A slowing GDP growth rate, falling rupee, subdued investments and the much-hyped policy paralysis are a few among the hundreds of reasons propelling weak sentiments on the future of the Indian economy. Clearly, there is need for a fresh impetus and bold reforms to revive investor confidence. UPA II may be rattled by the coalition blues, but needs to come out of its comatose state to get the economy back on track. Dr R Swaminathan Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) who suggests ten quick ways to improve the flailing health of the Indian economy.
1) INVESTMENT IN INFRA: Pump up both foreign and domestic investment -- government and private -- in infrastructure projects Increase the time-to-market cycle for these projects by allowing foreign companies to enter the tendering process. Rationalise the tendering processes in road, rail, cold storage and logistics, aviation, ports and distribution. Increased connectivity within India will promote trade and entrepreneurship
2) HIGH-END MANUFACTURING: Implement the integrated manufacturing policy proposed by the Ministry of Commerce in a mission-mode approach. India needs more factories to generate employment. Revive the concept of SEZs and promote them with incentives. Such a focus will increase employment, while generating consumer demand
3) INDUSTRY STATUS FOR AGRICULTURE: Increase the investment in bio-technology and bring in agricultural land reforms that will help farmers with small holdings get greater access to credit while allowing them to consolidate their holdings through mechanisms like Producer Companies and Self-Help Groups (SHGs). This will push up rural demand and purchasing power.
4) ENTREPRENEURSHIP INCUBATION CELL: Free up the entrepreneurial spirit of Indians by encouraging and incentivising them to start their factories and industries. Give special focus to entrepreneurs who bring in innovative high-end technology and generate Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). Entrepreneurship will not only generate jobs, but will create drivers of growth.
5) ENERGY REFORMS: The country is energy and electricity deficient. There should a nation-wide policy on achieving energy security. With adequate energy and electricity, factories, industries and services-based economy cannot take off. Access to affordable energy is critical for industries as well as for mechanisation of agriculture
6) INTERLINK MAJOR RIVERS: Large parts of country are either water-deficient or water-surplus. Interlinking major rivers will provision for adequate drinking water as well as for industrial purposes. Such an interlinking will also provide an inland waterway system. Access to adequate water and an inland waterway system are critical to jump-start the economy
.jpg)
7) CREATE A HI-SPEED RAIL NETWORK: For an economy to prosper people need to move quickly from one city to another. A high-speed rail network will not only integrate Indian cities, but will also promote the overall economy. An affordable high speed rail network will pump up the growth in several core sectors like construction, manufacturing and services.
8) SKILL DEVELOPMENT: India requires over 120 million people skilled in automobile engineering, construction technologies, medical services, manufacturing and high-end software programming by 2020. India’s young population needs to be trained adequately if the economy has to grow in a sustainable manner
9) BOOST HIGHER EDUCATION: Focus on higher education is critical if India needs to keep up its supply of good quality graduates, post-graduates and doctorates in order to provide for a rapidly growing economy. Indian youth need to be exposed to global standards and private sector should be allowed to tie-up with established foreign universities to provision high quality education
10) E-COMMERCE AND M-GOVERNANCE: Digitise all government records and drastically reduce all physical contact for government services. This will bring in greater transparency, reduce corruption and will rationalise the size of the bureaucracy. Digital governance will reduce delays and corruption in decision-making
1) INVESTMENT IN INFRA: Pump up both foreign and domestic investment -- government and private -- in infrastructure projects Increase the time-to-market cycle for these projects by allowing foreign companies to enter the tendering process. Rationalise the tendering processes in road, rail, cold storage and logistics, aviation, ports and distribution. Increased connectivity within India will promote trade and entrepreneurship
2) HIGH-END MANUFACTURING: Implement the integrated manufacturing policy proposed by the Ministry of Commerce in a mission-mode approach. India needs more factories to generate employment. Revive the concept of SEZs and promote them with incentives. Such a focus will increase employment, while generating consumer demand
3) INDUSTRY STATUS FOR AGRICULTURE: Increase the investment in bio-technology and bring in agricultural land reforms that will help farmers with small holdings get greater access to credit while allowing them to consolidate their holdings through mechanisms like Producer Companies and Self-Help Groups (SHGs). This will push up rural demand and purchasing power.
4) ENTREPRENEURSHIP INCUBATION CELL: Free up the entrepreneurial spirit of Indians by encouraging and incentivising them to start their factories and industries. Give special focus to entrepreneurs who bring in innovative high-end technology and generate Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). Entrepreneurship will not only generate jobs, but will create drivers of growth.
5) ENERGY REFORMS: The country is energy and electricity deficient. There should a nation-wide policy on achieving energy security. With adequate energy and electricity, factories, industries and services-based economy cannot take off. Access to affordable energy is critical for industries as well as for mechanisation of agriculture
6) INTERLINK MAJOR RIVERS: Large parts of country are either water-deficient or water-surplus. Interlinking major rivers will provision for adequate drinking water as well as for industrial purposes. Such an interlinking will also provide an inland waterway system. Access to adequate water and an inland waterway system are critical to jump-start the economy
7) CREATE A HI-SPEED RAIL NETWORK: For an economy to prosper people need to move quickly from one city to another. A high-speed rail network will not only integrate Indian cities, but will also promote the overall economy. An affordable high speed rail network will pump up the growth in several core sectors like construction, manufacturing and services.
8) SKILL DEVELOPMENT: India requires over 120 million people skilled in automobile engineering, construction technologies, medical services, manufacturing and high-end software programming by 2020. India’s young population needs to be trained adequately if the economy has to grow in a sustainable manner
9) BOOST HIGHER EDUCATION: Focus on higher education is critical if India needs to keep up its supply of good quality graduates, post-graduates and doctorates in order to provide for a rapidly growing economy. Indian youth need to be exposed to global standards and private sector should be allowed to tie-up with established foreign universities to provision high quality education
10) E-COMMERCE AND M-GOVERNANCE: Digitise all government records and drastically reduce all physical contact for government services. This will bring in greater transparency, reduce corruption and will rationalise the size of the bureaucracy. Digital governance will reduce delays and corruption in decision-making
Great thinking. I am a great fan of your blog.
ReplyDelete