue a three-rupee ticket quickly as he has to get down at the next stop! The funny part is that Bharat never supplies any wishlist to anybody. It patiently chugs on.
And, it silently acts during the polls. It is the non-Bharat component of India that talks a lot, lobbies hard and makes heavy demands of rulers. In the din, the silence of the Bharat is left largely unnoticed. But then, Bharat has the power to change the electoral fate of parties.
Perception management
In an inter-connected world, perception management has become the primary avocation of the ruling class. Views of rating agencies, global institutions and the international investing community merit for more serious attention than the cries and murmurs at the ground level.
Not surprisingly, the opposing views of rightists and ‘tie-wallahs’ have found expression disproportionately in the media — be it on the decision to levy long-term capital gains tax or on the move towards taxation of the digital economy by proposing to expand the scope of nexus-based business presence rules by introducing the concept of ‘significant economic presence’.
It doesn’t matter that the Budget has a host of announcements that are friendly to businesses — such as tax exemption for property transfers to a fully-owned Indian holding company from subsidiaries and vice versa and import duty rationalisation for Make In India initiatives.
The problem for the Indian economy at the moment is a combination of excess capacity and inadequate demand. “Investment will come if there is growth,” said R. Dinesh, MD, TVS Logistics, matter-of-factly. And, the onus lies on the government to revive demand. Rural India will have to necessarily form the core component of this revival exercise. How to put more money into the pockets of rural Indians? That task is better addressed by the government. That could be achieved only if India could care to foster at least an adequately nourished population in Bharat.
This cannot just be a poll-eve pledge. It has to be a permanent commitment. Policies and actions will necessarily have to be oriented towards satiating at least the bare minimum requirement of this vital cog in the economy wheel. Read against this, the ‘populist’ tag attached to the Budget is politically correct but largely uncharitable to Bharat. Subsidies to the poor and underprivileged must be viewed in the overall context of invigorating Bharat and bridging the chasm in the Indian economy.
If these are ‘no-no’ for developing a prudent economy, how could incentives and concessions to industry be right? The twin balance sheet problem (ie, the stress in balance sheet of the lender and borrower) facing the industry gives a clue about the misplaced trust that has indirectly hurt public depositors. India needs a robust Bharat to shine permanently. And, that calls for a 24X7 Bharat service. Sadly, this is looked upon as a late service call to retain power.
Courtesy: The Hindu (Economy)
1. Garner (verb): To collect something, usually after much work or with difficulty: (इकट्ठा करना)
Synonyms: Gather, Collect, Accumulate, Amass, Assemble, Store Hoard, Stockpile, Reserve, Save, Preserve.
Antonyms: Spread Dissipate, Distribute Disperse Scatter Dispel
Example: The film was critically well-received,but did not garner significant attention or audiences.
Related: Garner, Garnered, Garnered
2. Perilous (adjective) : Full of danger or risk. (जोखिमपूर्ण)
Synonyms: Dangerous, Fraught with Danger, Hazardous, Risky, Unsafe, Treacherous,
Precarious, Vulnerable Insecure
Antonyms: Harmless, Innocent, Innocuous, Nonhazardous, Nonthreatening, Safe, Unthreatening
Example: You should avoid driving during the snowstorm because the icy roads are perilous
3. Ammunition (noun): Information used to attack someone or to support an argument/ or bullets or bombs. (किसी पर आक्रमण का जरिया, हथियार, गोलाबारूद)
Synonyms: Arguments, Material, Information, Evidence, Facts, Data, Armaments, Ammo, Bullets, Shells, Projectiles, Missiles, Rounds, Shot, Slugs, Cartridges, Munitions,
Example: The president’s endorsement of the crime bill has deprived his opponents of ammunition to paint him as soft on crime.
4. In the eleventh hour (idiom): The latest possible time before it is too late. (आखरी पलों में कार्य करना)
Synonyms: Without a minute to spare, Just in the nick of time, Under the wire, In the nick of time, Just in time
Example: Just minutes before the deadline, he definitely submitted his assignment at the eleventh hour.
5. Conspicuous (adjective): Easily seen or noticed; readily observable. (स्पष्ट)
Synonyms: Prominent, Noticeable, Striking, Noticeable, Observable, Discernible, Perceptible, Perceivable, Detectable
Antonyms: Obscure, Unobtrusive, Concealed, Hidden, Unnoticeable, Imperceptible
Example: He was very thin, with a conspicuous Adam’s apple.
6. Recalcitrant (noun): Having an obstinately uncooperative attitude towards authority or discipline. (आज्ञा न माननेवाला)
Synonyms: Uncooperative, Intractable, Obstreperous, Truculent, Insubordinate, Defiant, Rebellious, Willful, Wayward, Headstrong, Froward, Contumacious
Antonyms: Compliant, Amenable, Obedient, Submissive, Yielding, Docile
Example: Despite being offered treats by his parents, the little boy was still recalcitrant about doing his homework.
7. Shenanigan (noun): Secret or dishonest activity or manoeuvring. (धोखाधड़ी)
Synonyms: Mischief, Trickery, Antics, Chicanery
Antonyms: Virtues, Fairness, Forthrightness, Truthfulness, Uprightness
Example: More business/political shenanigans were exposed in the newspapers today.
8. Overhaul (verb): To repair or improve something so that every part of it works as it should: (मरम्मत करना, सुधार करना, जांच करना)
Synonyms: Repair, Mend, Revamp, Maintain, Recondition, Refurbish
Antonyms: Break Damage Destroy Hurt Ruin Raze
Example: They repaired and maintained aircraft and overhauled their engines
Related: Overhaul, Overhauled, Overhauled
9. Avocation (noun) : A hobby or minor occupation. (धन्धा, उप-व्यवसाय)
Synonyms: Hobby, Hobbyhorse, Pursuit, Recreation, Pastime, Amusement
Antonym: Profession, Work, Boredom
Example: She’s a real-estate developer who describes her consultancy business as “a part-time avocation.”
Related: Resuscitate, Resuscitated, Resuscitated, Resuscitating
10. Chasm (noun): A deep opening in earth or rock: (खाई, दरार, गड्ढा)
Synonyms: Gorge, Abyss, Canyon, Ravine, Gully, Gulf, Pass, Gap
Antonym: Junction, Closure, Connection
Example: The little bridge over that deep chasm looked very unsafe.
