Key to turn crisis into opportunity

PM'S PACKAGE

Samudra Gupta Kashyap

(Samudra Gupta Kashyap is a veteran journalist, commentator and author based in Guwahati)

Every adversity, it is said, also contains, at the same time, a seed of equivalent opportunity. While India, along with the rest of the world, has been reeling under an unprecedented economic crisis precipitated by COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rs 20-lakh crore mega economic relief package announced on May 12 definitely holds the key to transform India into a self-reliant nation.

For the Prime Minister the challenges posed by the pandemic have only helped him renew his push for achieving his goal of making India self-reliant. Thus, as he identified five pillars – Economy, Infrastructure, System, Vibrant Demography and Demand – on which he sees a self-reliant India to stand in the days to come, he has also raised the slogan of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and urged every citizen to be a stakeholder in this new campaign. That vibrant demography is India's biggest area of strength has been further underlined by the focus the package puts on four Ls – land, labour, liquidity and laws. These in turn are expected to cater to and involve various sections including cottage industry, MSMEs, labourers, middle class, and industries, among others.

There is gainsaying that the PM's package is a huge assurance in these difficult times when individuals, families, businesses, as well as companies have been struggling because of a never-before financial crisis and uncertainty. The bold economic reforms that have followed the package have only further strengthened the efforts to make the country self-reliant in such a manner that the negative impact of COVID-19 sooner or later becomes a thing of the past. These reforms cover a long range of issues – from agriculture-related supply chains to a rational tax system, simple and clear laws, enhancing the capabilities of the country's human resource and, above all a strong financial system. What is expected of these reforms is that they will encourage business, attract more investment, and further strengthen the 'Make in India' campaign.

One example of making India self-reliant that the Prime Minister cited while announcing the package is the manufacture of personal protection equipment (PPE) kits and N-95 masks. It is significant to note that the production of these two items, which was simply negligible till the third week of March, has jumped to about two lakh pieces each by the beginning of May. It is also important to note that the Prime Minister has raised a new slogan commensurate with the 'Make in India' campaign which has been aptly called the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' campaign.

The situation created by COVID-19 has adversely affected every family across the country. Daily-wagers, small and marginal farmers, small enterprises, those employed with the small and medium industries in the private sector, contract workers, those engaged in the tourism and hospitality sectors including the self-employed, the huge chunk of rickshaw-pullers, taxi-drivers, porters, and boatmen, those involved in cottage industries, self-help-group members – the list is endless. For states like Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, the woes are even worse; lakhs of people from these states who were engaged as migrant workers in Kerala and other southern and western states, have suddenly become jobless. Countless families across rural India primarily dependent on the meagre remittances of their migrant sons in far-away places are among the worst-affected.

Given this scenario, an all-encompassing economic package was what the country urgently required. The Rs 1.7 lakh crore Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) for the poor to help them fight the battle against coronavirus – which is part of the Rs 20-lakh crore package – has already provided much-needed relief to crores of families. According to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, around 41 crore poor people have already received financial assistance to the tune of Rs 52,608 crore under the PMGKY during the ongoing lockdown so far. This is in addition to free supply of food grains, insurance cover, cash transfer to women under the Jan Dhan scheme, to name a few. Implemented smoothly, these and other measures are expected to empower the poor, labourers, migrants, etc., both from organized and unorganized sectors.

Economists, while analysing the package, have described this package as one that can make the Indian economy self-reliant in the true sense. This will be possible, they say, by way of leveraging the inherent strengths of the country's unique demographics, the available technological skills and the sizeable domestic demand by building infrastructure and robust supply chains. It is in this context that the Prime Minister has also asked the people to be "vocal for local." It is a fact that this crisis has taught the country the importance of local manufacturing, local market and local supply chains. It is worth studying how the demands were "locally" met during the crisis. It will also be important to see how the Prime Minister's economic package and the reforms subsequently announced by the Finance Minister are actually implemented and how the benefits thereafter reach the last person.

Meanwhile, the reforms announced by the Union Finance Minister in continuation of the Prime Minister's package, has detailed seven measures for providing employment, support to businesses, Ease of Doing Business, and State Governments as well sectors such as Education and Health. These reforms include supply chain reforms for agriculture, rational tax system, simple and clear laws, capable human resource and a strong financial system, and are expected to provide a much-needed fillip to promote business, attract investment, and above all regenerate employment. All these now need proper implementation on one side and an alert citizenry with vigilant eyes on the other. (PIB)