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Created on Saturday, 17 May 2014 18:10
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Image Courtesy: Congress
“India now world’s 3rd largest economy. Does Shri Modi want to say anything?” The Congress Party ran a release/article under this headline on its website on 30th April, a day after the World Bank (WB) released the summary of the findings of 2011 round of International Comparison Programme (ICP) survey.
The release quoted Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed as saying “Now it has been officially declared that we have displaced Japan to occupy the third position. Mr Modi and his team have been doing a lot of false propaganda against UPA’s achievements. They should now give a statement on this also.”
The release is based on shallow news reports. It has certainly not been prepared after reading the ICP report summary captioned ‘Purchasing Power Parities and Real Expenditures of World Economies’. This reminds one of a quote from Thomas B. Macaulay, a British historian & administrator who laid the foundation for modern education system in India.
Macaulay once stated: “Half knowledge is worse than ignorance.”
Read more: GDP rankings are a game of estimates: India is simultaneously the world’s 3rd & 8th largest economy
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Created on Friday, 11 January 2019 06:07
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(Edited Image Courtesy: DIPP)
‘Make In India’ (MII) campaign may be rocking. But manufacturing is hobbling. It is struggling to move towards MII’s daunting target of enhancing manufacturing’s share in gross domestic product (GDP) to 25% in 2020 from 16% in 2014.
If such negativity is despised, then one can perceive MII initiative at best as working in the ‘business as usual’ scenario. This is the conclusion anyone would arrive at. And for that, one has to piece together information dished out by Government in bits and pieces. This is because there is no report card on MII in public domain.
The manufacturing’s share in GDP has inched from 16.3% in 2014-15 (year in which MII launch) to 16.7% in 2017-18. It was 16.8% in preceding two years. If the inertia persists, the share might rise to 17% by 2020.
As for jobs creation, the other day Government told Parliament that it does not collect data on employment generated under MII.
Mind you, this flagship initiative of Modi Government is anchored to National Manufacturing Policy (NMP) that was notified by UPA Government in November 2011. NMP envisages creation of at least 100 million jobs in the course of attaining 25% share of GDP by 2022.
This 25% target was actually agreed in 2009 by State Industry ministers. NDA Government advanced the timeline by two years to 2020 under MII, which was unveiled in September 2014.
Under NMP, 16 National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs) have been conceived. Of these, three have got central Government’s final clearance. Not one has, however, been completed. If even one was partly complete, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, would have certainly unveiled it.
Read more: Make In India Fails to Fuel Manufacturing
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Created on Friday, 08 September 2017 18:03
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(Image Courtesy: SAIL)
Demonetization-battered Modi Government appears to be in search of Aladdin Ka Chirag for ringing in elusive double-digit growth. Its move to draft a new industrial policy reflects this quest.
“A comprehensive, actionable, outcome oriented industrial policy will enable industry to deliver a larger role in the economy; to fulfill its role as the engine of growth and to shoulder the responsibility of adding more value and jobs”, says the ‘Industrial Policy - 2017 A Discussion Paper’ released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on 29th August 2017.
The discussion paper (DP) might put off Aladdin as it is mishmash of “Illustrative outcomes and questions that trigger the search for solutions”. Had DP authors done some additional homework, they would have found solutions to all their questions in official documents including reports of expert committees one of which was specifically appointed by DIPP.
DP does not articulate policy objectives. It is deficient in offering credible solutions to major problems that delay projects, erode their competitiveness and curtail scope for productivity increase.
DP does not provide assurance to investors against risks such as retrospective Raj unleashed by Government. The new policy should promise not to hurt/kill a greenfield project with duty-free imports under a new free trade agreement (FTA). Assurance is the key to attracting and sustaining investments in highly uncertain times.
It is here pertinent to cite Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru’s statement on participation of foreign capital delivered in the Constituent Assembly on 6th April 1949.
Read more: Unveil Industrial Policy to Promote Unhindered, Efficient Production
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Created on Saturday, 22 August 2015 16:16
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(Edited Image Courtesy: Tata Steel)
‘Slumping Yuan Threatens More Gloom for World’s Metals Producers.’ ‘Yuan Drop Leads India to Mull Steel Anti-Dumping Duties.’ ‘Increasingly cheap Chinese steel is concern for Europe-Eurofer.’
These recent headlines portend intensification of ongoing battle for anti-dumping duties and safeguards duties waged by steel companies from different countries against each other and especially against Chinese producers. A few countries have taken the safeguards duty row to Dispute Settlement Panel of World Trade Organization (WTO). Several countries have also sneaked in non-tariff measures as stringent product quality norms to protect domestic steel producers.
The tariff war has also cast shadow over China’s plea that it should be treated as market economy by all WTO members.
The steel producers in both developed and developing countries are currently going through tense moments following recent devaluation of Yuan by Chinese Government.
They believe that devaluation would make Chinese steel exports more injurious to their health. Hence the stepped-up clamour for protection from their respective governments.
Read more: Global Steel industry getting deeper into protectionist tariff rut
