'Knowledge-driven economy significant to propel development'

A knowledge-driven economy is important for overall development of the country, Dr Rajgopal Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor to Union Government and Chairman, Scientific Advisory Committee to the Union Cabinet, said here today.
"To attain overall development, knowledge has become a key factor today," Chidambaram said delivering a lecture on the 'Role of Industry in a Knowledge Economy' during 18th National Technology Day celebration at Navaratna PSU NALCO.
Strongly advocating a knowledge-driven economy to ensure development, he said, "Development without security is vulnerable and security without development is meaningless."
"The path to a knowledge-driven economy is paved by new advanced technology," Chidambaram said.

For this, he stressed that there should be a "thermodynamic equilibrium" between the "industry system and academic system".
Lauding Nalco's performance and contribution, he described the aluminium major as the pride of India.

In his presidential address, NALCO's CMD Tapan Kumar Chand focused on knowledge and technology as cutting edge of a business organisation in contemporary competitive climate, a company release said.
Chidambaram disputed the government's contention that the
Budget has stepped up investment.
"It is not correct. Total expenditure of the government as a proportion of GDP has fallen. Look at the number for the three years 2015-16, 2016-17 Revised Estimate and 2017-18 Budget Estimate. Total expenditure was 13.09 (per cent of GDP), increased to 13.36, but falls to 12.74 in BE of next year. That is a decline of 0.62 per cent and 0.62 per cent of the GDP represents about Rs 90,000 crore.

"Why did you cut back expenditure as a proportion of GDP by about Rs 90,000 crore that could have been used for enhancing spending on infrastructure as well as on social welfare schemes... Expenditure in several social welfare schemes as proportion of GDP has fallen. You don't look at absolute number, absolute number will look larger but as proportion of GDP, it has fallen," he said.
Chidamabram further said the government should not have reduced expenditure as percentage of GDP and it should have spent on projects and schemes that stimulate the economy.
On demonetisation, he said, it is now universally accepted it has damaged GDP in the current year - from 7.6 per cent in 2015-16 to 6.9 per cent as RBI says or 6.75 per cent as Economic Survey says or 6.6 per cent as IMF says or 6.0 per cent as CMIE says.

"It is now common ground that the GDP has been affected. The damage is one percentage or more. This will not stop with 2016-17. The shadow of demonetisation will fall on 2018-19 also. 2017-18 definitely and part of 2018-19," he said.
He said 75 per cent of all small, micro and medium enterprises have shut down post junking of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.
"And if you shut down an industry or business, revival is not easy. He has to go through several hoops again. From going and stabilising credit with banks, beginning with that he has to go through hoops all over again," Chidambaram said.

Jaitley, he said, did not make any revised estimate of direct tax collection for 2016-17 and has kept both personal income tax and corporate tax receipts at the same level to the last digit of the budgetary estimates.
On indirect taxes, the finance minister made an additional gain of Rs 16,000 crore in service tax, but lost Rs 13,000 crore in Customs revenue, Chidambaram said, adding that the only gain made was in excise duty of Rs 69,000 crore.
"Which means he has sought to tax the people of India on diesel and petroleum to get this additional (about) Rs 70,000 crore," he said.

Talking of the present global situation, he said most countries of the world have slowed down or are in a recession. Even the mighty Chinese economy has slowed.
"There are only four engines of growth - one is government expenditure, other is exports, third is private investment and fourth is private consumption.
To a question on charge by the BJP that the UPA did not
do anything to check blackmoney, Chidambaram shot back, saying, "What have (they) done which nobody before them have done?"
"They inherited the Liechtenstein list, that came to the government when UPA was in office. They have inherited the HSBC list which came via France and Germany which was again obtained when the UPA was in office. The Panama paper was a complete bonus. They did nothing to get the Panama papers that got published by a group of intrepid journalists. Beyond the Liechtenstein papers and the HSBC papers, what have they got," he said.

Chidambaram questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of putting Rs 15 lakh in every citizen's account by bringing back blackmoney from abroad.
"In fact, they have got nothing more than what the UPA had got and left behind. The prosecution against the Liechtenstein list, the first prosecution was launched by the UPA. The first notices were issued under the UPA," he said.
He also dismissed as "rubbish" the Prime Minister's charge that the Opposition, especially the Congress, was protecting the dishonest and corrupt by opposing demonetisation.
"It is absolutely rubbish. Is a farmer dishonest, is a scheduled tribe dishonest. Why assume that anyone who has got cash to be dishonest. Then he (Modi) should ask his ministers to disclose what cash balance they had on November 8, 2016, and anyone who had cash balance of over Rs 1-2 lakh, that minister should have been asked to go on the ground of dishonesty," he said.

Talking about the current situation in the country, he said young men and women were extremely concerned about job prospects.
"We have not just to create jobs for highly skilled and highly educated, but you have to create jobs for semi-skilled and semi-educated and you have to create jobs for school dropout," he added.
Asked if he saw rising public anger against the government, he said: "That it is not visible I can see. But resentment, discontentment need not always be visible. It can be a silent killer."
"If you dont create jobs, these unemployment community is a powder keg. A small spark can lead to a large explosion," he said.

Asked to rate the BJP-government's performance, he said, "I am not a rating agency, it is for rating agencies to declare ratings or rankings."
"You look at relative rank of India vis-a-vis other countries. There is practically no improvement in relative rank of India vis-a-vis other countries. You may have grown, but other countries are growing faster. Then, you are running on the same spot. You are now moving forward. You are running, but not moving forward," he added.