Uncategorized – Page 9 – Gopal Krishna Agarwal

A peaceful India free of disturbances is taking the global centre stage

August 4, 2023

By Gopal Krishna Agarwal,

This August, we are celebrating the 76th year of our Independence. India now is a much stronger nation, internally as well as externally. This has been possible due to the determination and vision shown by our current leadership.

Apart from its historical import, the month of August has acquired additional significance due to some major milestones accomplished in the recent past, during this month.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has always stood for strong nationalism and keeping national interest above all other considerations. The focus on India First, whether it is in global diplomacy, external and internal security, or economic management, is undiluted. One of the key successes of the government has been the establishment of domestic peace, stability and the elimination of the scourge of terrorism. Home minister Amit Shah has strongly dealt with issues at home – at the core of the BJP’s agenda which bogged down India’s internal security and caused continuous uncertainties and communal tensions in the country.

For decades since Independence, Parliament has been reiterating that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, but the region continued to be disturbed on the ground, fostering and breeding terrorism.

Pakistan was bent on bleeding India through a thousand cuts. The young were disenchanted and resorted to pelting stones. The Indian leadership knew that removing Article 370 was the right step to ensure national security, but lacked the courage and conviction. The narrative was that once Article 370 is removed, there will be bloodshed in the region, and even attempting to dilute it would invite international backlash.

The way the nullification of Article 370 was handled with surgical precision was unprecedented. On August 5, 2019, the smoothness of the handling of the whole situation involved dealing with cross-border skirmishes and international perspectives through determined operations on the ground. Though no cost is high enough to be paid to maintain the territorial integrity of our motherland, it was deeply satisfying to note that the objective was achieved with little loss of life or damage to public property. Today, there is peace and tranquillity in Jammu and Kashmir and it is on the path of economic development. The PM’s vision and home minister’s acumen accomplished the task.

The Ram temple in Ayodhya was another contentious issue. History tells us that the communal tension in India had its genesis in the demand by Hindus of a grand Ram at Ayodhya. The temple was related to the Asmita and Swabhiman (self respect) of Hindus. This issue led to several riots and the loss of lives. We all dreamt of a grand temple at Ayodhya, with little hope of it being fulfilled. But the adroitness in maintaining law and order before and after the 2019 Ram Janam bhoomi verdict by the Supreme Court underlined the visionary commitment to a cause. Despite the sensitivity of the issue, there were no riots or tension anywhere in the country.

Bhumi pujan (groundbreaking ceremony) for the Ram Mandir” was held on August 5, 2020, and now the grand temple is turning into a reality. There are many such instances, but I will not go beyond the issue of triple talaq. The practice of triple talaq is the bane of Muslim women as they were the primary victims of the politics of appeasement. The vote bank of previous governments went to such of previous governments went to such an extent that gender equality, women empowerment, and equality before the law as enshrined under our Constitution, were blatantly ignored and the apex court’s decisions g were reversed through a brute majority in Parliament, as seen in the Shah Bano case in 1985. With triple talaq made illegal in August 2019, India’s Muslim women have been empowered. India is truly coming of age as a strong nation. India is now peaceful, free of disturbances, with many of the contentious issues settled, and whose point of view on global issues is being considered with respect. Our image as a strong and no-nonsense nation is now well established. PM Modi, with the able assistance of Shah, is taking India to newer heights.

Gopal Krishna Agarwal is national spokesperson of the BJP

पानी पर आम आदमी के हक़ पर नहीं हो कोई दुविधा

February 22, 2022

पानी से पेट तो नहीं भरता, लकिन इसके अलावा बिना आप पृथ्वी क्या किसी भी ग्रह पर जीवन की कल्पना भी नहीं कर सकते। जीवन का कोई भी ज्ञात स्वरूप जल के बिना अस्तित्व में नहीं रह सकता। हमारे अस्तित्व से लेकर प्रगति तक के लिए बेहद जरूरी इस संसाधन के महत्त्व को समझते हुए हमें यह भी देखना होगा कि इसका प्रबंधन कैसे हो, यह हर व्यक्ति तक कैसे पहुंचे और साथ ही इस पर मालिकाना हक किसका हो। इस समय भारत में पानी पर अधिकार को अदालतों के विभिन्न निर्णयों के माध्यम से ही तय किया जा रहा है। देश की शीर्ष अदालतों ने कई बार दोहराया है कि संविधान के अनुच्छेद- 21 के तहत जीवन के अधिकार के रूप में सरकार को देश के सभी नागरिकों को पीने का पानी उपलब्ध कराया जाना चाहिए। यह वाकई महत्त्वपूर्ण है। अब तक सरकार ने पानी के प्रबंधन और वितरण की राह दिखाने के लिए तीन राष्ट्रीय जल नीतियां बनाई हैं। पानी का उपयोग खेती से लेकर कारोबारी गतिविधियों और रिहायशी इलाकों तक किया जाता है। हालाकि ये सभी क्षेत्र एक दूसरे के साथ मुकाबला करते हैं, लेकिन व्यक्तिगत और घरेलू उपयोग के लिए पानी की उपलब्धता एक मानव अधिकार है।

भारत के शहरों में पानी की उपलब्धता मानव अधिकार के लिहाज से भी एक बड़ी चुनौती है। साथ ही यह तेजी से हो रहे शहरीकरण के साथ बुनियादी सेवाओं में गुणवत्ता तलाश रहे नागरिकों की अधीरता का कारण भी है। 2019 तक केवल दो करोड़ घरों में पानी के लिए नल के कनेक्शन थे। अब लगभग 9 करोड़ घरों में नल के पानी की उपलब्धता हो गई है। बेशक, केवल नल से पानी का स्रोत होना अच्छी गुणवत्ता या पर्याप्त मात्रा में पानी की कोई गारंटी नहीं है, फिर भी हर घर जल की योजना बहुत महत्त्वपूर्ण है। जहां पानी की पहुंच ही नहीं है, वहां स्वच्छता की उम्मीद नहीं की जा सकती है। इसलिए पानी के क्षेत्र में काम करने वालों के साथ ही स्वास्थ्य क्षेत्र के लिए भी जरूरी है कि लोगों तक पानी की बुनियादी पहुंच सुनिश्चित करने को सर्वोच्च प्राथमिकता दी जाए।

हालांकि भारत के संविधान में पानी के अधिकार को स्पष्ट रूप से संरक्षित नहीं किया गया है, लेकिन अदालतों की ओर से इसकी व्याख्या की गई है कि जीवन के अधिकार में पर्याप्त पानी का अधिकार शामिल है। भारत में जल के अधिकार के लिए न्यायिक दृष्टिकोण स्पष्ट है। इसका मूल भाव है कि गरीब से गरीब व्यक्ति को जीवन की बुनियादी सुविधा के लिए जल प्रदान किया जाए । स्वच्छ पेयजल तक पहुंच का संवैधानिक अधिकार भोजन के अधिकार, स्वच्छ पर्यावरण के अधिकार और स्वास्थ्य के अधिकार से जोड़ा जा सकता है। ये सभी संविधान के अनुच्छेद 21 के तहत जीवन के अधिकार के अंतर्गत संरक्षित हैं। संविधान के अनुच्छेद 21 के अलावा, राज्य के नीति निर्देशक सिद्धांतों में भी समुदाय के भौतिक संसाधनों पर समाज के सभी वर्गों के लिए समान पहुंच के सिद्धांत को मान्यता दी गई है।

भारत में भूजल के अधिकार को भूमि के अधिकार के साथ जोड़ कर देखा जाता है। भारतीय सुगमता अधिनियम, 1882, भूजल के स्वामित्व को भूमि के स्वामित्व से जोड़ता है। इस कानून की परिभाषा यह भी बताती है कि यदि आपका पड़ोसी बहुत अधिक पानी निकालता है और जल स्तर को कम करता है, तो आपको उसे ऐसा करने से रोकने का अधिकार है। इस प्रकार, भूजल के दोहन के किसी व्यक्ति के अधिकार की भी सीमाएं हैं। अंतरराष्ट्रीय परिदृश्य में देखें तो 28 जुलाई 2010 को संयुक्त राष्ट्र महासभा ने स्पष्ट रूप से पानी और स्वच्छता प्रदान करने के मानव अधिकार को मान्यता दी है। साथ ही स्वीकार किया है कि स्वच्छ पेयजल और स्वच्छता का अधिकार मानवाधिकारों की प्राप्ति के लिए आवश्यक हैं।

नई परिस्थितियों में पानी से जुड़े अधिकारों और कानूनों का दायरा काफी व्यापक है। भारतीय न्यायपालिका ने इस लिहाज से सकारात्मक दृष्टिकोण भी अपनाया है, जो अंतरराष्ट्रीय मानदंडों और मानकों के अनुकूल ही है। भारतीय संविधान की समीक्षा करने वाले राष्ट्रीय आयोग ने अपनी रिपोर्ट में पानी के अधिकार संबंधी स्थिति में संवैधानिक प्रावधान के माध्यम से स्पष्टता लाने की जरूरत बताई है। इसके लिए सुरक्षित पेयजल के अधिकार के रूप में एक नए अधिकार को शामिल करने की सिफारिश भी इसने की है। राष्ट्रीय जल कानून 2016 सही दिशा में एक कदम था, लेकिन दुर्भाग्य से यह संसद में पास नहीं हो पाया। पानी के प्रावधान के लिए विभिन्न सरकारों और संस्थाओं के अधिकारों-कर्तव्यों को स्पष्ट रूप से दे रखने वाला कानून समय की आवश्यकता है।

यह सुनिश्चित करना आवश्यक है कि हर व्यक्ति तक आसानी से पानी पहुंच सके|

गोपाल कृष्ण अग्रवाल अध्यक्ष, जलाधिकार फाउंडेशन

युथिका अग्रवाल सहायक प्रोफेसर, अर्थशास्त्र, दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय

Budget for India @75 is a template for Amrit Kaal

February 3, 2022

A focused, business-like approach to the budget at a time when there was pressure to come up with a populist one shows the maturity and sagacity of the Narendra Modi government. It leaves no doubt that the government is clear on long-term objectives and not too perturbed by short-term disruptions, and that it is committed to putting India on the trajectory of a high single-digit growth rate on a sustainable basis.

The budget is high on policy stability, predictability and trust-based governance. This is evident from the fact that it has left all important provisions related to direct and indirect taxation unchanged. Government after government has tweaked the tax regime in successive budgets, but the finance minister (FM) has changed the narrative this time. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to keeping tax rates low and, at the same time, easing tax compliances by giving an opportunity to taxpayers to rectify their tax return, subject to a few conditions.

The government has also decided to follow a sound litigation management policy and declared that if a question of law is pending before a jurisdictional high court or the Supreme Court, the tax department will not file any appeal in a matter involving the same question of law till the time it is settled. Stable and predictable policies play an important role in engendering private economic decisions and fostering economic growth.

While there are many takeaways from the budget, the continued emphasis on public capital expenditure (capex) is one of the highlights. The FM reiterated that private capital expenditure is still weak, and the government will have to do the heavy lifting. Public capex has been increased by a whopping 35% to ₹7.5 lakh crore for 2022-23. Together with central government grants and aids to state governments for capital expenditure, this figure goes up to ₹10.68 lakh crore. As a result of this, private capex may take off sooner than expected. This will catalyse growth in many business ecosystems. The Economic Survey 2021-22 has already showed that there has been an uptick in bank credit growth.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which are the backbone of the manufacturing sector, have been more severely impacted by Covid-19. Keeping this in mind, the government has extended the Emergency Credit Guarantee Line by one additional year to March 31, 2023, with additional ₹50,000 crore for hospitality and related sectors that were hit the hardest by the pandemic. Credit guarantee for micro and small enterprises (CGTMSE) has also been revamped. Thus, the ameliorative measures in the budget are extremely targeted, bringing efficiency in the use of taxpayers’ money.

The government has also struck a fine balance between capital expenditure and fiscal consolidation. Fiscal deficit for FY 22-23 has been projected at 6.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the government remains committed to bring it below 4.5% of the GDP by 2025-26. The glide path is going to be smooth and gradual. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection of ₹1.41 lakh crore in January 2022, the highest since the inception of this transformative tax regime, assures us of the strength of economic recovery post-pandemic. Hence, there should not be any negative surprises on the revenue front in the coming financial year. We must bear in mind that the current average tax rate under GST is around 11.6%, which is much below the revenue-neutral rate of 15-15.5% calculated by an expert body at the time of its implementation. Therefore, there is enough room to further increase GST collection, should the government choose to.

Nowhere is the budget as future oriented as when it talks about urbanisation. We all know that our top six cities are bursting at the seams and all additional expenditure being incurred by their governments is to mostly make them liveable for the existing population.

The FM rightly said that our tier-2 and tier-3 cities will have to step up to shoulder the responsibility of ongoing urbanisation. Cities and towns can be our future engines of growth only when they are properly planned, inclusive and operate on sustainable principles, not when they present a picture of squalor and apathy.

The emphasis on new building by-laws, revamped town planning and creating centres of excellence in these areas in leading academic institutions through the grant of ₹250 crore to five such institutions show the commitment of the Modi government in this area.

It is evident from the budget speech that the PM Gati Shakti is going to be the linchpin around which the government will build a world-class, seamless, multi-modal transport and logistics infrastructure, based on clean energy. One of the reasons why our manufacturers are not globally competitive has to do with high logistics costs and broken domestic supply chains.

The share of logistics costs right now is around 14% of GDP and the government is committed to bring it down to 8-9%. Gati Shakti, with its focus on seven engines (sectors), will bring down logistics costs, reduce tedious documentation and enable lean inventory management.

In her speech, the FM said that this budget will set the template for the next 25 years, from India@ 75 to India@100, the 25 years of Amrit Kaal. If India commits itself to follow this template of high public capital expenditure, control on populist measures, stable and predictable tax regime and government policies, and a single-minded focus on reforms, this budget will be remembered as the trailblazer.

E-Shram Portal: an effort for the welfare of marginalized workers

December 30, 2021

Introduction

E-Shram portal is a data base for unorganized sector workers developed by Ministry of labour and employment (MOLE) which is linked with Aadhar. Unorganized workers receive an e-Shram card/id on digital form after registration at the portal. They also can update their profiles through portal or mobile app. This app will help in creating awareness about various welfare programmes and entitlements for the workers in the unorganized sector.

Although registration was recommended by the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS) and made mandatory by Unorganized Workers’ Social Welfare Act 12 years ago, thanks to Narendra Modi Govt’s recent initiatives that the e-Shram portal has been actively to target in the unorganized sector workers. In May 2021 the Supreme Court also issued a ruling for introducing a temporary, comprehensive and universal registration system for informal workers and rotating migrants. In fact, both informal worker and rotating migrants are alternatively known as unorganized sector workers.

As per Periodic Labour Force Survey PLFS (2018-19), nearly 88 per cent of workers are engaged in the unorganized sector while it contributes nearly 52 per cent to our GDP. On the contrary, the organized sector contributes nearly 48 per cent to the GDP while it employs hardly 12 per cent of the entire workforce. This indicates the glaring in equality in the distribution of income. So far it has been impossible to provide any timely relief, forget about providing social security because it is difficult to exactly identify the large number of invisible unorganized sector workers. The NSSO survey which are conducted at different points of time, do not adequately capture their extent and magnitude. E-Sharm Portal is a right step in this direction.

The Benefits for the Registered Workers

The Universal Account Number on e-Shram card will be acceptable all over the country for obtaining social security benefits such as insurance coverage, maternity benefits, pensions, educational benefits, provident fund benefits, housing schemes etc. For the social security benefits the workers need to add the details of their identification like, name, occupation, address, education qualifications, skill, etc. on the portal. Also, through e-Shram card, the migrant workers can take admission for their children in the nearby school, which is one of the major problems, they are facing now. The e-Shram id will be used as their identity card. Further, the beneficiaries will get benefit Rs 2 lakh on death or permanent disability and Rs. 1 lakh for partial disability under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).

The Progress

The e-Shram portal has been made available to states/UTs to register all eligible workers in the unorganized sector including construction workers, migrant workers, gig and platform workers, street vendors, domestic workers, agriculture workers, milkmen, fishermen, truck drivers etc. The eligible workers can register through, over four lakh Common Service Centres (CSCs), which act as access points for delivery of digital services. As on 30^th December 2021, the portal has registered around 162 million workers, 67% which are from five states: Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand. These are the major states as far as the number of registrations on E-Shram portal is concerned (see Fig-1).

Figure 1: Share of Major States (in %) in total registration on E-Shram Portall

As shown in Figure-1, these five states account for around seventy per cent of total registration. From which Uttar Pradesh has the highest enrollment, followed by west Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.

The portal also collects data of unorganized workers with regards to their occupations. As we know, occupational structure in Indian economy depends upon three different sectors viz., agriculture (primary) industry (secondary) and services (tertiary). In E- shram portal shows that 62 percent of people have enrolled in the primary sector which is higher than the other sectors. Agriculture and construction sectors engage the maximum number of workers in the unorganized sector. The relative distribution of various occupations among the registered workers is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Percentage Distribution of registered workers by major occupations

Apart from agriculture and construction, many more have registered in this portal from different occupations like, domestic and household workers, apparel sector workers, automobile and transport sector workers, electronics and hardware workers, capital goods workers, education, healthcare, retail, tourism and hospitality, food industry. Besides occupation, the portal also collects data on the gender of the workers. Given the number of registration so far, the distribution by gender is presented in figure 3.

Figure 3: Registration of workers by gender (in %)

As shown in figure 3, gender-wise analysis of e-Shram portal registrations shows that more females have registered than the males. For the females it is around 52 per cent while the rest 48 per cent comprise of male workers. Certainly, higher registration of female workers is surprising given their lower participation in labour force. Further the e-Shram portal data suggested that around 94 per cent of workers registered earn an income of Rs. 10,000 or below, per month. Also, the collected data reveals that a large number of workers are young i.e. around 61 per cent of registered workers belong to 18-40 age group. Moreover, the portal also records the migration status. However, the information getting collected is highly inadequate to draw any concrete inference about the status of migrant workers.

Conclusion

The portal is part of digitization process that has assumed a crucial part in prospering the Indian economy. The “make in India” drive has given a gigantic push to digitalization of India, with the help of digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), remote sensing, big data, block chain and IoT. Thus, the e-Shram portal: the exceptional drive is a much-needed development as it will bring unorganised laborer’s data under one umbrella which will help the Govt. to address their concerns.

त्योहारी सीजन में खरीदारी के लिए दोगुने ग्राहक तैयार, ऑनलाइन शॉपिंग और डिजिटल भुगतान पर सभी का जोर

October 1, 2021

गोपालकृष्ण अग्रवाल,

आर्थिक विषज्ञ

लोकल सर्किल के एक सर्वे में कहा गया है कि मई के महीने में केवल 30 फीसदी उपभोक्ता त्योहारी सीजन में खऱीदारी की योजना बना रहे थे, जबकि सितंबर महीने में 60 फीसदी उपभोक्ताओं ने कहा कि वे आने वाले त्योहारी सीजन में घरेलू उपभोग के लिए खरीदारी करेंगे। इस प्रकार खरीदारी के लिए तैयार उपभोक्ताओं की संख्या में 100 फीसदी का सुधार आया है…

अर्थव्यवस्था के मोर्चे पर एक और अच्छी खबर है। मई महीने की तुलना में दोगुने ग्राहक आगामी त्योहारी सीजन में खरीदारी करने के लिए तैयार हैं। मई में केवल 30 फीसदी ग्राहक ही खरीदारी करने की योजना बना रहे थे, जबकि सितंबर महीने में यह आंकड़ा दोगुना बढ़कर 60 फीसदी हो गया है। कुल खरीदारी में बड़ा हिस्सा ऑनलाइन बाजार के हिस्से जाने वाला है तो दुकानों की रिटेल खरीद को कुल खरीद का लगभग 48 फीसदी हिस्सा मिलने वाला है। सामानों की खरीद में स्मार्टफोन, इलेक्ट्रॉनिक्स और त्योहारी सीजन के उपहार सबसे ऊपर रहने वाले हैं। आर्थिक विशेषज्ञ इसे अर्थव्यवस्था के सुधरते संकेत के रूप में देख रहे हैं।

लोकल सर्किल के एक सर्वे में कहा गया है कि मई के महीने में केवल 30 फीसदी उपभोक्ता त्योहारी सीजन में खऱीदारी की योजना बना रहे थे, जबकि सितंबर महीने में 60 फीसदी उपभोक्ताओं ने कहा कि वे आने वाले त्योहारी सीजन में घरेलू उपभोग के लिए खरीदारी करेंगे। इस प्रकार खरीदारी के लिए तैयार उपभोक्ताओं की संख्या में 100 फीसदी का सुधार आया है।

खरीदारी के लिए तैयार कुल उपभोक्ताओं में आधे से कुछ ज्यादा 52 फीसदी ने कहा कि वे यह खरीदारी ऑनलाइन बाजार से करेंगे, जबकि 48 फीसदी उपभोक्ता बाजार में जाकर चीजें पसंदकर खऱीदारी करने की तैयारी कर रहे हैं। खरीदारी करने वाले उपभोक्ताओं में 55 फीसदी ने कहा कि वे स्मार्टफोन या कोई इलेक्ट्रॉनिक सामान खरीदने की योजना बना रहे हैं तो 67 फीसदी उपभोक्ताओं ने कहा कि वे कपड़े और फैशन से जुड़े उत्पाद खरीदेंगे।

दीपावली के सीजन में दिए जाने वाले उपहारों के कारण ड्राइफ्रूट या मिठाइयों की खरीद में भी उछाल आएगा। लगभग 72 फीसदी उपभोक्ता ड्राईफ्रूट, चॉकलेट या मिठाइयां खरीदने की तैयारी कर रहे हैं। 48 फीसदी उपभोक्ताओं ने कहा कि वे अपने प्रियजनों के लिए ऑनलाइन सामान खरीदेंगे तो 42 फीसदी उपभोक्ता अपने आसपास की दुकानों से उपहारों की खरीद करेंगे।

दो-तिहाई डिजिटल पेमेंट

ऑनलाइन खरीदारी और डिजिटल पेमेंट अब सामान्य ट्रेंड बनने की ओर तेजी से बढ़ रहा है। लगभग 66 फीसदी उपभक्ताओं ने कहा है कि वे खरीद के लिए ऑनलाइन माध्यम या डिजिटल माध्यम से भुगतान करेंगे। यह सर्वे देश के 396 जिलों में 1.15 लाख उपभोक्ताओं और 38 हजार घरों में लोगों से बातचीत कर तैयार किया गया है। इसमें 67 फीसदी पुरुष और 37 फीसदी महिलाएं शामिल थीं।

हर मानक दिखा रहे अर्थव्यवस्था में तेजी

आर्थिक विशेषज्ञ और भाजपा के राष्ट्रीय प्रवक्ता गोपाल कृष्ण अग्रवाल ने अमर उजाला से कहा कि अर्थव्यवस्था के हर बड़े मानक सुधार का संकेत दे रहे हैं। अर्थव्यवस्था के अग्रिम सेक्टर के उद्योगों में 11.2 फीसदी की रिकॉर्ड वृद्धि दर्ज की गई है। मैन्युफैक्चरिंग सेक्टर में भी वृद्धि हो रही है। केंद्र का जीएसटी कलेक्शन हर महीने एक लाख करोड़ रुपये से ज्यादा दर्ज किया जा रहा है। 81 फीसदी कामकाजी श्रमिकों का वेतन कोरोना पूर्व काल की स्थिति में आ गया है। बजटीय घाटा लगातार कम हो रहा है। ये संकेत बता रहे हैं कि अर्थव्यवस्था बेहतर स्थिति में आ रही है।

भाजपा नेता ने कहा कि अब तक खुदरा सामानों की बिक्री, मांग में कमी और रोजगार के मोर्चे पर अपेक्षित सुधार न होना चिंता का कारण बना हुआ था। लेकिन केंद्र और राज्य सरकारों ने अपने कर्मचारियों के महंगाई भत्ते में बढ़ोतरी की है और निर्माण कार्यों में तेजी आने से रोजगार के अवसरों में वृद्धि हो रही है। इससे शहरी क्षेत्र के उपभोक्ताओं की खरीद क्षमता में सुधार आया है।

वहीं, कृषि उत्पादों के निर्यात में बढ़ोतरी और फसलों की खरीद से किसानों के हाथ में पैसा पहुंचा है। केंद्र सरकार के द्वारा चलाई जा रही जनकल्याणकारी योजनाओं से भी ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में लोगों की आर्थिक क्षमता सुधरी है। इन सब प्रयासों का सकारात्मक परिणाम देखने को मिल रहा है कि लोगों की खरीद क्षमता में सुधार आ रहा है और बाजार में मांग में बढ़ोतरी हो रही है। उन्होंने कहा कि आगे आने वाले दिनों में यह गति बनी रहने की उम्मीद है।

भरोसेमंद नहीं आंकड़े

दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय के राजधानी कॉलेज में अर्थव्यवस्था के प्रोफेसर डॉ. आभास कुमार ने अमर उजाला से कहा कि इन आंकड़ों पर बहुत भरोसा नहीं किया जा सकता। तकनीकी जानकारी न रखने वाला व्यक्ति भी बाजार में निकलकर देख सकता है कि लोगों के कामकाज में अपेक्षित वृद्धि नहीं हुई है और दुकानों में खरीद अभी कोरोना पूर्व के काल में नहीं आया है। ऐसे में अर्थव्यवस्था के बहुत तेज सुधार के दावे सही नहीं लगते।

प्रो. आभास कुमार के अनुसार, ज्यादातर मानकों के मामले में सरकार कोरोना काल से आज के आंकड़ों की तुलना कर अर्थव्यवस्था के बेहतर होने की बात कह रही है जो भ्रामक सूचना है। कोरोना काल में देश की अर्थव्यवस्था एक तिहाई कामकाज के भरोसे चल रही थी। दो तिहाई कामकाज पूरी तरह से ठप था और अर्थव्यवस्था में रिकॉर्ड गिरावट हुई थी। इसलिए उस स्थिति से तुलना कर आज बेहतरी का दावा करना उचित नहीं है।

हालांकि, यह सही है कि केंद्र-राज्य सरकारों ने अपने-अपने कर्मचारियों के महंगाई भत्ते जारी किए हैं, इससे इनकी खरीद क्षमता बढ़ी है और ये आने वाले त्योहारी सीजन में खरीदारी कर बाजार को एक गति देने का काम कर सकते हैं। लेकिन पूरे देश की आबादी में बेहद सीमित हिस्सा रखने वाला सरकारी नौकरी पेशा वर्ग इतनी बड़ी क्षमता नहीं रखता, जिससे उसके आधार पर पूरे देश की अर्थव्यवस्था में सुधार आने का दावा किया जा सके।

बाजार के कामकाज में सुधार तो हुआ है लेकिन अभी भी यह 50-60 फीसदी तक ही वापस आया है। बेरोजगारी अभी भी चिंताजनक स्तर पर बनी हुई है और हर चीजों की कीमतों में लगातार हो रही वृद्धि आम उपभोक्ताओं की कमर तोड़ रही है। ऐसे में अर्थव्यवस्था ठीक हो गई है और लोगों की क्रय क्षमता वापस आ गई है, इस मनोवैज्ञानिक स्तर तक पहुंचने के लिए अभी इंतजार करना होगा।

(ये लेखक के अपने विचार हैं)

Ensuring Water for the marginalised – I

July 7, 2021

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

After Bengal, BJP’s Special focus on kerala

May 8, 2021

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 INCHARGE OF KERALA

Reform 2.0 Labour Codes

March 12, 2021

After Atma Nirbhar Bharat stimulus package our government has embarked on two major reforms in agriculture and labour laws. These policy reforms are market orientated, bringing efficiency, transparency and easy of compliances in both the segments.

India had 67 percent of population in the working age (15-64 years) in 2019 according to the World Bank. This high ratio of working to non-working age population, gives us an opportunity to reap the demographic dividend, if we are able to gainfully employ this population. The window is small and closing fast because of falling fertility rates in India. If we as a country miss this opportunity, we will be old before we get rich. With this and the fact that employment is poverty alleviating in mind, Modi government is in overdrive to set an enabling environment.

Indian labour laws are considered complex and restrictive. One of its defining characteristics is job security of workers covered under it. Complexity also implies huge compliance burden for the companies. As a consequence of this, the labour to capital ratio is low despite the fact that India is a labour abundant and capital scarce country. Rigidities in the labour market have also ensured that the employment elasticity of Indian economy has remained low. Therefore GDP growth does not lead to commensurate employment generation.

A disturbing feature of Indian labour sector is its very high degree of informality. 93 percent of India’s labour force works informally. About 80 percent of it works in the unorganized sector and the remaining is employed informally in the organized sector of the economy. Therefore a lot of focus in these codes has been to promote formal employment. The definition of ‘employees’ in the code on social security has been expanded to include workers employed through contractors, self employed migrant workers, additional categories of platform workers etc. It also provides for a registration of unorganized workers, gig workers and platform workers and says that the Central government will set up a social security fund for such workers. These provisions together with measures like making appointment letters compulsory and allowing business enterprises to hire workers directly on contract are aimed at reducing informality.

One of the most significant changes brought through the new industrial relations code is the introduction of fixed term contracts. The first time fixed term contracts were introduced was in 2016 but it was only for the apparel industry. Though in 2018 it was allowed for other industries as well, the effect was limited because this new form of employment was introduced through changes in rules made under the Standing Orders Act which applies only to industrial establishments with 100 or more workers. In the absence of such an enabling provision, companies were forced to hire workers informally. Thus, this change is expected to boost employment in industries that experience seasonality in production. Workers will be eligible for all statutory benefits available to a permanent worker proportionately, according to the period of service rendered by them and the minimum qualifying period would not apply to them.

Focus of the current codes on self certification, reduced compliance and simplification will lead to a lower cost of doing business. Closure, lay-offs and retrenchment in factories employing up to 300 workers would now not need prior approval of the concerned Government. This, coupled with the fact that even the Standing Orders has been made applicable to establishments with over 300 workers means that smaller companies would not be hobbled by regulatory cholesterol. Not only this, the code on occupational safety, health and working conditions has increased the threshold of its applicability to 20 workers where the manufacturing process is carried out using power and 40 workers without using power. Government rightly believes that when enterprises grow up to a certain size only then they would be in a position to bear higher compliance burden. The biggest beneficiary of the new codes would be the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Sector. This sector produces 40 percent of India’s GDP and employs a higher number of people per unit of invested capital.

With other supportive measures like production linked incentives, globally competitive corporate tax rate and balanced free trade agreements, we can safely say that the Central government has almost solved the jigsaw puzzle that Indian manufacturing sector had become and with the coming Budget 2021 and the years that follow, would see exponential growth in manufacturing and employment.

Economic reforms require expending political capital by the governments, as the benefits of reforms are spread thin and apparent only with a time lag and seemingly adverse impact on certain stakeholder are felt immediately. Therefore, India has not seen many major reforms since 1991 and even then important areas like land, labour and agriculture were left out of agenda. The biggest take away from these codes and the recent reforms in the agricultural sector, is a confirmation that a reformist government is at the helm of affairs that will get Indian economy rid of its socialist vestiges. That, for me, is a very reassuring feeling.

Gopal Krishna Agarwal

National Spokesperson of BJP

gopalagarwal@hotmail.com

बजट – 2021 – नए भारत का आधार

यह बजट असाधारण परिस्थितियों में पेश किया गया है जब देश कोरोना संक्रमण के दौर से जूझ कर हर क्षेत्र में विकास के लिए आगे बढ़ने के लिए तैयार है। यह सभी वर्गों खास कर युवाओं, बुजुर्गों, महिलाओं, संगठित एवं असंगठित क्षेत्र के मजदूरों और छोटे बड़े उद्यमियों की आशाओं व आकांक्षाओं को पूरा करने वाला बजट है।

कौरोना की त्रासदी से हम सभी के ध्यान में आया कि स्वास्थ्य एवं आर्थिक विकास ऐसे दो क्षेत्र का देश के विकास में महत्वपूर्ण स्थान है। सरकार की पहली प्राथमिकता में जनजीवन के स्वास्थ पर ध्यान देना था जिसके फलस्वरुप आज हम कौरोना की मार से काफी हद तक निकलने की स्थिति में आ गए हैं। सरकार ने इसकी भी चिंता की है कि गरीब, ग्रामीण लोगों तक लाभ धनराशि के रूप में सीधे पहुंचे। आत्मनिर्भर भारत योजना ने इस कार्य को तीव्रता से आगे बढ़ाया। अगला कदम था जो कोरोना के कारण अर्थव्यवस्था को धक्का लगा उसे दुरुस्त करना। मोदी जी ने अर्थव्यवस्था को वापस पटरी पर लाने का काम किया और आज अगर हम देखें तो देश की अर्थव्यवस्था पूनः विकास पथ पर अग्रसर हो गई है। रिसर्व बैंक की रिपोर्ट हो या वित्त मंत्रालय की मासिक आर्थिक रिपोर्ट सभी देश की आर्थिक पहलुओं की मजबूत स्थिति दर्शाती है। परचेस मैनेजर इंडेक्स भी उद्योगों की बढ़त ही दर्शाता है। इंडस्ट्रियल प्रोडक्शन सूचकांक भी आठ क्षेत्र में विकास की अच्छी दर दर्शा रहा है। जीएसटी का कर संग्रह पिछले तीनों माह में एक लाख करोड से ऊपर रहा है। इन से इतर आईएमएफ रिपोर्ट के अनुसार भी भारत की सकल घरेलु अर्थव्यवस्था अगले वर्ष 11.5 प्रतिशत से बढ़ेगी और भारत विश्व की सबसे तीव्र गति से बढ़ने वाली अर्थव्यवस्था बना रहेगा।

इस बजट में इस मजबूत आर्थिक आधार को और समर्थन देने की आवश्यकता थी जिसको वित्त मंत्री जी ने बखूबी निभाया है।

यह छः स्तंभो को रेखांकित करने वाला नए दशक का बुनियादी दृष्टि -पत्र है। कोविड संक्रमण की विषम परिस्थिति में प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी ने भारत की क्षमता को पहचानते हुए ‘आत्मनिर्भर भारत का संकल्प’ देश के सामने रखा। यह बजट आत्मनिर्भरता के उसी संकल्प को सिद्ध करने की कड़ी है।

ऐसे सर्वस्पर्शी, सर्व-समावेशी एवं देश के सर्वांगीण विकास के प्रति समर्पित बजट 2021-22 में में स्वास्थ और कल्याण, वित्तीय पूंजी, समावेशी विकास, मानव पूंजी का विकास, अनुसंधान एवं विकास और न्यूनतम सरकार और अधिकतर शासन पर विशेष ध्यान दिया गया है।

इस बजट में ढ़ाचागत सुधारों पर विशेष जोर दिया गया है। पिछले बजट में कैपिटल एक्सपेंडिचर के लिए 4.21 लाख करोड़ रुपए दिए गए थे जबकि इस वर्ष 5.54 लाखों रुपए खर्च किए जाने का प्रावधान किया गया है जो कि पिछले बजट से 34 फ़ीसदी अधिक है। व्यापक रूप से अचल संपत्ति जैसे सड़क मार्ग, रेल, हवाई अड्डा, पुल आदि के निर्माण में खर्च धनराशि से व्यापार में सुविधा एवं दैनिक जीवन यापन में सहूलियत होती है। इस बढे हुए खर्च से अर्थव्यवस्था में मांग बढ़ेगी स्टील, सीमेंट, कंसट्रक्शन का सामान सभी क्षेत्र में तेजी आएगी और उद्योग एवं नौकरियों का सृजन भी होगा।

7 मेगा टैक्सटाइल पार्क बनाने की घोषणा की गई है जो देश में रोजगार सृजन में बहुत बड़ी भूमिका निभाएगा। स्वास्थ्य क्षेत्र में सुधार को भी आगे बढ़ाया गया है। स्वास्थ्य के क्षेत्र में सरकार ने अपने खर्च को 137 प्रतिशत बढ़ाया है। आज कोरोना की दो वैक्सीन भारत में बनी है। भारत वैक्सीन एवं दवाइयों के क्षेत्र में एक विश्व शक्ति बनकर आने वाले समय में उभरेगा। इसका इस बजट में पूरा ख्याल रखा गया है।

शिक्षा एवं रिसर्च पर विशेष ध्यान दिया गया है। शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में मोदी सरकार ने कई कदम उठाए हैं। 100 से ज्यादा सैनिक स्कूलों और हायर एजुकेशन काउंसिल (HECI) का गठन तथा 15,000 स्कूलों को आदर्श स्कूल बनाए जाने का प्रस्ताव स्कूली शिक्षा को मजबूत करेगा। रिसर्च के लिए भी 50,000 करोड़ रुपए अलग से रखे गए हैं। आदिवासी इलाकों में 38,000 करोड़ रुपए की लागत से 750 एकलव्य स्कूल खोले जाने का प्रयास भी काफी उत्तम है। शिक्षा की दृष्टि से यह काफी सराहनीय कदम है।

किसानों की आय दोगुना हो, उसकी उपज का उन्हें सही मूल्य मिले, उन्हें अपनी फसल बेचने में कठिनाई न हो, किसानों की मेहनत आढ़तियों तथा बिचौलियों की भेंट न चढ़े, इसको लेकर सरकार लगातार सुधारवादी कदम उठा रही है। फसलों पर एमएसपी बढ़ाकर उसे उत्पादन लागत का डेढ़ गुना किया गया है। साथ ही मोदी सरकार ने कांग्रेस की यूपीए सरकार से करीब 3 गुना अधिक राशि देश के किसानों के खाते में अब तक पहुंचा दी है।

मोदी सरकार जन-जन तक स्वच्छ पीने का पानी पहुंचाने के लिए कटिबद्ध है। स्वच्छ जल के लिए देशभर में अगले 5 वर्षों में 2.87 लाख करो रुपए का प्रवधान किया गया है। शहरी इलाकों के लिए भी जल जीवन मिशन शुरू किया जाना एक अच्छा कदम है।

1938 से चले आ रहे इंश्योरेंस एक्ट में बदलाव किया गया है। इंश्योरेंस सेक्टर में एफडीआई की नीति में बदलाव लाया गया है। इसकी चर्चा बहुत दिनों से चली आ रही थी, लेकिन यह परिवर्तन माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी ने किया है। वीनिवेश की नीति पर स्पष्ट पॉलिसी लाकर सरकार धनार्जन प्राप्ति का मार्ग प्रशस्त कर रही है। सार्वजनिक क्षेत्र के उपक्रमों के निजिकरण के द्वारा सरकार का प्रयास है कि जिन क्षेत्रों में सरकार का कोई विशेष औचित्य नहीं है उन्हें विनिवेश करना उचित होगा। सरकार ने राजकोषिय घाटे को बढ़ाकर और ऋण आपूर्ति के द्वारा संसाधनों को जुटाने का मार्ग चुना है जिसे सभी के द्वारा सराहा गया है। जबकी सभी तरफ से यही सुझाव आ रहे थे की डायरेक्ट टैक्स बढाया जा सकता है लेकिन अनेक चुनौतियों के बावजूद मोदी सरकार ने जनता पर किसी प्रकार का कोई अतिरिक्त भार नहीं डाला है। समय की मांग थी कि सरकार अपने व्यय को बढ़ाए और अर्थव्यवस्था को मजबूती प्रदान करें ।

सरकार ने हर तरह से अर्थव्यवस्था को गति प्रदान करने का मार्ग प्रशस्त किया है। सभी लोगों ने मुक्त हृदय से स्वागत किया है।

गोपाल कृष्ण अग्रवाल

राष्ट्रीय प्रवक्ता, भाजपा आर्थिक मामलों

gopalagarwal@hotmail.com

Agri-reforms will empower farmers- The Opposition is wrong

September 22, 2020

By Gopal Krishna Agarwal,

The legislation will give options of new markets, attract private investments to build infrastructure, help in better price discovery, enable information dissemination mechanism, and provide future price assurance to the farmers

The unprecedented 23.9% decline in the gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2020-21 is serious. But gross value-added numbers show that agriculture grew by a respectable 3.4%, suggesting the rural economy will drive recovery.

The Centre promulgated three agriculture-related ordinances in June, which were a break from the past when pernicious interventions by governments were justified in the name of farmers’ welfare. The supply chain in requires massive investment from warehousing, cold storage, transportation to infrastructure in retail distribution. This mega push can come from private sector alone. Agriculture has also been moving from shortages to surplus and the policy on essential commodities from 1955 is bound to be reworked and limitations removed for the benefits of scale of operation and value addition.

These reforms were similar to the 1991 moment for the economy and were hailed by experts. The Committee of State Ministers, in charge of Agriculture Marketing to Promote Reforms emphasised the need to promote competition in the interest of the farmers and so had the of the Standing Committee on Agriculture in its 62nd report. This had the support of almost all parties.

With the government replacing the ordinances by Acts of Parliament, the Congress, some other political parties, farmer unions affiliated to them, and representing the interests of the middlemen are raising a hue and cry. A misinformation campaign has been let loose. The most sinister of them is that the government will do away with the minimum support price (MSP), even though the Centre said that there is no question of dismantling the MSP mechanism. The Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) and Mandi Act are in the domain of states, and, therefore, there is no question of the Centre amending it unilaterally. Only interstate commodity trade is in the Centre’s domain. The existing APMC infrastructure is not being dismantled; MSP as an administration mechanism implemented through the local mandis and procurements done by state governments, will continue as usual. The Narendra Modi government, on Monday itself, announced the increase in MSP of many commodities.

Though the purpose of MSP was to provide an assured floor price to the farmers, over time, it became the ceiling price. With the new Act on facilitating trade and commerce of produce, the government is making it legally and institutionally possible for farmers to explore the possibility of selling at an even higher price, while retaining the safety net of MSP. With competition from private markets, APMC markets will no longer enjoy the monopoly and the farmer will benefit from better services.

As far as the argument of farmers losing their land to corporates is concerned, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020 Act, talks about an agreement on the farm produce only, and not about the land. The Act has further safeguards for farmers on land; in case of loss of produce, farmers alone will get the benefit of insurance compensation and the infrastructure and equipment used at the farm land has been protected as belonging to the land owners. Even the dispute resolution within the Act has been delegated at the district level, with the formation of district boards, and farmers will not have to run from one court to the other to get justice.

The lack of a responsible Opposition has been the bane of Indian politics since 2014. Anything that the Modi Government does must be opposed by the Congress. The Congress, in its recent election manifestos, had asked for dismantling APMC, but we have abstained from doing so.

The legislation will give options of new markets, attract private investments to build infrastructure, help in better price discovery, enabling information dissemination mechanism, and provide price assurance to the farmers. With the prime minister himself at the forefront and the Bharatiya Janata Party amplifying his messages, there should be no doubt about the future of farmers’ welfare.

These reforms were similar to the 1991 moment for the wider economy and were hailed as such by leading experts

Gopal Krishna Agarwal is national spokesperson of the BJP on economic affairs