REFUTES

The Delhi High Court is hearing the issue on August 10 in response to a Delhi-based union’s petition which refutes the claims of Uber and Ola — as not being employers of drivers but only providers of work.

What is refutes means ….. it means to declare not to be true,false or in hindi(खंडन)

Synonyms: contradict, disaffirm, disallow, disavow, disclaim, disconfirm, disown, gainsay, negate, negative, deny, reject, repudiate

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know your english

“So, how was the meeting? Was it as dull as usual or did people...”

“It was quite lively for a change. A few old men whom I’d never seen before piped up. They had a lot of things...”

“Piped up? Does it mean that they spoke... they had things to say?”

“That’s right! When you ‘pipe up’, you interrupt others and say something. You speak quite unexpectedly. Someone from the back row piped up, ‘How long do we have to sit in these uncomfortable chairs?’ Everyone laughed.”

“I’m sure Rahul will pipe up when he realises that his letters are not being taken seriously. That reminds me, I need to call him. Can I borrow your phone?”

“Borrow my phone? Where’s yours? Did you lose it?”

“I don’t think so. It could be quite possible that I left it in Rahul’s house.”

“You don’t normally use ‘could’ or ‘can’ before ‘possible’. You normally say, ‘it is possible’ and not ‘could be possible’ — especially when you’re talking about a past event.”

“So, I have to say, ‘It’s quite possible that I left the phone in Rahul’s house’.”

“Good! It’s quite possible that they went to the wrong hotel.”

“Talking about hotels, did you and Ajit go to the new restaurant yesterday?”

“Yes, we did. The food wasn’t anything great, but we managed to...”

“You should worry about the food only when you are paying for it. Last night’s dinner was Ajit’s treat, wasn’t it?”

“That’s what I thought. But when the bill arrived, he said we should go Dutch.” “Go Dutch? What does it mean?”

“When you go Dutch, you agree to share the cost of something with someone. You end up paying half the amount.”

“I can understand college students going Dutch when they go to a restaurant. But why would people with good jobs go Dutch? It doesn’t make sense. Both of you have money.”

“Let’s just say that Ajit is very careful with his. He always insists on going Dutch.”

“When Shekar took Gayathri to a movie, she insisted that they go Dutch.”

“Good for her. Is Gayathri the person who keeps saying ‘good morning’, no matter...”

“That’s right! Like many people in our country, she says ‘good morning’ at three o’clock in the afternoon. But it’s okay, right? Especially, if you happen to be seeing the person for the first time that day.”

“No, it’s not okay. You usually wish someone ‘good morning’ before noon. Anything after twelve o’clock, you usually say ‘good afternoon’ or good evening’. Depending on what time of day it is.”

“So ‘good morning’ has nothing to do with whether you’re seeing a person for the first time or not?”

“No, it doesn’t! If I see you for the first time at two o’clock in the afternoon, I have to wish you ‘good afternoon’, and not ‘good morning’. That’s what a native speaker would do. If you wish someone ‘good morning’ at three o’clock in the afternoon, he’ll probably think you’re trying to be funny!”

courtesy:the hindu

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From Plate to Plough: Connecting the drops

Till June end this year, the government was worried about how to cope with back-to-back drought. But by the second half of August, the scene changed dramatically and several states were in the spate of floods. In Bihar, more than five million people have been affected and 6,50,000 displaced from their homes; in Assam 1.8 million people were affected with 2,40,000 displaced, and in UP 8,70,000 were affected. Floods also occurred in areas that were earlier not considered flood prone, such as the cities of Jaipur, Jodhpur and the southern districts of arid Rajasthan. Even in Madhya Pradesh, 300,000 people were affected.

There is a growing concern that floods cause large-scale damage to crops, cattle, property and even human lives, and this trend is increasing over time. As per the estimates of the Central Water Commission (CWC), the cumulative damage from floods during the period 2000-2013, converted at 2014-15 constant prices, stood at a whopping Rs 2,63,848 crore. While in 2003 alone the damage was Rs 23,045 crore, the same escalated(increase,बढ़कर) to Rs 46,802 crore in the 2009 floods (both at 2014-15 prices).

Most of the floods in India occur in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Barak basin as the distance between the world’s highest peaks in the Himalayas and the outlet at the Bay of Bengal is short and the contributing tributaries like Kosi, Gandak, Ghaghara and others disgorge large volumes and devastate(destroy,विनाश) the fertile plains of eastern Uttar Pradesh, northern Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. For these states, flood control is a developmental as well as humanitarian issue. The options are limited but need to be given a fair trial with adequate(enough,पर्याप्त) resources.

×

The key question, therefore, is: How best can the problem of floods and droughts be addressed so that the losses are minimal and the system becomes more resilient? In this context, one important point that needs to be noted is that India gets “too much” water (about 75 per cent of annual precipitation) during 120 days of the monsoon season (June to September) and “too little” for the remaining 245 days. This skewed water availability has to be managed and regulated for its consumption throughout the year. No wonder, leaders of independent India quickly embarked(entered,प्रवेश) upon a number of large multi-purpose river valley projects such as Bhakra-Nangal, Hirakud, Nagarjuna Sagar, Rihand etc to store water for smoothening its supplies throughout the year. But, unfortunately, they lost interest in further developing such river valley projects very soon, partly due to changed priorities towards heavy industrialisation since 1956 and partly due to widespread inefficiencies and corruption in large irrigation projects. Later on, the issue of resettlement of displaced people became a rallying point for many NGOs to oppose these projects, leading to drying up of funds from the World Bank.

As a result, in 2015, India’s per capita water storage capacity through dams was abysmally(depressing,निराशाजनक) low at 194 cubic metre (m3). In contrast, China’s per capita water storage capacity was three times that of India at 590 m3 (2013). Amongst other BRICS countries, Brazil was at 3,370 m3, Russia at 5,587 m3 , and South Africa at 569 m3, all in 2015 (FAO). Further, USA was at 2,254 m3 and Australia at 3,395 m3 (see chart). So, it is amply(sufficiently,पर्याप्तता) clear that India is way below in storing water when it falls in abundance(excessive,बहुतायत), resulting in floods during monsoons and deficiency of water later. This also lowers cropping intensity (less than 140), meaning less than 40 per cent of India’s farm land is double cropped.

So, what are the policy options now? Nitish Kumar, in his meeting with the prime minister on the flood situation in Bihar, asked for de-silting of the Ganga and removal of the Farakka barrage, as it was causing accumulation of silt flowing from the Himalayan rivers and making the flood situation in Bihar grim. He had a point, but this seems to be only a partial and temporary solution.

The more lasting solution lies in a “buffer stocking of water” during the monsoon months and releasing it during lean seasons. This “buffer stocking of water” can be done over ground through dams, or underground, by recharging aquifers. Recent studies by the World Bank indicate that about 18 per cent of the peak flood volumes can be safely stored in the existing and planned dams along the Indo-Nepal border. A holistic approach at basin level, encompassing credible resettlement policy for displaced people, and supported by pro-active hydro-diplomacy amongst riparian(onshore,तटवर्ती) countries can render(give,देना) rich dividends.

The time is also ripe to crank up the Ganges Water Machine through Underground Taming of Floods for Irrigation (UTFI), where surplus flood water is directed to aquifers through well-designed structures placed in ponds and other depression areas and evacuated through large-scale pump irrigation during the dry season. Flood control strategies also need to include the use of smart geo-spatial techniques for flood forecasting and construction and strengthening of embankments at critical locations. The Modi government is also talking of inter-linking of rivers. A beginning can be made at intra-state level, particularly within Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Further, on the demand side, there is a need to promote flood-tolerant “scuba rice”, sugarcane, jute and high-value aquatic crops in this region; access to affordable crop, livestock and asset insurance products; and education and preparedness to live with the floods. Finally, with increasing urbanisation, agriculture will have to shed its current share of 78 per cent in water to, say, 70 per cent by 2030. This calls for focus on “more crop per drop”. Research indicates that rainfed areas covering pulses, oilseeds and nutri-cereals can give high productivity if they get even two irrigations.

Cascading(flow,व्यापक) check dams, drips and sprinkler irrigation can help. PM’s Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) talks of all this, but with paltry(small.तुच्छ) resources (Rs 5,767 crore), one wonders how many years one will have to wait to see the objectives of “har khet ko paani” being met.

 courtesy:indian express

click here for official link

download monthly pdf of august

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dalit is right enough

On July 11, 2016, a video of cow vigilantes mercilessly beating up seven Dalit men for skinning a dead cow in Una district, Gujarat, came to light. In protest against the incident, many Dalits have refused to handle cow carcasses(body,शवो). The gau rakshaks should be happy, but they are not. Non-Dalits, presumably including gau rakshaks, have retaliated(react,प्रतिकार) with more violence against Dalits — this time for not picking up cow carcasses — in Samter (August 16), Bhavra (August 20) and Rajkot (August 24), all in Gujarat.

Herein lies the Dalit dilemma(doubt,दुविधा) — he is damned if he does and he is damned if he doesn’t.

The bane of Hindu society is varna, the four-tier arrangement said to be sanctified(holy,पवित्र) by the scriptures. The arrangement encompassed the majority and assigned them places, but it also excluded a large number. The excluded were the outcasts or the untouchables. Inequality by birth was the basis of the arrangement. That inequality stayed with you throughout your life. Violence against Dalits is the punishment for disobeying the rules of the arrangement. Rohith Vemula summed it up: “My birth is my fatal accident.”

×

The Dalit Mobilisation

The Dalits have decided that enough is enough. They have decided to mobilise. The scale of social mobilisation of Dalits in Gujarat and Maharashtra, and to some extent in other parts of the country, has not been seen in recent times. Although much of the media is not covering them, massive rallies and marches are being held. There is palpable(clear,स्पस्थ) anger in the community because of the sense of impunity(free from blame,दंडमुक्ति) with which they are being subjected to violence in certain parts of the country. According to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, in 2015, Gujarat reported the highest crime rate against Dalits, followed by Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

Dalits are angry about the hollowness(falseness,खोखलापन) of the current hyper-nationalism where everything about India is called great and every criticism is labelled as anti-national. They are angry about the way the Una incident and other such incidents are being dismissed as isolated or as conspiracies. It is noteworthy that the boycott of cow carcasses, the rallies and the marches have happened through social, not political, mobilisation.

After a long period of silence, the Prime Minister spoke on August 6. He said, “I get so angry at those who are into the gau rakshak business… I have seen that some people are into crimes all night and wear the garb of gau rakshaks in the day.” The very next day, at a rally, he said, “You can shoot me rather than target the Dalits.” This is a strange statement for a Prime Minister: he should use the enormous(big,बड़ा) powers of his office to punish the perpetrators(criminal,अपराधी) of violence.

Change Agonisingly(painful,पीड़ाजनक) Slow

Change is taking place, but it is agonisingly slow. In urban areas, where economic and professional identities usually take precedence(priority,तरजीह), and in parts of India where social movements have brought about change, a majority of Hindus do not feel passionate about the caste order. Many Hindus may still prefer marriages within the caste, but have friends among Dalits. Many may express angst about the reservation system, but do not begrudge(envy,ईर्ष्या) the limited preference to Dalits in educational institutions and in some jobs.

However, there is a section of Hindu society that continues to look back with nostalgia(regret,खिन्नता) at the days of caste domination. Many of them have read a sign of approval in the BJP’s victory in 2014. The cow vigilantes are the latest manifestation of centuries of a supremacist ideology. The flurry of bans on cow slaughter and beef consumption, and the aggressive majoritarian narrative, have given them fresh wind.

Few people saw the casteist agenda more clearly than Dr Ambedkar and ‘Periyar’ E V Ramasamy. Both were pessimistic(negative,निराशावादी) about the reformation of Hindu society. Dr Ambedkar did not think that Dalits could find dignity within the fold of the Hindu religion and urged(forced,मजबूर) them to convert to Buddhism. Periyar’s way was atheism and rationalism. The third way is reform of the Hindu social order and accelerating the trends that will usher(show,दिखाना) in a new social order — education, industrialisation, urbanisation, communication and technological advance.

The Constitutional Goal

For the Hindu hyper-nationalists, the idea of a ‘Hindu’ nation is superior to the idea of a constitutional democratic republic. They will sweep the pains of caste history under the carpet. They think that to uphold the idea of a ‘Hindu’ nation it is necessary to underplay its flaws and hide the price that is paid by millions of Dalits and the minorities. On the other hand, the Constitution-makers did not deny the existence of these problems: they acknowledged the prevalence(spreading,प्रसार) of caste differences and discrimination(unfair,भेदभाव) and formulated what they believed would be intermediate solutions, such as reservation for the Scheduled Castes and rights of minorities.

The real focus of the Constitution is to secure a set of natural rights that every Indian should enjoy, irrespective of the historical injustices. It is to make caste, religion and gender irrelevant to citizenship and citizens’ rights.

The project of creating this sense of equal citizenship is still a work-in-progress in this vast and complex land. Hindu hyper-nationalism, which is a form of majoritarianism, is at odds with the constitutional project. The conflict(battle,विवाद) is playing out, in an increasingly violent manner, before our eyes. The consequences(result,परिणाम) of a long-drawn conflict will be terrible for the country and its progress toward the goal of a peaceful and prosperous nation.

courtesy:indian express

click here for official link

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Pharmacies not likely cause of TB drug resistance

For a while now, the medical community has been blaming pharmacies for indiscriminately(recklessly,अंधाधुंध) giving antibiotics to patients with tuberculosis (TB), instead of referring them to a doctor. A Lancet paper has now corrected the

popular misconception when a study found that none of the 622 pharmacies in Delhi, Mumbai and Patna handed out first-line anti-TB drugs to these patients. So, pharmacies are the unlikely source of irrational drug use that contributes to multidrug resistant tuberculosis.

Not playing a role

The study shows that pharmacies are not playing any role in increasing TB resistance in the country,” says Dr. Srinath Satyanarayana, from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, who is the lead author of the paper that was published on August 26, 2016. “TB drug resistance occurs primarily due to incorrect  , intake of drugs irregularly or intake of drugs for very short duration of time. From our study, it appears that pharmacies are not playing a role in deciding the anti-TB regimens and are also not dispensing anti-TB drugs over-the-counter, at least in the three cities that we studied. So the drug resistance in India could be due to either patient related-factors or provider-related factors or health system related factors (which has not created a system for all TB patients in [the] country to access quality assured diagnosis and treatment free of cost and seamlessly),” he says in an e-mail to The Hindu.

One reason why pharmacies did not dispense first-line, anti-TB drugs could be because they belong to a more stringent(strict,सख्त) Schedule H1 category of drugs where details of the prescription and name of the doctors and patients have to be documented and the registry retained for two years.

Quinolone abuse a concern

However, the good news ends here. The researchers found that that a vast majority of these pharmacies did dispense antibiotics to TB patients even when they did not have a prescription. This links to an earlier study which showed the tendency of private practitioners to liberally use antibiotics in treating TB, leading to a delay in diagnosis and treatment and an increase in the chances of TB spreading within a community.

In the Lancet study, healthy individuals were trained to pose as TB patients and interacted with pharmacists — to understand how the pharmacies in these cities treated patients presenting themselves with TB symptoms. The objective was to determine whether the pharmacies were contributing to the inappropriate use of antibiotics. One patient presented with 2-3 weeks of cough and fever, was directly seeking drugs from a pharmacy while a second patient was presented with one month of cough and microbiological confirmation of TB from a sputum test. In the case of the first patient, only 96 of 599 pharmacies (16 per cent) referred the patient to health-care providers. But ideal case management was in only 13 per cent of the cases, as a few pharmacies handed out antibiotics to the patients even while referring them to a physician. Antibiotics (37 per cent), steroids (8 per cent) and fluoroquinolones (10 per cent) were given to patients with symptoms.

“That nearly 37 per cent of the pharmacies are handing out antibiotics to persons presenting with TB symptoms is really worrisome,” says Dr. Satyanarayana. But more worrying is the dispensation of fluoroquinolones. “Fluoroquinolones are an essential part of the MDR-TB [multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis] treatment regimen and emerging regimens, so quinolone abuse is a concern.”

Impact

In stark contrast, in the case of the second patient, who had a microbiological confirmation, 67 per cent (401 of 601) of pharmacies referred the patient to a health-care provider. Like in the earlier case, ideal case management was seen in only 62 per cent as the standardised patient did receive antibiotics (16 per cent) or steroids (3 per cent) even while being referred to a health-care provider. “In the case of TB patients with microbiological confirmation of TB disease, antibiotics (without anti-TB properties) will be futile(ineffective,अप्रभावी) and redundant (unnecessary,अनावश्यक), and can delay the initiation of proper therapy for patients. These patients will continue to spread the disease in the community and TB disease will continue to progress in the individual concerned. Steroids reduce body immunity, suppress symptoms temporarily and can exacerbate (worsen,बिगाड़ना) the TB disease,” he says.

courtesy:the hindu

click here for official link

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Looking for some change, Governor

So the Government of India has announced the name of the next Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. In a way, there was no great surprise. Of the three names that had been mentioned in the press as constituting the shortlist, Urjit Patel’s was the one most likely to come to light. First, he was already within the Bank, being one of its Deputy Governors. Second, he has the academic pedigree by now considered de rigueur(obligatory,आवश्यक) for top posts in the Indian government. But, above all, he also has the advantage of being on the same page as the current dispensation in Delhi. I say the last not on grounds of the politics as much as the fact that he must agree with the new view of monetary policy legislated by Parliament in April 2016 whereby inflation targeting became the main objective of the RBI. He was after all the head of the Expert Committee to Revise and Strengthen Monetary Policy that had recommended the transition in the first place. As the RBI does not have statutory independence, it helps the Governor in the discharge of his functions that his views are shared by the government of the day, or vice versa.

Message in the data

Given the statutory requirement to deal with inflation, the incoming Governor of the RBI has his task cut out. Data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation show food inflation rising more than usual since April, the figure of over 8 per cent registered in July being the highest in a while. If the government does not do anything to replenish(fill,भरना) the supply of food, some potential growth will have to be sacrificed if inflation is to be controlled. The RBI itself can dampen food inflation only by restraining growth. In a sense, the GoI has absolved(free,दोषमुक्त) itself of responsibility by handing over, as it were, responsibility for inflation to the RBI. But in recent years the RBI itself may have contributed to the move by aggressively giving the impression that it can control inflation. There is reason to believe that it cannot, as current research calls the claim into question. Econometric estimation by M. Parameswaran, Gurdeep Singh Lamba and myself of the inflation model presented in the Urjit Patel Committee Report reveals it as without foundation when run with Indian data, whether over the long haul or more recently. We will be presenting this work publicly soon.

The somewhat poor performance of the RBI inflation model may be a sign that of late, economic research in the RBI has been in thrall(slave,गुलाम) to the changing fashions of Anglo-American economics without being sufficiently empirically(experimentaly,अनुभव से) grounded. If this were true, what then explains the fact that the inflation rate has successfully been kept within the range specified by the government? At least some part of it has to do with lower global oil prices and a generally sluggish growth environment. An instance of the latter is the slower growth as recorded by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The argument is often made that the index itself, being a physical measure, is not the best measure of income by comparison with an index of value added as is the one provided by the Central Statistical Office. This may be so when it comes to measuring income but the IIP could yet be a better measure of inflationary pressure. After all, the production of two ordinary cars could draw in more labour than the production of just one even when it is of a higher value. And that would generate a greater demand for food. On the whole, there is case for a review of India’s existing anti-inflationary policy and the RBI’s role in it. The occasion of a new Governor taking over is exactly the moment for this.

The Bank’s legacy

Into the early seventies the RBI had remained a major centre of research with its monthly bulletin being a widely read source of information and analysis on the Indian economy. This appears to have been lost, which is a great pity. The Bank appears not to have cared enough to preserve the enormous(big,बड़ा) goodwill it once enjoyed among India’s professional economists and business journalists. Of course, this goodwill was also related to the perception that the RBI was relatively independent of the government. And the RBI itself was intellectually open too, as evident in the external opinion that it entertained.

A particularly memorable moment for me as a professional economist in this country was in September 1991 when the Bank invited its independent economists for advice on how to deal with the balance of payments crisis. I recall over 20 economists representing every shade of opinion arrayed in the conference room, and the Governor responding most impressively to every speaker on the spot. Unusual among India’s institutions, the RBI was able to give the impression of being able to effortlessly combine the transactions of a public office with a human touch. It is likely that its location away from the political capital made a difference here. Hopefully, our youthful new Governor will be able to restore the intellectual capital and accessibility of one of our most respected public bodies to the citizen.

The debate on monetary policy, however, is a dry subject and is unlikely to impress the hoi polloi more concerned with the quality of their lives. Here the role of the RBI is much greater than actually imagined. The RBI has a fairly good record of maintaining financial stability and securing the interests of bank depositors. It has come a long way since the stock market scam engineered by Harshad Mehta, which may have cut short the tenure of a most excellent Governor in S. Venkitaramanan, who had played a heroic but unsung role during the balance-of-payments crisis of mid-1991 when, in the midst of a drift in Delhi, the RBI had coolly done whatever it took to salvage the country’s meagre(lack.थोडा) foreign exchange reserves and ensure that India would not default on its dues. In 2003, the RBI arranged a smooth merger of the troubled century-old Nedungadi Bank based in Kerala with Punjab National Bank, ensuring that the money of its depositors remained safe. It seems for once national integration did not sound a hollow slogan. More recently, Governor Raghuram Rajan has made it necessary for the commercial banks to address their non-performing assets (NPAs). So, generally the RBI has done a good job of regulating India’s financial sector.

Compare this with the record in the United States where a financial crisis originated in 2007 and slowly spread to the rest of the world. There Alan Greenspan, who had headed the Federal Reserve Bank for 18 years, not only failed to call out a brewing disaster but allegedly encouraged the financial sector of that country in its adventure with derivatives, new-fangled financial instruments that went on to wreck the system and plunge the world into a new normal of slower growth. By comparison, the RBI has maintained an arm’s length from the Indian financial sector, a stance wholly necessary if it is to retain its credibility as a regulator.

The daily transactions

However, while we as citizens of India remain grateful to the RBI for its watchfulness over our own financial sector, there is ground for some dissatisfaction in an area far more important to many Indians. Anyone who visits the bazaar, as opposed to shopping on Flipkart where the goods are higher valued, would notice the shortage of what we refer to as change. There are not enough low denomination notes nor coins to be had for love or for money. So, while I am aware of the predicament(difficult situation,दुर्दशा) of my corner shop’s owner, I am not amused(happy,खुश) at being palmed off with a piece of toffee! Is it too much to expect that a country that has minted coins since the time of Chandragupta Maurya should have some more of the stuff? Surely there is more to a Central Bank than a “modern monetary policy”, the government’s chosen terminology for the architecture that it has bequeathed(left,वसीयत में देना) upon the RBI. The latter must not forget that it also exists to facilitate exchange.

As a young lecturer at Oxford in the mid-1980s when Urjit Patel was completing his first graduate degree, I recall his being thoughtful, prone to due diligence(hard work,लगन),  and an understated member of the community. India is lucky to have a Central Bank Governor with these qualities.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/looking-for-some-change-governor/article9018210.ece

 Looking for some change, Governor

So the Government of India has announced the name of the next Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. In a way, there was no great surprise. Of the three names that had been mentioned in the press as constituting the shortlist, Urjit Patel’s was the one most likely to come to light. First, he was already within the Bank, being one of its Deputy Governors. Second, he has the academic pedigree by now considered de rigueur(obligatory,आवश्यक) for top posts in the Indian government. But, above all, he also has the advantage of being on the same page as the current dispensation in Delhi. I say the last not on grounds of the politics as much as the fact that he must agree with the new view of monetary policy legislated by Parliament in April 2016 whereby inflation targeting became the main objective of the RBI. He was after all the head of the Expert Committee to Revise and Strengthen Monetary Policy that had recommended the transition in the first place. As the RBI does not have statutory independence, it helps the Governor in the discharge of his functions that his views are shared by the government of the day, or vice versa.

Message in the data

Given the statutory requirement to deal with inflation, the incoming Governor of the RBI has his task cut out. Data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation show food inflation rising more than usual since April, the figure of over 8 per cent registered in July being the highest in a while. If the government does not do anything to replenish(fill,भरना) the supply of food, some potential growth will have to be sacrificed if inflation is to be controlled. The RBI itself can dampen food inflation only by restraining growth. In a sense, the GoI has absolved(free,दोषमुक्त) itself of responsibility by handing over, as it were, responsibility for inflation to the RBI. But in recent years the RBI itself may have contributed to the move by aggressively giving the impression that it can control inflation. There is reason to believe that it cannot, as current research calls the claim into question. Econometric estimation by M. Parameswaran, Gurdeep Singh Lamba and myself of the inflation model presented in the Urjit Patel Committee Report reveals it as without foundation when run with Indian data, whether over the long haul or more recently. We will be presenting this work publicly soon.

The somewhat poor performance of the RBI inflation model may be a sign that of late, economic research in the RBI has been in thrall(slave,गुलाम) to the changing fashions of Anglo-American economics without being sufficiently empirically(experimentaly,अनुभव से) grounded. If this were true, what then explains the fact that the inflation rate has successfully been kept within the range specified by the government? At least some part of it has to do with lower global oil prices and a generally sluggish growth environment. An instance of the latter is the slower growth as recorded by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The argument is often made that the index itself, being a physical measure, is not the best measure of income by comparison with an index of value added as is the one provided by the Central Statistical Office. This may be so when it comes to measuring income but the IIP could yet be a better measure of inflationary pressure. After all, the production of two ordinary cars could draw in more labour than the production of just one even when it is of a higher value. And that would generate a greater demand for food. On the whole, there is case for a review of India’s existing anti-inflationary policy and the RBI’s role in it. The occasion of a new Governor taking over is exactly the moment for this.

The Bank’s legacy

Into the early seventies the RBI had remained a major centre of research with its monthly bulletin being a widely read source of information and analysis on the Indian economy. This appears to have been lost, which is a great pity. The Bank appears not to have cared enough to preserve the enormous(big,बड़ा) goodwill it once enjoyed among India’s professional economists and business journalists. Of course, this goodwill was also related to the perception that the RBI was relatively independent of the government. And the RBI itself was intellectually open too, as evident in the external opinion that it entertained.

A particularly memorable moment for me as a professional economist in this country was in September 1991 when the Bank invited its independent economists for advice on how to deal with the balance of payments crisis. I recall over 20 economists representing every shade of opinion arrayed in the conference room, and the Governor responding most impressively to every speaker on the spot. Unusual among India’s institutions, the RBI was able to give the impression of being able to effortlessly combine the transactions of a public office with a human touch. It is likely that its location away from the political capital made a difference here. Hopefully, our youthful new Governor will be able to restore the intellectual capital and accessibility of one of our most respected public bodies to the citizen.

The debate on monetary policy, however, is a dry subject and is unlikely to impress the hoi polloi more concerned with the quality of their lives. Here the role of the RBI is much greater than actually imagined. The RBI has a fairly good record of maintaining financial stability and securing the interests of bank depositors. It has come a long way since the stock market scam engineered by Harshad Mehta, which may have cut short the tenure of a most excellent Governor in S. Venkitaramanan, who had played a heroic but unsung role during the balance-of-payments crisis of mid-1991 when, in the midst of a drift in Delhi, the RBI had coolly done whatever it took to salvage the country’s meagre(lack.थोडा) foreign exchange reserves and ensure that India would not default on its dues. In 2003, the RBI arranged a smooth merger of the troubled century-old Nedungadi Bank based in Kerala with Punjab National Bank, ensuring that the money of its depositors remained safe. It seems for once national integration did not sound a hollow slogan. More recently, Governor Raghuram Rajan has made it necessary for the commercial banks to address their non-performing assets (NPAs). So, generally the RBI has done a good job of regulating India’s financial sector.

Compare this with the record in the United States where a financial crisis originated in 2007 and slowly spread to the rest of the world. There Alan Greenspan, who had headed the Federal Reserve Bank for 18 years, not only failed to call out a brewing disaster but allegedly encouraged the financial sector of that country in its adventure with derivatives, new-fangled financial instruments that went on to wreck the system and plunge the world into a new normal of slower growth. By comparison, the RBI has maintained an arm’s length from the Indian financial sector, a stance wholly necessary if it is to retain its credibility as a regulator.

The daily transactions

However, while we as citizens of India remain grateful to the RBI for its watchfulness over our own financial sector, there is ground for some dissatisfaction in an area far more important to many Indians. Anyone who visits the bazaar, as opposed to shopping on Flipkart where the goods are higher valued, would notice the shortage of what we refer to as change. There are not enough low denomination notes nor coins to be had for love or for money. So, while I am aware of the predicament(difficult situation,दुर्दशा) of my corner shop’s owner, I am not amused(happy,खुश) at being palmed off with a piece of toffee! Is it too much to expect that a country that has minted coins since the time of Chandragupta Maurya should have some more of the stuff? Surely there is more to a Central Bank than a “modern monetary policy”, the government’s chosen terminology for the architecture that it has bequeathed(left,वसीयत में देना) upon the RBI. The latter must not forget that it also exists to facilitate exchange.

As a young lecturer at Oxford in the mid-1980s when Urjit Patel was completing his first graduate degree, I recall his being thoughtful, prone to due diligence(hard work,लगन),  and an understated member of the community. India is lucky to have a Central Bank Governor with these qualities.

courtesy:the hindu

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Why EPW matters

In early 1966 more than 50 of India’s leading commentators, academics and senior government officials appealed for contributions of Rs.500 each to establish a trust that would publish a new journal of economics and politics.

Tomorrow (August 20) marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first issue of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW).

EPW has become something of a global phenomenon over the past half century. Week after week it has presented informed commentary on the important issues of the day as well as research papers on a wide range of social science disciplines. Its authors have included everyone from political activists to Nobel Laureates, from lecturers in colleges in small towns to professors in the leading universities in the world, from members of non-government organisations to government officials.

Actually 67

EPW is actually now 67, and not 50. The Economic Weekly (EW), conceived and edited by Sachin Chaudhuri (an economist from what was then Dacca who had moved to Bombay), had begun publication in 1949 in the western metropolis. It quickly made a name for itself as a much sought-after platform for publishing opinion and research about India’s development policies and the politics around it. But that weekly, financed by the Sekhsarias, a group of cotton merchants, closed at the end of 1965 after differences between the editor and the publishers. Within a few weeks some of India’s leading academics and thinkers made the appeal to launch a new journal that would be edited by Chaudhuri and build on the legacy of the very influential EW.

The new weekly, with “Political” added to its moniker in acknowledgement of its widening intellectual mandate, was published by the new Sameeksha Trust. In this new, revitalised avatar the weekly blossomed.

Within a decade EPW had grown in the range of disciplines and themes it published. EPW’s pages hosted some of the most important debates, about economic strategies, change in village societies, foreign policy, political representation and ever expanding fields such as secularism and the politics of the Left. Then and later, some of India’s best gave their best work to EPW and EPW, in turn, helped launch many a career by publishing the first works of young writers.

What explains this success of the EPW, when world over independent “little magazines” rarely, if ever, manage to survive for a few years? One reason surely is the thriving(grow,पनपना) intellectual climate in India of the first few decades after Independence when everyone put their shoulder to “nation building”. Later, the cross-disciplinary open-ended nature of the journal helped it grow and prevent being painted into a corner.

The editor has always been pivotal(crucial,निर्णायक) in making EPW what it is. Krishna Raj, who took over as editor a few years after Chaudhuri passed away (after a brief interregnum when R.K. Hazari was editor), opened the pages of the weekly to an even wider range of authors, gave it its trademark left-wing flavour without closing it to other viewpoints. He went out of his way to encourage young scholars, got activists to write academically rigorous(strict,सख्त) articles and got academics to sustain a public-political purpose to their work By the 1970s, EPW became a journal which a large number of people identified with, looked forward to reading each week and hoped to contribute to. Krishna Raj built up a team of EPW staff who worked to produce a veritable book-size publication every week, and of ever widening circles of contributors and subscribers who felt a sense of fraternal bonding with the journal. Together, these circles of committed authors, readers and employees provided the support which sustained the EPW even when conditions were hard.

Perhaps Krishna Raj’s greatest contribution lay in building up and nurturing this world of the EPW where everyone felt ownership of the journal. The legal form in which it has been published may be of a trust but it has really worked like the best of the cooperatives, with everyone a trustee.

What lies ahead?

EPW has never been shy of publishing the new,peculiar( unusual,अजीब) or offbeat argument. And, of course, its defining identity is its independent and critical stance on issues. EPW has always looked for new fields to cover. In the 1980s, EPW added gender to its pages, and later health, education, the environment and much more were included in its portfolio. (Like much of academia, EPW “rediscovered” caste in the 1970s.)

Another remarkable feature is that EPW has been produced all these years without any commercial backing, depending entirely on its income from circulation sales and whatever limited advertising comes by. It has as a policy never taken any grants from abroad. At home, other than the occasional donation to its corpus, it has received only three generous one-time grants from institutions/individuals, all in the first decade of the 21st century. Difficult as it has been, this way of functioning has helped EPW maintain its independence.

The world of publishing, the world of academia and the world of public debates have all changed dramatically over the last decade or so. EPW has ridden the waves of these changes and we feel a sense of satisfaction that at our time at the journal we managed to steer its course where today the number of article submissions and the circulation have both doubled over the past dozen years, the finances are better than they ever were in its history even when staff salaries are at their best and EPW is ready to meet the demands of digitisation and growing specialisation.

Yet, success brings forth new challenges.

EPW may be reaching the limits of its ability to cater to the needs and demands of India’s intellectual life. The widening range of commentary and research that EPW receives every week has already been testing the limits of editorial capabilities and the space available for articles. How can the massive numbers of new students, researchers and teachers who have come into the social sciences in India over the past few years be socialised into the old world charms of the EPW? How can the hundreds and thousands of commentators who are turned away from mainstream publications find a place in EPW? Can the digital world provide answers? How will EPW’s financial security be ensured when everything comes for free on the Internet?

Strengthening the EPW community

There are no set answers to these challenges, yet the only way to meet them is to strengthen the community which is the EPW. In these testing times, with the forums for debate under scourge(threat,खतरा) and intellectual activity frowned upon by the ruling elite(specialist,विशिष्ट), EPW is needed more than ever before. Fifty years after EPW started publication, today the country perhaps needs fifty more such journals publishing from all parts of the country, from all viewpoints and in all forms.

EPW has survived and grown over the last half century on the backs of successive teams of dedicated staff and a close-knit community. Its very success has created conditions where future growth and survival may well depend on the growth and spread of an entire ecosystem of independent publications hosting varied research, debates and readership.

courtesy:the hindu

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Investors who turned their back are coming back: Nitin Gadkari

Union Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari is confident of pushing through Rs 25 lakh crore of investments in the critical transport sectors under his watch over the NDA government's tenure. While private sector developers who had abandoned[u'ban-dund(leave,छोड़ना)] highway projects in 2014 are now coming back into the fray, the minister said the biggest challenge he faces is not financing, land acquisition or environmental clearances, but slow decision making processes in the administration. Edited Excerpts from an interview with The Hindu's Somesh Jha and Vikas Dhoot:

Two years after taking charge, do you feel India's economy is out of the woods yet?

Look, when we came to power, the GDP (gross domestic product) growth stood at 4.25 per cent, now it has gone up to 7.5 per cent. There was a shortage of coal – we have a surplus coal after two years and similar is the case with the power generation. We can’t also say that everything is sailing smoothly, but the train that got derailed during UPA regime is back on track. Talking about infrastructure, road was built up at the speed of 2 km per day earlier. Now, it stands at the highest ever pace of 25 km per day. In our sector, after completion of two years, I have commissioned work worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore. For the first time in history, the profits of 12 major ports and three flagship organisations – Cochin Shipyard, Shipping Corporation of India, Dredging Corporation of India – more than Rs 6,000 crore. In the port sector, it is for the first time that our efficiency compared to the private players is better. While one of the largest private port's efficiency declined 1.6 per cent, ours rose by 2.46 per cent. There is improvement in ports, inland waterways sector has opened up and work worth Rs 4,000 crore has been initiated inGanga. There were landmark decisions in the automobile sector –Euro VI emission norms will set in by 1 April 2020. We have launched ethanol, bio-diesel, CNG and electric buses and encouraging its use. These are import-substitute, cost-effective and pollution-free. Talking about irrigation, there were around 89 projects valued at Rs 1.5 lakh crore under AIBP (Accelerated Irrigation Benefits) which were dead assets. We will spend Rs 80,000 crorein four years to complete these AIBP projects. For the first time, Rs 20,000 crore per year has been budgeted for Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana which will assist states. There were 3.60 lakh bank accounts earlier and today, 21.7 lakh crore accounts have been opened. The petroleum gas subsidy savings has helped 5 crore people to get gas cylinders. The health and insurance schemes for the poor has been a success. We have had a positive approach in development programmes for all the strata -- villagers, poor, labour and farmers. There was an indecisive[in-di'sI-siv(undecided,अनिर्णायक)] government (earlier) but now we have a government with a vision for development. Our relations have improved with neighbouring countries. We are making roads connectivity to Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Mynamar andBangkok. Earlier, it used to take 18 hours to travel via road from Agartala to Kolkata but now it’s possible to travel from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka. In all the countries that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited – be it theUnited States, Russia, Australia, UK or Dubai our prestige and respect has gone up. We have tried to build good relations with Pakistan. We have been able to control Naxalite movement and due to state support, we have successfully kept a check on cross-border terrorism. I think, overall, on all the fronts there has been good work.

People have more expectations from us and it will take us some more time to fulfill those. It took 60 years for the Congress here we have only completed two years and not all expectations can be met in two years but I can confidently say that the work that has not happened in last 60 years, we will make it happen in five years.

What about road links to Pakistan?

The Prime Minister himself visited Pakistan and extended his hand for friendship. Till the time Pakistan stops sponsoring cross-border terrorism and doesn’t keep a check on terrorist and terrorist organisation coming into India, there can’t be good relations. Pakistan too is suffering from poverty and malnutrition and I feel at this point, we all should joins hands in fighting these issues and move towards development. We have good relations with Bangladesh and we will do our best to maintain good terms with Nepal. We are good with Bhutan. Everywhere we are putting our efforts to maintain good affairs.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government had launched the Golden Quadrilateral project of four-laned national highways connecting all metros. At the time, it was said to be one of the most ambitious national projects embarked upon, since Sher Shah Suri's times. What's the big plan for Infrastructure in this government?

In our country, the road length is 52 lakh kilometres but out of this, only 96,000 km is the national highways network. At present, 40 per cent of the entire traffic commutes on this two per cent road. This has caused five lakh accidents, three lakh injuries and 1.5 lakh people dying on road (every year). Now, we have decided to increase the national highways network to 2 lakh km from 96,000 km. We have already declared 1.55 lakh km of roads and when the highways network will expand to 2 lakh km, 80 per cent of the country’s traffic will ply on it. Earlier, four-laning of roads was done when traffic volume was more than 25,000 PCUs (passenger car units per day) which has been decreased to 10,000 PCUs. We have taken two historic steps. One per cent of the cost of construction (of roads) will go into plantation, beautification and maintenance and one per cent on road safety. So, Rs 5,000 each will be spent on this in the next four years. We will come up with 1,300 road side amenities and the tender for 60 is already out. We have identified 300 spots for parking plaza, hotels, motels, restaurants, petrol pump, service centres, handloom stores, fruit and vegetable shops, helipad and a small hospital for treatment of the locals. It will boost employment.

We will open Logistics Park on the Easterly and Westerly bypass road so that godowns are located outside Delhi. I have also told (Delhi chief minister Arvind) Kejriwal if all the godowns can be located outside Delhi, it will reduce the traffic and pollution here. We are building 14-lane Delhi-Meerut expressway. So, we are building roadways, expressways, highways in the entire country and I think this will create huge jobs. Usually, investments worth Rs 1 crore give employment to 70 people. I will complete Rs 2.5 lakh crore investments by 26 May, and I will give you the list of the projects, you can calculate the jobs that it will create with that scale of investment. The country needs a policy that generates employment and without infrastructure, both industry and agriculture cannot prosper and the GDP will not grow. I have kept American President John Kennedy’s quote in my office which says, ‘American roads are not good because America is rich but America is rich because American roads are good.’ So, prosperity comes with roads.

But our first priority is waterways, followed by railways and roads. In China, 45 per cent of the passengers and goods travel through waterways, similarly in Japan and Korea it is 43-44 per cent, in European countries it is more than 40 per cent but here it stands at only 3.5 per cent. If you go by waterways, you spend 20 paisa (on logistics), through railways Rs 1 and by road you spend Rs 1.5. That’s why we have decided to convert 111 rivers into national waterways. We have 7,500 km coastline and we are building six new ports out of which work on three new ports will commence[ku'men(t)s(start,शुरू)] this year.

You claim that the Ministry doesn’t lack funds but private sector interest has been lukewarm[look'worm(unenthusiastic,निरुत्साह)] and the the Finance Ministry is facing burden from the Seventh Pay commission...

Please understand my economic model. The budget for the road sector is Rs 55,000 crore. Then, our income from toll collection is Rs 10,000 crore. If I securitise my toll income for 15 years, I will get Rs 130,000 crore which leaves us with around Rs 2 lakh crore. If I securitise the government’s funds that went into completion of 111 projects, I will get 1 lakh crore. This makes it Rs 3 lakh crore in total. Apart from this, the government has given us approval to raise Rs 70,000 crore tax-exempted bonds, so that becomes Rs 4 lakh crore. Then, if I build more roads from this fund, I will get more toll collection. So, out of my target of completing work worth Rs 25 lakh crore, I will spend Rs 10-12 lakh crore in roads and Rs 15-20 lakh crore in shipping.

Can you elaborate on the securitisation aspect?

The pension funds and insurance funds are ready to take my funds. I will go into tripartite agreement and tell them we will give six per cent returns. That’s not an issue. The budget provision for shipping sector has been only Rs 1,800 crore. I have made a profit of Rs 6,000 crore last year. Next year, it will go up to Rs 8,000 crore and then 10,000 crore. So in four years, I will have profit worth Rs 40,000 crore. Then, I have fixed deposits worth Rs 15,000 crore in banks. This means a total of Rs 55,000 crore add to that Rs 10,000 from creditors so it comes out to be Rs 65,000 crore. I have a turnover of Rs 4,000 crore in ports and shipping in dollar terms. Now, for eight-laning concrete road project from JNPT to Panvel, I took loans in dollar terms at the rate of 2.75 per cent, instead of the borrowing rate of 12 per cent that I took in other projects. So, I took a loan of Rs 3,000 crore at 2.75 per cent. So on this Rs 4,000 crore (forex-based) turnover, I will take loans worth Rs 50,000 crore at 2.75 per cent in dollar terms. So, I have funds worth Rs 1 lakh crore. Then, I will get returns on these projects too.

You are talking of external commercial borrowings (ECBs)?

No, it is not ECB. Recently, I took loan from banks for the eight-lane Panvel project in dollar terms instead of rupees. So, I have Rs 50,000 crore. I am not dependent on the finance ministry for budget. I am spending Rs 4 lakh crore in ports – Rs 1 lakh towards port rail connectivity, Rs 2 lakh for port road connectivity and Rs 1 lakh crore on mechanisation and modernisation of ports. I will spend Rs 8 lakh crore towards 27 industrial clusters barring the investments on inland waterways and smart cities. So, I have targeted spending Rs 25 lakh crore whereas the actual work is worth around Rs 30 lakh crore. I am not amongst those ministers who make shallow promises. I say what I mean and I mean it.

What are the kinds of problems you have faced in executing the projects?

My problem is not related to land acquisition and environment clearance. My problem is addressing the decision-making process in administration. We have taken 21 Cabinet decisions and a lot of committees have been set up. The decision in such committees takes months to complete. I want to fasten this process. That is my responsibility and I don’t blame anyone for that. You go to any contractor and they will say we have saved them. When I became the highways minister, 403 projects worth Rs 3.85 lakh crore were stalled and today, only 14-15 projects worth Rs 30,000 crore are languishing[lang-gwish(fall,गिरना)] and the problems related to the rest are solved. Had I not addressed those issues, the banks’ NPAs (non-performing assets) would have shot up to Rs 3 lakh crore. I have saved the bankers and the industrialists from this trap. I held thousands of meetings with contractors and bankers. So I called all the stakeholders and solved the big issues. So, a positive approach, transparent system, time-bound approach, team spirit and development-oriented system are the strengths of our management.

Out of the stalled projects, how many did you have to terminate?

We have terminated 43 projects out of 403 projects. We have issued fresh tenders and work on many of these has already begun. Four such projects have started on the hybrid annuity model too.

What about the expressways?

This year, we will begin work on the Vadodara-Mumbai expressway. The highway alignment on Delhi-Jaipur is almost complete and similar is the case with Delhi-Katra expressway. We have planned Delhi-Meerut, Bangalore-Chennai, Hyderabad- Bangalore and Vijaywada-Bangalore projects.

How will the land packaging work in such projects? The developers have demanded the land access along the highways in the past…

There are three successful models of land acquisition in the country – one is in Amravati, another in Surat and third is Navi Mumbai airport. The model is that we will acquire land and return 40 per cent of the land to the owner after development, 20 per cent will go into building infrastructure and the rest 40 per cent we will take. The cost of land will decrease with this model. Now, let’s say we build a logistics park on a 1,000 acre land. We will give 400 acre land to the land owner, NHAI will get 400 acre land and the rest 20 per cent land can go into building petrol pump or road side amenities so a new township will be created in the form of logistic park. This innovate model will help farmers, create employment and lead to development.

What is the response you have got on the hybrid annuity model for highways?

When I became the minister, the PPP (public-private) model was not getting any response. Already 17 projects have been commissioned on the hybrid annuity model. The response on the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) toll model was tepid[te-pid(lukewarm)] as the market situation was not good. I will tell you an instance. Larsen & Tourbo (L&T) Chairman AM Naik came to me and said his company’s board has taken a decision to not do any road projects and he decided to exit the road projects taking a penalty of 1.5 per cent. Now, L&T is doing nine projects worth Rs 15,000 crore. So, the situation has changed and investors who had exited are coming back.

Your ministry is also planning to develop roads through the Swiss Challenge model. But Dr. Vijay Kelkar panel had criticised the model recently in its report.

We have drafted a Cabinet note and if the government permits us, we will go ahead. But I feel the Swiss Challenge model is not required in the road sector. We don’t have technology and resources and land problems.

And you will acquire the land for developers?

We have made it a rule that without acquiring 80 per cent of the land, we will not give work orders or permits.

But you said decision making in the administration is an issue…

File is pending for months with various committees. That’s the biggest challenge for us. Although we have succeeded to a very large extent, but more work needs to be done.

What about the Chabahar port you were supposed to develop in Iran?

The Prime Minister is going to Iran on May 23 and I may also accompany him and finalise the agreement.

What will be the model?

We have formed a global company and Kandla port and JNPT (Jawaharlal Nehru Port) has claimed equity in it and we will build the port.

So, Iran will also have stakes in it?

We will develop the port and return it to Iran in some years.

There were NPA issues with banks. How do you plan to get their support?

The banks are not giving loans and financial closure is taking years. Banks are scared of giving loans looking at pending cases with CBI and CVC and also because of the media. I have told this to the finance minister. I plan to set up an Infrastructure Finance Corporation on the lines of the Power Trading Corporation. We have floated a Cabinet note. We plan to bring foreign funds.

What is the timeline to double the national highways?

Within three months. At present, we have completed 1.55 lakh kilometres and till the next Parliament session, we will achieve that target.

What was the response of the Delhi government on the logistics park proposed by you to ease congestion and pollution in the capital?

The Delhi government is very much receptive[ri'sep-tiv(acceptive,ग्रहणशील)]. I extend help to everyone -- all Congress chief ministers or whether it is Kejriwalji or Lalu (Prasad)ji. I don't do politics in my work.

There were a lot of issues related to the diesel cars…

In Delhi, there are 18-20,000 diesel taxis. The Supreme Court had put a ban on them. We requested the court that we respect your judgement and we will not give diesel permits going ahead and try to convert diesel vehicles into CNG.

Don’t you think diesel recently got unfairly demonised campaign?

Look, there is no denying that diesel causes pollution. That’s why ethanol, bio-diesel and bio-CNG are the future. Fifty buses in Nagpur run on ethanol provided by us. We made a royalty of Rs 18 crore from Mahrashtra government by selling toilet water and 100 buses are running from the bio-CNG produced from it. It is a import substitute, cost effective and pollution-free model. If you go for innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, research and Digital India, then sky is the limit.

Five Indian cars recently failed the Global NCAP safety test…

Along with safety, we also need to take the cost of vehicles into account. We are trying to align with the western country standards but we also need to look at the paying capacity of our citizens. We will look at the report and will take decisions through an integrated approach. But if we conform to those standards, the cost of vehicle can go up by 15 per cent and if that happens, it will hit the affordability of the people.

Even after two years of the government, industry sometimes feels that they are unable to see the progress on ground…

All I can say is that I can give you the details of whatever I am telling you right now. We don’t claim that all the sectors are a success. We are still facing issues in some sectors. For instance the sugar industry had collapsed, a few projects in the power sector were stuck, shipbuilding industry was facing tough time, steel industry also collapsed but recession is there on a global scale too. We are doing our best to bail out industry from these problems.

What is your message to the young voters? Hold on for how much time?

We are moving ahead on a positive tangent on development. Our programmes are getting positive results and going ahead, the country will go ahead. Our economy will be at par with China and there will be robust[row'búst(strong,सुदृढ़)] employment generation. Villages, poor, labour and farmers will prosper and our dream of corruption- and terrorism-free country will be fulfilled. Congress was in power for 60 years. We have done a lot in these two years and we will continue to do so and people should give us more time.

Courtesy:the hindu

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