Making India $5 Trillion Economy- What Should India Primarily Focus on?

Before the pandemic struck the entire world, India was expected to become a $5 trillion economy by 2025. The Covid-19 Pandemic had distorted all projections and left the world in an unpredictable state for almost a year. The economies all over the world crashed down due to the lockdowns and global unrest. Data from the National Statistical Office projects a 7.7 percent contraction for FY2021. 

But even if we look prior to the pandemic, India’s $5 trillion economy had many obstacles that needed focus to achieve the dream. One of the most important is India’s manufacturing sector. India’s manufacturing sector is not strong enough to allow expansion and integration in the global value chain. The Economic Survey pointed out that the global value chain exports could contribute a quarter of the increase in value-added for the $5 trillion goal and generate four million jobs by 2025 and eight million by 2030 via the Make in India initiative. (Reddy & S, 2021)

In order to integrate our manufacturing sector with the GVCs, it is very important to develop the infrastructure with top most priority. One example of this is China. China has done huge investments on infrastructure in the first half of the 20th century and the results of that can be seen now by the entire world. China has rapidly risen in the GVC due to its investment on infrastructure. This has led China to becoming the centre for world production. At this point in time, China is one of the strongest economies and has almost reached the stage of being self-reliant. 

India has announced Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) with the view of transforming India into an important global player and making India self-reliant. The campaign has also created confusion in the minds of the MNCs as in the initial stages of the campaign India put a ban on the import of various non-essential commodities. Although these import restrictions were put to encourage domestic production to make India self reliant, these may also be seen as an obstruction in integrating India with the GVC. The import restriction can discourage global investors and in turn harms the long term goal for becoming a manufacturing hub. 

For India to achieve a $5 trillion economy, it has to encourage more and more foreign investments in the country and be as closely integrated with the GVC as possible. The policies made therefore have to be more welcoming for the global investors and MNCs and less restrictive in terms of import tariffs. 

The government should first and foremost focus on infrastructural development in the country in order to improve the manufacturing sector and be able to competitively produce. It should perhaps create a more open trade environment so that there is free trade of goods and services. The infrastructural development can also be useful for the performance linked incentive sectors. In this regard, the government’s Rs 111 lakh crore or $1.4 trillion investments in the National Infrastructure Pipeline can be seen as an important step towards building the required infrastructure. NIP consists of investment from the centre (39 per cent), state governments (20 percent) and private sector (21 per cent). It is very important at this point that the centre and the state governments work in a collaborative manner in order to devise smooth systems and proper and timely implementations of the policies. The central government should be hands on with any shortcomings of the state government so that there is minimum or no harmful repercussions felt over and beyond. It is important to make India so strong that even though India is a labour intensive country, it can have the ability to also be a major exporter of the capital intensive commodities along with labour intensive commodities. (Reddy & S, 2021)

It is as important to develop the traditional labour intensive commodities market so that India holds its foot strong in the global market when it comes to labour intensive commodities as it is one of the major aspects of the Make In India project.

Efforts of States to Achieve $5 Trillion Goal

UP Budget 2021-22 

The UP government on February 22nd brought the state budget to the table of the state Assembly. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath presented the first paperless budget including ₹ 5,50,270.78 crore for 2021-22. It is about ₹37,410 crore more than the previous year’s budget. The focus of the budget was to make Uttar Pradesh Atmanirbhar and ensure overall development of the state. (Rudrappa, 2021)

Some of the important Budget Highlights:

1. UP government announced ₹2000 crore for Noida International Airport and also, building electronic city near airport.
2. UP budget proposed at least ₹640 crore for the overall development of Ayodhya.
3. The UP government made provision of ₹1,175 crore for metro rail projects. There is a provision of ₹597 crore for the Kanpur metro rail project in the budget presented by Finance Minister Suresh Khanna.
4. The UP government made ₹7,000 crore provision for Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojna.
5. A budget provision of Rs 976 crores for the development of canals, ₹610 crores for Saryu Canal Project, and ₹271 crores for the Eastern Ganga Canal Project were proposed. ₹104 crores was also proposed for Ken Betwa Interlink Canal Project. (D’Souza, 2021)
6. ₹1326 crore has been given for Delhi-Meerut RRTS and ₹100 crores each for Gorakhpur-Varanasi metro.

The investments on infrastructure by the UP government is one of the key aspects that could help transform India into a global manufacturing hub. The provisions made in the budget also promises to generate employment for the state leading to a higher SGDP. The infrastructural boost will lead the state to become more efficient in its development. With projects like Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, the UP government has promised to bring taps, electricity, roads, water in every household along with making the state digitally equipped. The Chief Minister in his speech mentioned that the budget focuses on the poor, women, youth and the farmers. 

Bihar Budget 2021-22

The Bihar government announced a ₹2.18 lakh crore budget for 2021-22 with focus on social sector and infrastructural development. The Chief Minister of Bihar also announced a separate department for skill development and entrepreneurship in the state. The Chief Minister announced that the government has made the highest allocation in the education sector worth ₹38,035.93 crore followed by ₹16,835.67 crore for rural development, ₹15,227.74 crore for roads, ₹13,264.87 crore for health and ₹8,560.00 crore for energy. (Bihar’s Rs 2.18 trillion budget for FY22 prioritises social, infra sectors, 2021)

Some of the important highlights of the Bihar Budget:

1. All villages in Bihar will have the facility of solar street lights.
2. A budget provision of ₹250 crore for building link roads in rural areas of Bihar.
3. The state allocated ₹110 crores towards building of new engineering colleges.
4. Three new medical colleges are already under construction. 
5. 38 districts of the state have been declared as open defecation free.

The Bihar government has also focused on developing the infrastructure of the state along with improving the rural regions of the state. This inclusive development efforts of the state government will generate more skilled employment and improve the lifestyle of the rural people. The state government has made extra effort in building a separate skill development department in order to increase the skilled employment in the state integrating with the idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat. 

West Bengal Budget 2021-22

The West Bengal government announced its budget in the absence of the Finance Minister of the state. The government has announced a ₹29,96,88 crore budget for 2021-2022. (West Bengal Budget 2021-2022, 2021)

Some of the important budget highlights:

1. ₹1500 cr allocated for the construction of 20 lakh houses for SC/STs.
2. ₹50 cr allocated for building the infrastructure of 100 new English medium schools.
3. Building of 100 new schools for Nepali, Urdu, Kamtapuri and Kurmali language.
4. 45 lakh construction and transport workers will be given ₹1000 each under the social security scheme.
5. 100 IAS and IPS aspirants will be trained by the state government along with fooding, lodging and providing stipend.
6. All kinds of road taxes lifted from January 2021 to June 2021.

The budget of West Bengal has seen a rise in the expenditure on infrastructure 3.9 times. The state’s planned expenditure increased by 7.2 times. The expenditure on social sectors has risen by 5.6 times.These highlights show that the state government is perhaps in link with the national goal but has to do more in terms of investing in the infrastructure. To build a self reliant nation, the state governments have to work in synchronisation with the central government. 

CONCLUSION 

In view of the Modi government’s aim to make India a $5 trillion economy, the state governments’ budgets do perhaps look in sync. The state governments have focused primarily on the infrastructural developments and enhancing the skilled employment in the respective states. It is very important for these states to pull up their sock in order to provide a competitive development strategy. In order for India to become a global leader in terms of exports, it is very important that the two most important factors are strongly built-infrastructure and skilled labour. 

Being a country with the largest youth population in the world, it is our responsibility to stand out and become self reliant along with being a provider for the world. The pandemic has brought in many changes and should be seen as an opportunity to develop new skills and explore the untapped potentials of the country. 

References

Bihar’s Rs 2.18 trillion budget for FY22 prioritises social, infra sectors. (2021, February 22). Business Standard.

D’Souza, C. E. (2021, February 22). UP Budget 2021-22: Yogi Adityanath govt proposes Rs 140 crore for development of Ayodhya. ZEE News.

Reddy, K., & S, S. (2021, January 13). Building a $5-trillion economy. The Indian Express.

Rudrappa, P. (2021, FEBRUARY 22). UP Budget 2021 Live Updates: UP Presents ₹ 5.5 Lakh Crore Budget To Make State “Aatmanirbhar”. NDTV.

West Bengal Budget 2021-2022. (2021, February 22). The Times of India.

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THE MUSLIM WOMEN (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS ON MARRIAGE) BILL or TRIPLE TALAQ BILL

Muslim women celebrate the passing of Triple Talaq Bill from Lok Sabha

Going by the chronological order, the first bill that caught the attention of the public eye was the Muslim women bill, which criminalized the act of triple talaq as a mean of divorce by a Muslim man. The Supreme Court pronounced Triple Talaq to be unconstitutional and following suit, the Indian government made Triple Talaq a crime, where if a Muslim man pronounced a divorce in form of triple talaq through a verbal or written contact, he would be imprisoned for a time going up to three years along with a fine. Further, the custody of a minor child from the marriage would go to the mother and the man would have to provide allowance as declared by the magistrate. Like any act, this one also had two sides in which the government proclaimed this act to be protecting the basic fundamental rights of Muslim women and saw it is a method of women empowerment and community inclusion. On the other hand, criticism came from various opposition members as well as legal experts. The most common argument was made of taking a civil dispute i.e. marriage or divorce and mixing it up with criminal intent by creating a cause for imprisonment. They also claimed that imprisoning the Muslim man would only make things more difficult for the wife and therefore, a civil arrangement had to be prepared to tackle the issue. In this case, Shashi Tharoor in his claims in Lok Sabha perfectly encapsulates his opposition to the bill when he says,

“The bill conflates civil law and criminal law by criminalizing the Triple Talaq which is an ‘irregular’ form of divorce, already declared null and void in our country post the Supreme Court’s decision on the Shayara Bano v Union of India case.”

Despite the criticism, the bill was passed on 25th and 30th July by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively and as of now, it stands in retrospective effect from 19 September 2018.

THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR (REORGANISATION) BILL or THE REVOCATION OF ARTICLE 370

New map of Jammu and Kashmir releaseed by Government of India

After the Triple talaq bill, came the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir act which was done via the revocation of article 370 and 35A from the Indian constitution. The move was considered to be a prime objective of the BJP government and the same was done on 5th August 2019 when a presidential resolution to scrap the articles was moved by Amit Shah and a bill which reorganized the state of Jammu-Kashmir was introduced. The act became effective from 31st October 2019 and is seen as a rather poorly implemented move. The background to the Kashmir issue is well known among the general Indian population but still, some may not have the best idea of article 370. The basic elements included a special status to the state wherein, it had its constitution and administrative autonomy. More importantly, citizens from the rest of India could not purchase land or property in the state. Just before the bill was introduced, Kashmir had been in a state of lockdown under section 144 preventing civil assemblies. All this happened under President’s rule which had been there since 20 June 2018. What caused an uproar, was the house arrest of major politicians of the state like Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. A large number of paramilitary troops were deployed citing terrorist threat. It was this air of tension that worsened the distrust between the Kashmiris and the central government. Going to what exactly has changed with this bill; one has to look at the statutory provisions. The act creates two new union territories i.e., Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Jammu & Kashmir will have its legislative assembly, much like Delhi and Ladakh will be administered by a lieutenant governor. Leh and Kargil will also come under Ladakh.

Another important aspect is that foreign investment will be allowed along with the right of citizens outside of J&K to buy land will be created. Lastly, the laws passed by the central government will also apply to the two union territories. The central government defended this move by claiming that it will open up the economy of the region as the foreign investment will open up new educational and job opportunities. Further, the allowance to buy property will help boost the local real estate market. Nonetheless, there has been a lot of criticism against the move made by the BJP and more importantly, the way it has been implemented. The criticism has not only come from within the country but outside as well. Pakistan has been vocal about the lack of respect towards international law and other countries have also raised concern. Former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah calls it an ‘insult being heaped on an injury.’ The Kashmir lockdown, which was initially done under threat of terrorism, has been ongoing for more than a year. This lockdown was much more stringent initially where total media and communication blackout was installed but now the restrictions have been reduced, but the lockdown continues. More than 4000 have been arrested. In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, claims have been made that this is Modi 2.0 darkest moment, citing concern over the future of fundamental rights of Kashmiris. However, the Dalit immigrants and Kashmiri women got freedom from the stringent rules enforced on them as the former was not allowed to choose any job other than that of menial labour while latter would lose its Kashmiri status if she married anyone outside of Kashmir.

CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT (CAA)

Anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh

Pakistani Hindus celebrating passage of CAA in Delhi

The act which caused one of the biggest student and national protest in recent Indian history, CAA was brought to create a crucial amendment in the citizenship laws of the country. To give a little background, one also needs to keep in mind NRC or the National Registry of Citizens. Even though NRC has been on the agenda for a long time, and even previous Prime Ministers have suggested having a proper registry of citizens but no sort of exclusion from the country of the citizens was suggested before. It was under Modi 2.0 that NRC is being seen as a threat to democracy. In NRC, one will have to prove in the form of document that one’s ancestor was presiding in India with the date of March 24, 1971, given as the final date. NRC has only been implemented in Assam and a lot of flaws have been seen but that is another issue as the rules for it were set under former PM Rajiv Gandhi and it was implemented under Supreme Court of India’s supervision. Amit Shah had previously claimed that NRC will be implemented throughout India. Coming back to CAA, in terms of its provisions, the key to understanding it is the simple fact that as per the new system, only Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian can get citizenship, for which they will have to prove religious persecution against their community in Pakistan, Bangladesh or Afghanistan. The government has defended the move by claiming that it protects the minority rights of those in neighbouring countries. The key exclusion here is that of Muslims as the said countries are theocratic states with Islam being their official religion. This caused a huge uproar which started in Assam but eventually protests moved to Delhi, where student clashes with the Delhi police reported in Jamia Milia Islamia University and JNU. Reports also came of police brutality against students who were not even protesting. The protests eventually moved to Delhi University and further solidarity protests came from all over the country including students from IITs, NLUs, IIMs and even foreign universities showing solidarity. Eventually, most of the states had some form of protest going on against the act, the most famous of which came up in Shaheen Bagh in Delhi where the community, lead by women had been protesting. Criticism which has even been identified internationally, by various countries and organizations with Office of the UN High commissioner for Human Rights is the most vocal.

Looking at the criticism, the finding is that when NRC and CAA are put together, if a Hindu loses citizenship due to exclusion from the registry, he/she can get back the citizenship under CAA and for that matter, anyone belonging to the religions state above, can gain their citizenship back, except Muslims. A Muslim who has been excluded from the NRC won’t have citizenship and will be transferred to a refugee camp which a few have compared to the Nazi concentration camp. This argument is made by the opposition whereas the government maintains that NRC and CAA are completely different and bringing them together is bending the law. The Modi 2.0 government also maintains that CAA is only for the refugees and not those who already live in India. Ex-Minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s cabinet and present Governor of Kerala, Dr Arif Mohammed Khan maintains that CAA and NRC are progressive moves and that violent protests are an act of terrorism. The COVID pandemic has slowed down the protests and it seems that the government will be able to properly implement it. The Supreme Court has also refused to put a stay on the matter.

CONCLUSION

To say that the Modi 2.0 has been bold would be an understatement. Just looking at these acts, one can see how the BJP government wants to embed its ideology within India and it has been successful so far. A lot of other things like the construction of Ram Mandir, the RTI act, handling of the COVID crisis are discussions in themselves. The idea of this article solely was to bring to light the facts regarding the three of Modi 2.0 government’s most controversial acts. What one can do at this point is to try to form their own opinions and conclusions after knowing all the facts and try to understand what the next four years have to offer.

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