 "'Surnames, castes must be replaced by proven ability'")
Sixty per cent of our population depends on agriculture for livelihood. Agriculture contributes only 16 per cent to the GDP [gross domestic product]. The share of services in the GDP is touching almost 60 per cent. Services in India have grown because they are not entirely dependent on either government policy or the lack of infrastructure. It is an important challenge for us that we tackle the problem of under-employment in agriculture by transferring a very large number of people from agriculture to the manufacturing sector or the services sector.
Quality of politics
In a parliamentary democracy, politics impacts the life of the nation. Politics formulates the policy. Policy determines the direction of the country. The power of politics is immense. The stature of men, who man the politics must, therefore, be in consonance with the extent of expectation of good governance. If India’s GDP can grow by nine per cent despite bad governance, what change good governance will bring to India?
Over the past two decades, India has witnessed the decline of structured political parties. A large number of parties have become a crowd around families. In the case of some parties, it is caste alone that determines the support base of the party. In unstructured parties, there is hardly any inner party democracy. Succession is through dynasties. We are increasingly witnessing the evolution of world’s largest democracy from meritocracy to a dynastic democracy. This has led to a sudden decline in the quality of politics. Identity politics is taking the front seat. Sound policy is forsaken for the caste populism. Despite this, there is reason for hope. The Indian middle class is expanding. The aspirational class is also expanding. People are getting restless. Public opinion alone can alter the direction of politics. The real strength of India’s democracy will emerge where the surnames and castes are replaced by proven ability and integrity. This will impact the quality of governance.
Policy paralysis and poverty eradication
Good governance needs strong leadership. It needs decisiveness to form a policy. Leadership must necessarily have credibility. The economic model for India is increasingly becoming a subject matter of larger consensus. You need a nine per cent growth for the next decade or more. A continuous nine per cent growth will target investment; it will create jobs. It will generate larger revenue for the government. Enhanced revenue can be used for infrastructure creation and social spending. It will expedite poverty-alleviation schemes. Unfortunately, the past few years have witnessed a policy paralysis and a decline in credibility of the political leadership. This tendency has to be replaced. Our poverty-alleviation schemes, including income-enhancing schemes, must combine their social objects and asset-creation. The need to eliminate manual scavenging, uplift the weakest, particularly the tribals, concentration on health care, education and rural infrastructure are the major challenges of the day.
How do you reach a nine per cent growth rate?
In order to reach a nine per cent growth rate, India must have decisive policy formulation. We need to expedite and improve upon the infrastructure-creation. Unfortunately, success stories like the telecom sector and the national highways were marred by corruption. It is not healthy for the economy to hold up innumerable large investments in the name of a new licensing regime... Economy and ecology must co-exist. It is extremely necessary that our manufacturing sector reforms are expedited. We live in an age where consumers buy products that are cheaper. Low-cost manufacturing is the key to success. Rationalising of interest rates, improvement of infrastructure, effective implementation of power sector reforms and availability of utilities on internationally comparable prices is the need of the hour...
India has failed to exploit its tourism potential. Lower taxes on tourism-related industries, improved airports, railway stations and cheaper hotels are necessary to exploit our entire potential. We need to liberalise the movement of goods within the country. Higher taxation is a short-lived policy, which will never bring long-term results. Taxation rates have to be modest and internationally comparable...
Coalition governments
The age of tall leaders and tall majorities is over. No party today is in line for getting a large majority on its own. The political agenda of India has evolved. In the initial years after independence, the political agenda involved a serious concern owing to cancers of the unity and integrity of India. Sovereignty was of prime interest. Once threats to national sovereignty subsided, the principal issue of concern was economic development, poverty alleviation and regional aspirations. Federalism is an issue of prime importance today. Federalism today involves sharing of power with the regional parties in the States. The anchor of a coalition can be a national party. The anchor of a coalition can, however, be a party which has a large strength of Lok Sabha seats. The regional parties hold the balance of power in determining who rules New Delhi. The two essential ingredients for the functioning of a successful coalition are that the national parties must display large heartedness for accommodating regional players. Regional parties, similarly, must evolve a national outlook. This alone can ensure good governance.
Excerpts from the K M Kundnani Memorial lecture by Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, at K C College, University of Mumbai on January 31