IBC And GST To Farm Laws And NEP, Narendra Modi Is Reformist Prime Minister

By Gopal Krishna Agarwal,

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 20 years in public life. In the last two decades, from being a hard-working chief minister, he has gone on to become a towering global personality. He has become the longest-serving head of an elected government, fourth longest-serving Prime Minister and the longest serving non-Congress Prime Minister of India. During 2001 to 2014, he served 4,607 days as the chief minister of Gujarat. He was elected as the 14th Prime Minister of the country in 2014 and since then he has been in office. He enjoys mass appeal like no other leader, neither in the party nor in the country.
When he took the baton of Gujarat in 2001, the state was ruined by a devastating earthquake and then struggling with economic disruption due to communal violence in 2002. To revive the state, he conceptualized and held a state-level conclave ‘Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit’ (VGGIS) in 2003 to attract investment and to build investors’ confidence. The result of the efforts made by him was that Gujarat registered an impressive double-digit growth during 2004-05 to 2011-12. The growth rate peaked at 15 percent in 2005-06. According to IBEF, Gujarat is one of the high-growth states and a leading industrialized state in the country. It is estimated that Gujarat’s GDP will grow by 7 percent YoY and will reach at Rs 18.80 lakh crore in FY22.

The Gujarat development model has always been a subject of discussion. The Gujarat model made such a splash in the 2014 General Election to the Lok Sabha that it pushed Modi to the pinnacle of power. As in Gujarat, Modi found the Indian economy too in a dilapidated condition. In 2014, our economy was bracketed with the worst performing economies. The economy was going through challenging times that culminated in lower than 5 percent growth of GDP at factor cost at constant prices for two consecutive fiscals – FY13 and FY14. Wholesale price index inflation in food articles that averaged 12.2 percent annually during 2008-09 to 2013-14 was significantly higher than non-food inflation.

Ensuring Water For The Marginalised - II

By Gopal Krishna Agarwal,

The judicial approach to water rights regime in India clearly showcases the urge of the Supreme Court and various high courts to shelter the right to water, thereby, providing basic amenities of life to the poorest of poor. The constitutional right to access to clean drinking water can be drawn from the right to food, the right to clean environment, and the right to health, all of which have been protected under the broad rubric of the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

In addition to Article 21, Article 39(b) of the Directive Principles of State Policy, recognizes the principle of equal access to the material resources of the community.

The right to groundwater in India is seen as following the right to land. The Indian Easements Act, 1882, links groundwater ownership to land ownership and this legal position has remained intact since then. The definition of the right suggests that if your neighbor extracts too much water and lowers the water table, you have the right to prevent him from doing so. Thus, there are limits to an individual’s right to exploit groundwater.

In the international scenario, through Resolution 64/292, on July 28, 2010, the UN General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation, and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realization of all human rights. The Resolution calls upon states and international organizations to provide financial resources, capacity-building and technology transfer to help countries, in particular developing countries, to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.

The scope of water rights and laws in India have been widened and a positive approach has been adopted by the Indian judiciary, reflecting the international norms and standards. The National Commission that reviewed the Indian Constitution, recommended in its report, the inclusion of a new right in the form of right to safe drinking water to avoid ambiguity and also to bring clarity by constitutional provision. A legislation clearly framing the rights and duties of various government and institution for provisioning of water is the need of the hour.

The National water framework law 2016 was a step in the right direction, but unfortunately it lapsed in Parliament and could not see the light of the day.

Ensuring Water for the marginalised-I

 Ensuring Water for the marginalised - I

To control water consumption, the pricing mechanism is not effective. Creating awareness may be a better option

India is not a water-starved country. The issue is inefficient distribution and management of water resources, particularly urban water management.

Water is a sensitive issue and has various dimensions and conflicts, such as equitable access, competing uses, quality issues, displacement vis-à-vis development, commercialisation, privatisation, urbanisation and inter-State conflicts. The government has urgent task addressing these issues.

In this two-part series, we discuss the right to water and efficacy of pricing of water on conservation and consumption by the marginal sections of society. Our govern- ment strives to achieve water for all and strike a balance between the right to water for life and its pricing to recover the costs and prevent its wanton overuse.

Use of domestic water forms an integral part of a poor household's coping strategies. It is an important part of poverty alleviation. Providing a basic level of access to water and health services is the highest priority. Policy initiatives are targeted at increasing the number of households with sufficient levels of water resource and focus on consumption by the marginalised sections.

Earlier a comparison between per capita household water con sumption of sample households and the recommended norms given by Bureau of Indian Stand- ards (BIS), 2001 Master Plan of Delhi, Central Public Health Engin- eering and Environmental Organ- isation, Leak Detection and Invest- igation (LD&I) and Japan - International Corporation Agency, showed a bleak picture of con- sumption in low income areas.

As per 'India-Urban Slums Survey: NSS, 69th Round', at an all-India 

level, though households living in slum areas now have improved access to drinking water, households living in non-slum areas have better access. This disparity in water availability and use is increasing between economically lower and upper strata of the society.

The government's Jal Jeevan Mission plans to provide tapped water to about 19 crore households, Har Ghar Jal, and fulfill an important commitment in the Constitution, for provision of potable water to all its citizens. But there is a lot ground to be covered. At the policy level there are competing ideologies and divided views, particularly on pricing and conservation. We need discussion and debate on water.

Water Precious resource AFP

Pricing matters little

There are diverse views relating to the impact of pricing of water on consumption behaviour. Many studies on household consumables like water show that they are price-inelastic. Despite this inherent inelasticity, some studies suggest that price could be a good water-demand management tool.

Based on the economic principle that demand decreases with increase in prices, some economists believe that efficient water management requires clear price signals that provide incentives for efficient use of water, resulting in efficient allocation of water among competing demands.

Awareness of the prevailing price and self declared response to a change in price of water by house- holds is considered as basic indicators to gauge price sensitivity, our study observed that the consump- tion of around 90 per cent of the households of low-income colonies will not come down as their con- sumption levels were already very low.

The proportion of income spent on water is another important parameter and our study, using primary data, shows it is 4.93 per cent, implying that the households are less sensitive to water prices. Also, the proportion of income spent on water, falls as we move from the lower to higher-income colonies suggesting that the sensitivity to prices of the lower-income group is higher than the higher-income groups.

So the consumption of water demand is highly price-insensitive. This is because people perceive water as a necessity and not a luxury. It also implies that increasing the price may not reduce the consumption of water significantly. Most of the literature on willingness to pay by consumers justifies market pricing of water, as there is a willingness to pay. But an important aspect ignored in these studies is that the willingness to pay will always be there for necessities, in case of a shortage. Affordability should be given more priority in designing policies pertaining to essential elements like water. Pricing of water is a critical policy decision. The poor will be affected more than higher-income classes.

The best way to reduce household water wastage is to spread awareness about the means to save water at home. Creating conscious- ness about the repercussions of us- ing water carelessly will also help people to be more careful in its usage. Some of the water-efficient equipment such as low-flow showers and taps, dual flushing systems, water-saving equipment to wash clothes and utensils or even simple taps in resettlement colonies etc., can help a lot in conservation.

Gopal Krishna Agarwal is President of Jaladhikar Foundation & National Spokesperson of BJP: Yuthika Agarwal is Assistant Professor of Economics, Delhi University

Is The Global Pharma Industry Unhappy With India's Policies?

 By Gopal Krishna Agarwal, 

The world-class Indian vaccine, with several vaccine manufacturers and an open licence, is attractive for several countries, particularly in the developing world. Indian pharma industry will gain immensely and our country will stand out as a nation helping at the time of need. But dominant global pharma companies stand to lose billions of dollars in profits due to the policies followed and stand taken by the Modi government and this is a strong enough reason for them to be unhappy.

The Drugs Controller General of India, on January 3, granted restricted emergency use authorisation (EUA) for two Covid-19 vaccines — Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Serum Institute of India’s Covishield. Covaxin, developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research and National Institute of Virology in collaboration with Bharat Biotech, is India’s first indigenous vaccine against Covid-19. Covaxin has now received EUA from a range of countries and is in the process of obtaining it in 60 other countries. This is an important step by the scientific community to fulfill our dream of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

But the real battle on vaccines had begun earlier, when the original proposal submitted by India and South Africa to the TRIPS Council on October 2 emphasised the need for World Trade Organization (WTO) members to work together to ensure that intellectual property rights (IPR) “such as patents, industrial designs, copyright and protection of undisclosed information” do not create barriers to timely access to affordable medical products. A patent waiver would allow any company with the required capacity to start manufacturing the shot, even without an agreement with the original developer.        

However, international developers of Covid-19 vaccines such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson opposed any waiver for their doses, claiming they were capable of producing adequate jabs to meet global demand.

Pharmaceutical companies have reported sharp profit gains during the crisis. The industry’s biggest lobby group warned that this unprecedented step would undermine the response of companies and compromise safety. India then revised its proposal, to state that patent protections for vaccines be waived for a limited timeframe to address the concerns of the United States, European Union and others that opposed the original proposal. 

Gopal Krishna Agarwal is National Spokesperson of the BJP

मेल खाते हैं टूलकिट निर्देश कांग्रेस नेताओं के वक़्तवयो से

 मेल खाते हैं टूलकिट निर्देश कांग्रेस नेताओं के वक़्तवयो से

गोपाल कृष्ण अग्रवाल,

राष्ट्रीय प्रवक्ता, भाजपा।

टूलकिट कांग्रेस प्रायोजित है या नहीं, इसका फैसला कानून करेगा विपक्ष महाभारत के धृतराष्ट्र की बात याद रखे 'वयं पंचाधिकम् शतम्' अर्थात् दुश्मन से लड़ने के लिए हम एक सौ पांच हैं, सौ और पांच नहीं

महामारी एंव आपदा प्रबंधन किसी भी सरकार लिए मुश्किल होता है। जब भी देश में ऐसा कोई संकट आया है सारा देश संकट से निजात पाने के लिए सामूहिक रूप से खड़ा हो गया। कोरोना की दूसरी लहर ने सभी को हिला कर रख दिया है। इसके गहरे जख्म लम्बे समय तक जहन में रहेंगे। कोरोना से जंग लड़ रहे फ्रंटलाइन कार्यकर्ता रात-दिन एक कर रहे है। सभी को उम्मीद है कि विपक्ष सकारात्मक भूमिका निभाएगा, पर विपक्ष ने पूरी तरह निराश किया है।

राहुल गांधी जी तो केवल ट्विटर पर ही जिम्मेदारी की इतिश्री कर रहे हैं। जमीन पर कांग्रेस के कार्यकर्ता बहुत कम काम करते हुए दिखे। जो कुछ लोग कर रहे थे, उनकी मंशा पर भी प्रश्नचिह्न खड़ा हो गया है कि क्या वे एजेंडे के तहत ऐसा कर रहे थे, क्योंकि टूलकिट में सोची-समझी रणनीति के तहत अस्पताल के बेड जानबूझ कर खाली रखने की साजिश का जिक्र किया गया है। टूलकिट में कई अहम खुलासे हुए है। जिसने भी यह टूलकिट लिखा है, वह इरादतन बहुत ही घिनौना उद्‌द्देश्य लेकर कार्य कर रहा है। कोरोना वायरस के ज्यादा संक्रामक स्ट्रेन को वह भारत से जोड़ने की साजिश रच रहा है। यही नहीं, मोदी स्ट्रेन जैसे नेरेशन को बढ़ाने की बात स्पष्ट रूप से लिखी गई। भारत की त्रासदी को राजनीतिक लाभ के लिए इस्तेमाल करने का निर्देश देने का काम सुनियोजित बंग से इसके जरिए किया जा रहा है।

टूलकिट, कांग्रेस द्वारा प्रायोजित है या नहीं, इसका फैसला कानून करेगा। यह शीघ्र हो, इसकी आवश्यकता भी है। लेकिन प्रथमदृष्टया यह स्पष्ट है कि जिसने भी इसे लिखा है वह कांग्रेस की कार्यकर्ता है और उनके रिसर्च विभाग के प्रमुख के साथ काम करती हैं, और जैसे ही यह विषय चर्चा में आया उन्होंने अपना

ट्विटर एवं लिंक्डइन खाता निरस्त कर दिया। दूसरा अहम विषय है कि अगर हम कांग्रेस नेताओं और कार्यकर्ताओं के सोशल मीडिया पोस्ट और वक्तव्यों को जमीनी स्तर पर देखें तो वे सभी इस टूलकिट में लिखे निर्देशों पर चलते स्थाष्ट नजर आते हैं। राहुल गांधी के ट्विटर हैंडल को ही देख लें। कांग्रेस समर्थकों के ट्वीट्स देख लें, वे इस टूलकिट के निर्देशों से मेल खाते हैं।

जब भी किसी देश में कोई बड़ी आपदा आती है तो त्रासदी को पूरी तरह से नहीं रोका जा सकता। दूसरी लहर के घातक प्रभाव हम सभी झेल रहे है। तीसरी लहर, विशेषकर ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों पर इसके असर, की चिंता भी भारत को सता रही है। ब्लैक फंगस बीमारी भी घातक रूप ले रही है। वैश्विक स्तर पर भी इस महामारी में भारत की तरह ही कई सरकारें कई समस्याओं से जूझ रही है, जबकि वहां स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं का स्तर भारत से कहीं बेहतर था। जरूरी है कि हम इस लहई को सामूहिक रूप से लड़े। राजनीतिक लाभ- हानि, जन त्रासदी से बढ़कर नहीं है।

इस लड़ाई में हमारा सबसे बड़ा हथियार टीकाकरण का कार्यक्रम ही रहेगा। भारत का सौभाग्य है कि कोवैक्सीन यहां तैयार की गई। उसका उत्पादन जुलाई 2021 तक 35 करोड़ और दिसंबर अंत तक 216 करोड़ हो जाएगा। डीआरडीओ ने एक नई दवाई 2-डीजी के भी इस्तेमाल की अनुमति दे दी है जो बीमारी में हमारा महत्त्वपूर्ण औजार साबित होगी। बौर के के अग्रवाल 'द शो मस्ट गो ऑन' की भावना से हम इस विपत्ति से शीघ्र निजात पाएंगे।

मेरा विपक्ष से निवेदन है कि महाभारत में धृतराष्ट्र की बात को याद रखें 'वयं पंचाधिकम् शतम्।' अर्थात दुश्मन से लड़ने के लिए हम एक सौ पांच है, सौ और पांच नहीं।

After Bengal, BJP's Special focus on kerala

 By Gopal Krishna Agarwal, 

Thiruvananthapuram: It's official now. BJP is going to shift its focus heavily on Kerala. The party leadership is just waiting for the election in West Bengal to be over. To achieve the political target, the party would draw new strategies to confront the CPM head on.

The efforts would be to hold the CPM responsible for the economic crisis and development stagnation the state encounters, said Gopal Krishna Agarwal, BJP national spokesperson in charge of Kerala and a chartered accountant by profession.

"We have stopped the practice of contesting elections for the sake of it in Kerala. After West Bengal, BJP's political focus is largely on Kerala. It's only bound to increase in the future," said Agarwal who is in the state in connection with the assembly election.

The party, he said, is confident of winning the hearts of Kerala voters and form the government in a matter of a few years.

"This is not a pipe dream. We just need to explain our development agenda to the people and convince them. If a state like UP can achieve tremendous strides in terms of economic development in a span of a few years, Kerala with its intellectual capital, spices, and tourism potential, can do wonders," Agarwal said, adding that governments that always fight with the Centre won't be able to make major developmental strides.

Agarwal, who had earlier been attached to the West Bengal election, said it was the prominent presence of Marxists that scares investors away from Kerala.

"The basic concept and attitude of Marxists towards wealth creation is flawed. They talk about distribution of wealth. For that the basic requisite is creation of wealth. But unfortunately, Marxists won't address the aspect of wealth creation. Private capital is still an anathema for them. They can't perform the role of a facilitator," he said.

Good economics is good politics, he said and claimed that the economic policies of the BJP government under the leadership of Narendra Modi are focused on long-term development and growth. The new amendments brought in by the Centre on agri-culture laws, he claimed, would benefit lakhs of farmers while they would go against the interest of a few others.

 "Our reform initiatives focus on long-term agenda. It is this point we want to reiterate in Kerala. Once in power, BJP would shows the dogged and proven commitment towards the infrastructure and industrial development of Kerala. Establishment of waterways, food processing units, value addition of spices, rubber and agriculture produce would be our fo- cus. Once an investment-friendly ecosystem is established, economic growth and employment opportunities would follow. These are not claims. We have practised and proven it in the states we are in power," Agarwal said.

Our reform initiatives focus on agenda. It is this pointer long-term in Kerala. Once in power, BJP would show the dogged and proven commitment towards the infrastructure and industrial development of Kerala. Once an investment-friendly ecosystem is established, economic growth and employment opportunities would follow. These are not claims. We have practised and proven it in the states we are in power

 Gopal Krishna Agarwal, BJP NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON IN-CHARGE OF KERALA

 

Farmers Protest: Roadmap ahead

There is a marked difference between the agitating farmers and the anti-social, ultra-left and pro-khalistani elements piggy backing on these protesting farmers. Understanding this difference is important for all well meaning citizens, politicians, journalists, activists and anyone else who wishes to comment on the issues.

This agitation is not merely a law and order issue and dealing it as such will be a mistake. Secondly this is not focused on the interest of the farmers, this also is not about the three farm laws alone, so any effort for explanation about the benefits of these laws will not cut any ice with the agitation leaders. Thirdly, the two different factions; the Sikhs of Punjab, concentrating on the Singhu border and the other being the Jats mostly from the western Uttar Pradesh, stationed at Ghazipur border are showing signs of strain in their relations. People at Singhu border are averse to any political intervention, but at Ghazipur border, Rakesh Tikait and his gang, show inclinations of political ambitions. How the government looks into these two strains is important in the coming weeks. The plot has thickened, with the global players like Poetic Justice, Sikh for Justice, Justin Trudeau, Greta Thunberg, Miya Khalifa etc. jumping on the bandwagon. It is a political movement against the Narendra Modi government and has to be dealt politically.

The complexity of the situation is that, the farm laws are good for the agriculture sector and will benefit farmers to a very large extent; attracting much needed private investment in this highly capital deficient sector, starving for market based reforms over several decades, but still the leaders of movement want repeal of these laws and will not accept any amendments. The government has already bent backwards, on different occasions, agreeing to more than a dozen amendments, meeting out farmer's concerns on minimum support price (MSP) and offering to suspend these three laws for a period of up to two years, which itself makes them temporarily ineffective.

The government's reluctance to repeal them stems from the conviction about the need for market oriented reforms in the farm sector and increasing the role of private players in the agriculture economy. This stand has been reiterated over two decades by agro economist, Parliament standing Committee on agriculture, empowered committee of the State agriculture ministers and several commissions on farm sector reforms. BJP is ideologically right to centre party, believes in markets economy and the important role of business and industry community in the economic development of the nation. If this moment of reckoning is lost, it will cause irreparable damage to democratic polity of the country. The question that pricks one’s mind is, will India move towards anarchy? “The tyranny of the unelected” or will respect the democratic institutions, like Parliament, Supreme Court and the process of law making as envisaged in the Constitution.

Reform as such are very difficult as the benefits comes with a time lag and are spread thin, whereas adverse impact on certain stakeholders are marked and are immediate. Lot of political capital is to be spent on carrying out reforms and so political class is reluctant to carry them out. As such we have not seen many major reforms after 1991 and even then the reforms were restricted to attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), financial sector and international trade, being carried out under compulsion of imminent sovereign default. The leadership at that time couldn’t muster the courage to undertake major requisite reforms in land, labour and agriculture segments. If this golden moment is lost in petty politics, we may not have any appetite left to undertake mega reforms. Also, there are no more, low hanging fruits available for reforms for the government.   

Whoever may gain or lose out of this agitation, but farmers surely will be at a loss. This demonstration brute force and immaturity of farmers is a cause for worry and is majorly responsible for decades of inaction of the successive governments on agriculture reforms.

We the people of India must know that while there may have been certain shortcoming in the process of enactment of these laws, but they are the law of the land and serve the larger interest of the agriculture segment of the society. It is not in the interest of the country to get these laws repealed.

The responsibility of building right narration rests on all well meaning citizens of the country. It cannot be left to political class alone. Politics will be what it is with all its limitations in a democratic ecosystem. Let us all rise to the occasion. Among other things, the agitators have also been drawing strength from the misplaced sympathy of fellow countrymen. It is our duty to be well informed and support the Government in this path breaking reforms.

Gopal Krishna Agarwal

National Spokesperson of BJP

gopalagarwal@hotmail.com