Weak economic growth figures are cause for concern!
India’s economic growth is weaker than expected says IMF and this is a matter of grave concern. Multiple factors are responsible for the weak data and time to press alarm bells to undo the damage. Unemployment and inflation are on the rise and these can create social unrest in the country which can have cascading affect not just on economy but law and order situation in the country as well. Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan as well as former PM Manmohan Singh has come out with critical analysis and government needs to pay attention to it.
Government should not just depend on RBI reserves to control fiscal deficit but take strong measures as suggested by economists to put economy back on track. Loss making PSU‘s including Air India should be sold till they command value as job of government is governance and not business. People like Manmohan Singh, Raghuram Rajan and their tribe should be heard as well as suggestions from them acted upon.
S.N.Kabra.
Need for an Indian National Health Service (NHS)
The lack of competent primary care bedevils our health system. Unless this is addressed our pitiable health statistics cannot be rectified. Despite having an excellent template provided by the Bhore Committee report, we have not made much progress in the area. The inferiority of the private health system of the U.S. in comparison with the public health service of the European countries should show us the way. Perhaps, we do need our own Aneurine Bevan to get us a National Health Service.
Babar Ali Balasathwi
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Name-and-shame Parliamentarians still gluing to government-accommodation
It refers to 82 former Parliamentarians still gluing to government-accommodations despite a parliamentary-panel ordering to cut their supply of electricity and water. Central government should adopt policy of Name-and-Shame to make their names public through media-advertisements cost of which should be deducted from their pension-amounts as part of cost involved in eviction-proceedings. Rule should be that in case former Parliamentarians and others do not themselves vacate government-accommodations within 90 days of losing entitlement, not only these should be forcefully vacated but also all such persons should lose right to contest any election in future.
Market-rents for unlawfully retaining government-accommodations should be reviewed to match actual market-rents. Overstaying persons not paying such revised market-rents and any other pending dues like for telephone, electricity and water should also not be allowed to contest any election till they clear all their pending dues. Also there should be a system of auto-deduction of such government-dues from salaries and pensions of law-makers.
Madhu Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
