We should live in harmony. People have to become more tolerant with each other and should aspire to improve their quality of life. The result will fall in place. The average age limit falls within 35 and we have good scope of having abundant working class at our disposal to fulfil our dreams and our aspirations. India has the largest number of illiterate people in the world – around 268 million, a staggering 35 per cent who cannot read or write. Less than half of India’s children between the age of 6 and 14 go to school. One in every four girls in rural India drops out of school before reaching the eighth standard. We believe good education is one that broadens horizons, creates choices for the child to achieve her/his dreams.
As a true Indian, if you are keenly watching your economy, you know where you stand today. Yes, it is like adding feather to your cap when established rating agencies like S&P, Moody’s or Fitch rates you to be on a safe path and higher scale. We value it more when we hear from the internationally established rating agencies like these. We have our rating agencies too in India like CRISIL (now global) ICRA etc. Upgrading/downgrading is part of the duty of these agencies considering the economic scenario/established practises followed therein.
You find to your surprise many bogus companies appearing in Forbes list of Top 500 companies. It is still a big question mark how do they make it there. How do they bypass all established practises to reach there? I mean to have a name of their company listed in it. Similar is the case with Ernst and Young happening. It goes to prove, any jugglery is possible with the influence of the higher ups. You need to appreciate the current government for its bold move in the implementation of GST and demonetisation. GST does have its implementation hiccups – but, over a period of time, it will stand in good stead for sure.
The unanimous decision of the RBI to stick to fiscal discipline is welcome because any move to raise expenditure beyond the line marked by limits to rise in real income through productivity gains will result in inflation which will harm the people below the poverty line more severely than those above the line. It is heartening to note that there is no complacency concerning the situation arising from decline in real GDP to 7-7.5 per cent status in the first quarter of the current financial year.
It appears that fiscal stimulus through debt-creating capital will lead to serious erosion in the purchasing of power of money, which means more misery for those in the lower rungs of the economic ladder. The need of the hour is to identify items of expenditure which can be pruned without any adverse impact on real growth. A serious search for schemes involving costs which far outweigh gains should begin without delay. Even a sprinter, starts slowly and gains momentum to finish it in record time. So this slowdown must be viewed as a stepping stone for an accelerated growth in Indian economy.
It’s a slowdown owing to GST and demonetisation, both important in their own right. There were glitches, yes! But this government does not worry about votes, but for the national good and hope the people think about a good future for the country rather than immediate goals say six months or one year. We will have to wait and watch till 2019 to form a final opinion. This government is doing well and we are all confident and hopeful, because the alternative is too bleak for this country.
Honest, humble and hardworking are not quality of our countrymen. When there is no honesty and hardworking, how is it possible to improve the productivity? If there is no productivity then there would be no economic development. Nothing simpler than this! PM Modi has been working hard to change the way of our thinking and trying to create a turning point for India. On the other hand, majority of our people have been so deeply connected with easy wealth grabbing without minding honesty and hardworking. Therefore, the real reason is our people have not changed the culture and not evincing interest in honesty, humbleness and hardworking. Until the time these happen in our country, we have a struggle in hand. Tolerance is taught from school level and we should follow it in a religious way.
Jayanthy Subramaniam
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
