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For Every Reform; there is equal & opposite counter-reform

Created on 30 January 2015

Newton3-Edited Image courtesy: grc.nasa.gov

If Sir Isaac Newton were immortal as are his laws of motions and if he were asked to give a spin to his third law on India’s licence raj, he would have perhaps stated: For every reform; there is equal and opposite counter-reform.

He would have written this law after witnessing dismantling of industrial licence raj and its substitution with spider-web like environmental regime over the last two decades or more.

It was a crime to produce more during licence, permit quota (LPQ) raj whose phased and substantial dismantling started in mid-1991. A similar situation now exists under the environmental raj that has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 20 years to occupy space vacated by LPQ.

Under the latter regime, productivity enhancement and technological improvements without prior permission were frowned upon. Ditto under the former.

Under LPQ, the companies had to follow a strict phased manufacturing programme (PMP) that extended right up to nuts and bolts. They had to rush to erstwhile Directorate General of Technical Development (DGTD) in Udyog Bhavan for even minor alterations in their plants and manufacturing operations.

The companies hesitantly revealed their built-in additional capacity under excess capacity regularization schemes which went through few versions in the eighties. It was akin to amnesty scheme for disclosure of black money.

The companies now follow-PMP type compliance under the present regime touted as sustainable development framework. They are filing applications for amendment of environmental clearances (ECs) to take on record higher capacity of 10-20 percent over the original disclosure.

They are queuing up before environmental authorities for seeking permission for good initiatives that might be construed by green babus as violations of long-winding stipulations. The conditions are all splashed over environmental clearance, forest clearance, wildlife clearance, consent to establish, consent to operate and other such permits.

Like Dalits, Infrastructure reforms suffer for want of escape velocity

Created on 02 October 2013

SEVERAL economic reforms have been moving in circles for years for want of political will,clarity,professionalism,urgency and accountability. The overall reforms process is thus not only running out of steam but is also losing credibility. Many sectoral reforms have thus missed the take-off stage due to lack of 'escape velocity',a term that was lapped by the social media after Mr. Rahul Gandhi recently used this in the context of empowerment of dalits. Escape velocity has eluded Infrastructure regulation too. Take any sector - aviation,railways,coal mining,water and sanitation,etc. Recall and collate all initiatives proposed over the last 15 to 20 years. One would come across several instances of reforms that were studied by a committee or some other entity and later dropped or forgotten by the Government. Some of these proposals are resurrected and passed off as a new piece of regulatory innovation.

UPA taking India back to 1991-type economic crisis

Created on 01 September 2012

"AS regards import compression, you may well be right that in previous years, there was some fat in the import bill. However, in the last five months, a savage import cut has been imposed and today there is no scope for any further import compression. Even the import compression that is now in place, will have serious consequences. It will hurt industrial production, lead to large scale unemployment and will give rise to serious unrest and disruption.

“It is in this context that I seek your understanding of what we have been doing to deal with the worst economic crisis in the history of Independent India. My effort is that somehow we should avoid a situation where are declared a defaulter.”

Cash Crunch Bonds Indian Students’ Horror Tales From Ukraine Since 1992

Created on 08 March 2022

(Image Courtesy: Ukraine's Sumy State University)

Has India learnt any lesson from the day BJP stalwarts Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Harin Pathak voiced concern over the plight of Indian students in Ukraine during 1992?

Does chest-thumping show Modi Government’s reluctance to learn from past horror stories that originated from Ukraine? Can blaming the previous regimes deflect the Opposition demand for accountability? Should ministers flaunt evacuation of Indians from 100% safe airports outside Ukraine to derive electoral advantage?

The answer to these questions become clear for those who respect the history. It is a vital tool to avoid governance mistakes. Acute shortage of cash with hungry students in Ukraine is the common thread of the horror stories from 1992 to 2022.

Mr. Pathak, who was a minister in Vajpayee Government, told Lok Sabha on 7th April 1992: “4000 Indian students there are living in miserable conditions. They are facing shortage of bread and eatables and are just surviving on bread and water. Though winter season is in full swing but they do not have shoes to put on”.

He stated: “Medical students studying in Ukraine, have written to their parents that for shortage of cash they are not able to return to India...They may be given admissions here and if they need cash, then arrangements should be made by the Government to send money to them, to save these students from hunger and misery”.