Rahul Agarwal
It is very plausible to elucidate that United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has been grabbing headlines with lot of scams, inflation, fiscal deficit, politics etc. Almost every month a scam break out by media and which creates a chaos between the political parties and which hampers the proceedings of parliament sessions. Due to these problems UPA government loses faith from the people and many famous economists says that this government has been the worst government ever. But let me talk about the good things which UPA government did to again gain the faith of the people of India before 2014 elections.
1.
FDI (Foreign Direct Investment)
Recently in the second week of September, UPA government opened up the gates of India for the foreign players. Government allowed FDI in retail sector, aviation sector and insurance sector. This will boost up the economy of the India because of the foreign investment. India, desperately needs investment in its Infrastructure, power sector etc. Due to FDI in retail only around 10 million jobs will be created within a span of 10 years according to the government claims; this will make it the largest in the organized development. Likewise in Aviation sector also, when foreign players will come in our country and they put money in the Indian aviation industry then it will bring more competition between players, it will help to acquire new aircrafts, new jobs will be available etc. So these are all the benefits that India will get after FDI opened in the aviation sector by the UPA government.
These steps which were taken by the UPA might change the global picture on India.
2. Pharma Sector
With rising cost of living, it also affects the health care costs. Many people deprived of getting a good medical treatment because of rising healthcare costs. Because of this rising healthcare costs people curtail their dependence to the medicines and they prefer ayurvedic treatment because these high prices of drugs can’t afford even by the middle class family and so does the below poverty line people. In India still 60% of the population depends on the agriculture for their livelihood, so they can’t afford those exorbitantly priced drugs. So keeping in mind, on 27 September Group of Ministers (GoM) had approved a new pharmaceutical policy. Through this policy around 348 drugs will be available at a cheap cost. SC ( Supreme Court) on 4 October, gave government four weeks time to report back on this new pharmaceutical policy which was approved by GoM ( Group of ministers) on 27 September. This policy was approved after 18 years. This type of policy was last announced in 1994, which covered only 74 drugs only. According to this policy, the price of the new drugs which will be regulated determined by the (WAP) Weighted average price of all brands which have market share of more than 1 percent by volume. So this was the good step taken by the UPA. Due to this people on India will get medicines at a very cheap cost.
Recently in the second week of September, UPA government opened up the gates of India for the foreign players. Government allowed FDI in retail sector, aviation sector and insurance sector. This will boost up the economy of the India because of the foreign investment. India, desperately needs investment in its Infrastructure, power sector etc. Due to FDI in retail only around 10 million jobs will be created within a span of 10 years according to the government claims; this will make it the largest in the organized development. Likewise in Aviation sector also, when foreign players will come in our country and they put money in the Indian aviation industry then it will bring more competition between players, it will help to acquire new aircrafts, new jobs will be available etc. So these are all the benefits that India will get after FDI opened in the aviation sector by the UPA government.
These steps which were taken by the UPA might change the global picture on India.
2. Pharma Sector
With rising cost of living, it also affects the health care costs. Many people deprived of getting a good medical treatment because of rising healthcare costs. Because of this rising healthcare costs people curtail their dependence to the medicines and they prefer ayurvedic treatment because these high prices of drugs can’t afford even by the middle class family and so does the below poverty line people. In India still 60% of the population depends on the agriculture for their livelihood, so they can’t afford those exorbitantly priced drugs. So keeping in mind, on 27 September Group of Ministers (GoM) had approved a new pharmaceutical policy. Through this policy around 348 drugs will be available at a cheap cost. SC ( Supreme Court) on 4 October, gave government four weeks time to report back on this new pharmaceutical policy which was approved by GoM ( Group of ministers) on 27 September. This policy was approved after 18 years. This type of policy was last announced in 1994, which covered only 74 drugs only. According to this policy, the price of the new drugs which will be regulated determined by the (WAP) Weighted average price of all brands which have market share of more than 1 percent by volume. So this was the good step taken by the UPA. Due to this people on India will get medicines at a very cheap cost.
3.
Solar Power
In order to give relief from the hefty bills and 7-8 hours power cut during the days of summer, the government plans to provide a subsidy of 30% to those households who will install solar power systems in their houses. This is move which initiates that more and more households could be self sufficient in electricity. As there was a report came in a leading magazine that only 50 per cent of electricity generated in India is billed, of which only 40 per cent of consumers pay the bill regularly. This move will give some relief not only to people of India but also to the power distribution companies. Power theft alone costs the nation around Rs 40,000 crores annually. So for tackling these issues every year this move will be a good one by the UPA. Thumps up UPA!
4. LAAR (Land acquisitions, rehabilitation and resettlement) In India many industrialists torn up their business plans because of land acquisition law . Industrialist’s wants land to set up big industries but thanks to the India’s land acquisition law, due to this still thousands of projects are still lying on the desk of the ministers and waiting for the approval of the ministers. From Tata Motors’ Singur project to L.N Mittal they all torn their business plans due to land acquisition law. Currently the land acquisition law is 100 year old, which is truly a road block for the industrialists. Due to this the government has been in immense pressure to work more on land acquisition bill.
A great example could be of Hindalco Industries’ which was grabbing headlines because the projects of Hindalco Industries were stranded in middle because of land issues. The projects were of bauxite and thermal coal in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.
So for these problems which have been facing by the industrialists the ministers almost nodded for the LAAR bill which is likely to be moved during the Parliament’s winter session. Many industry experts say that the new bill will likely to address the new problem of the land acquisition. This move might create good image of the UPA. So last but not least I would UPA is on the right track.
5. Young Blood on the cabinet
On 28 October 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inducted 22 ministers, including 7 of cabinet rank and 15 ministers of state with two holding independent charge. Changes took places which change the entire scenario of the ministry. In this reshuffle the main tag was Oil minister Jaipal Reddy, who was switched from petroleum and oil minister to Science and Technology portfolio. The new minister who came in charge was Veerappa Moily. Let me talk about railways also when the new minister of railways who came in charge was Pawan Kumar Bansal, he immediately declared his intention to raise passenger fares, which has not been increased since a decade .When Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mamata Banerjee used to be the railway ministers for 10 years they both didn’t increase the railway fares.
Earlier this year when Trinamool Congress railway minister, Dinesh Trivedi proposed a fare hike in railways, lost his job for bringing down the expenses of the railways. Irony was people were ready to pay higher prices because it was much needed to revive Indian economy which has been on a slippery path.
Young Blood came in the cabinet and they includes Power Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Corporate Affairs minister, Sachin Pilot, I&B minister, Manish Tewari, Food& consumer affairs minister, KV Thomas, Tourism minister, K Chiranjeevi, Women and Child Development minister, Krishna Tirath. So these are the minister who had promoted by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. So this might create good things for th UPA regime and this was the good step taken by the UPA.
6. Fiscal consolidation road map by P. Chidambaram
On 29 October 2012, Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram rolled out a fiscal consolidation road map to revive the Indian economy because of the rising fiscal deficit which was 5.1% of the GDP, which is a huge amount for an economy like India. During the press conference on 29 October, P. Chidambaram said his aim was to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3% by 2017. He presented a fully prepared road map to achieve that aim. So this was the good step taken by the UPA. I am sure Chidambaram who is the favorite of investors since the 1997 dream budget will do justice with his job and cut down the fiscal deficit of the Indian Economy. So this was the good step taken under the UPA rule.
With these Steps the UPA government spurs not only the growth of industries but also of Indian Economy. According to the some economists this government has been one of the worst governments India has ever seen, but yes now they all are trying their best to revive the Indian economy. I would say when you find the bad way which is not feasible to grow then only you can head towards the good way. So this is what UPA is doing. Future will decide whether these steps will be fruitful or just a waste of time!
In order to give relief from the hefty bills and 7-8 hours power cut during the days of summer, the government plans to provide a subsidy of 30% to those households who will install solar power systems in their houses. This is move which initiates that more and more households could be self sufficient in electricity. As there was a report came in a leading magazine that only 50 per cent of electricity generated in India is billed, of which only 40 per cent of consumers pay the bill regularly. This move will give some relief not only to people of India but also to the power distribution companies. Power theft alone costs the nation around Rs 40,000 crores annually. So for tackling these issues every year this move will be a good one by the UPA. Thumps up UPA!
4. LAAR (Land acquisitions, rehabilitation and resettlement) In India many industrialists torn up their business plans because of land acquisition law . Industrialist’s wants land to set up big industries but thanks to the India’s land acquisition law, due to this still thousands of projects are still lying on the desk of the ministers and waiting for the approval of the ministers. From Tata Motors’ Singur project to L.N Mittal they all torn their business plans due to land acquisition law. Currently the land acquisition law is 100 year old, which is truly a road block for the industrialists. Due to this the government has been in immense pressure to work more on land acquisition bill.
A great example could be of Hindalco Industries’ which was grabbing headlines because the projects of Hindalco Industries were stranded in middle because of land issues. The projects were of bauxite and thermal coal in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.
So for these problems which have been facing by the industrialists the ministers almost nodded for the LAAR bill which is likely to be moved during the Parliament’s winter session. Many industry experts say that the new bill will likely to address the new problem of the land acquisition. This move might create good image of the UPA. So last but not least I would UPA is on the right track.
5. Young Blood on the cabinet
On 28 October 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inducted 22 ministers, including 7 of cabinet rank and 15 ministers of state with two holding independent charge. Changes took places which change the entire scenario of the ministry. In this reshuffle the main tag was Oil minister Jaipal Reddy, who was switched from petroleum and oil minister to Science and Technology portfolio. The new minister who came in charge was Veerappa Moily. Let me talk about railways also when the new minister of railways who came in charge was Pawan Kumar Bansal, he immediately declared his intention to raise passenger fares, which has not been increased since a decade .When Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mamata Banerjee used to be the railway ministers for 10 years they both didn’t increase the railway fares.
Earlier this year when Trinamool Congress railway minister, Dinesh Trivedi proposed a fare hike in railways, lost his job for bringing down the expenses of the railways. Irony was people were ready to pay higher prices because it was much needed to revive Indian economy which has been on a slippery path.
Young Blood came in the cabinet and they includes Power Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Corporate Affairs minister, Sachin Pilot, I&B minister, Manish Tewari, Food& consumer affairs minister, KV Thomas, Tourism minister, K Chiranjeevi, Women and Child Development minister, Krishna Tirath. So these are the minister who had promoted by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. So this might create good things for th UPA regime and this was the good step taken by the UPA.
6. Fiscal consolidation road map by P. Chidambaram
On 29 October 2012, Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram rolled out a fiscal consolidation road map to revive the Indian economy because of the rising fiscal deficit which was 5.1% of the GDP, which is a huge amount for an economy like India. During the press conference on 29 October, P. Chidambaram said his aim was to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3% by 2017. He presented a fully prepared road map to achieve that aim. So this was the good step taken by the UPA. I am sure Chidambaram who is the favorite of investors since the 1997 dream budget will do justice with his job and cut down the fiscal deficit of the Indian Economy. So this was the good step taken under the UPA rule.
With these Steps the UPA government spurs not only the growth of industries but also of Indian Economy. According to the some economists this government has been one of the worst governments India has ever seen, but yes now they all are trying their best to revive the Indian economy. I would say when you find the bad way which is not feasible to grow then only you can head towards the good way. So this is what UPA is doing. Future will decide whether these steps will be fruitful or just a waste of time!
