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While the Aam Aadmi Party and its head Arvind Kejriwal are basking in its new found glory at the centre of the nation’s power, a relatively lesser known name in the party is quietly sewing together an economic policy for the party. Prithvi Reddy, a member of the national executive of the party and entrepreneur in Bangalore, has been chosen to put his entrepreneurial and corporate experience to build a policy for the benefit of the ‘aam aadmi.’
“Its not rocket science,” says Reddy about his task. A mechanical engineer with a management degree, he worked in Europe for a couple of years before returning to India to join his family business. Possessing a streak of social activism, Reddy had already participated in a few anti-corruption movements when he met Kejriwal at one such rally named ‘Corruption Saku’ (Enough of Corruption) in Bangalore in 2010. His association with the Aam Aadmi Party is a result of that meeting and he is now the party’s representative in Karnataka.
“There are a lot of misconceptions around us. The aam aadmi is not necessarily a ‘gareeb aadmi,’” says Reddy. “We are not Robin Hoods who will steal from the rich and pay the poor. Our policy will be for the development of the entire country and each individual.”
According to Reddy, communism is a system in which the rich become poorer but the poor do not get any richer, while capitalism on the other hand is a system in which the rich feed off the poor. “We have to find a way to beat poverty and development for the nation without taking an extreme route,” he says, adopting an extremely pragmatic approach to a complex problem that would make you question its ease of implementation. “From where we see it, implementation is not the problem. The issue is that there’s a lack of political will to do so,” he says at the risk of sounding idealistic.
“The first and foremost aspect of our economic policy is to look at every citizen in the country as a resource, not a liability,” says Reddy. “We would like to ensure that people are adding value in some way or the other whether in a field, in a cottage industry or in a factory. Only when people add value can you overcome poverty.”
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At the risk of sounding idealistic, the AAP’s economic policy is broadly:
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| Not an “extreme” like communism, nor capitalism, but drawing the best of both worlds in a middle path |
| Treats the large Indian population as a resource, not liability to empower them (through knowledge, skill etc ) to add value to the growth of the country |
| Spread the geographic distribution of growth in the country through better infrastructure and incentives to facilitate industries and residence in smaller towns |
| Balancing the ease of business in the country while keeping appropriate checks and balances in place to ensure the nation’s growth is not compromised |
| Create an environment that encourages honesty, simplified policies and regulations to prevent loopholes that can be misused |
To do so, citizens should be made self-reliant with not only education but skilled labour also being encouraged. The country’s population needs to be incentivised, he says, citing the example of China which concentrates on the bottom of the pyramid encouraging people to not only manufacture, but also emphasises the learning of English to the extent of providing financial aid for the same.
“If it is agriculture and manufacture that can be the backbone of our economy, emphasis should be laid on strengthening the two,” he says.
In a country which derives 60% of its GDP from the service sector, Reddy says it is not practical to employ the proportionate amount of the 1.21 billion population in the service segment immediately due to the low level of education and high level of poverty. However, agriculture on the other hand, which employs about 60% of India’s population contributes less than 15% to the nation's GDP. As a solution, Reddy says measures are needed to take the farmers up the value chain, perhaps through co-operative, wherein the farmer gets a rightful price for his produce while the profits of the middlemen are also kept in check.
The problem extends to larger industries in the country wherein larger conglomerates and industries also take advantage of national resources without contributing proportionately to the development of the country. Working on a policy that aims to rid the country of crony capitalism, or favours being granted to businesses with good relations with the government, Reddy says the business regulations will be made in a way that provides incentives only to those who pay back the country in some way.
“Let any global company sell its produce in India, but let them make it in India too. That way, jobs are created and purchasing power is increased,” he says.
Reddy believes that industries availing of Government benefits should also be regulated to an extent in which a wrongdoer should be easily pulled up and the benefits given to him, taken back. “If an industry has availed a government subsidy for land and has not delivered the promise it made while acquiring the land, it should be held responsible and the land should be taken back. The problem is that our political leaders cry foul but do not have provisions to do anything about it because the law is so complex.”
“We believe there is so much corruption today and profits going to those who are not working for it because there is no fear of punishment,” he says. Should there be a fear of getting caught, the wrong doer will think twice before cheating or committing any other crime irrespective of the magnitude of the punishment, he explains. “Its not the quantum of punishment but the surety of punishment that will prevent wrong doing.”
Reddy also aims to simplify the wordage of laws, policies and regulations in the country, not only for the convenience of comprehension, but also to increase the ease of business in the country. “Today, manufacturers do not want to come to set up their units in India, because the law is very complex to understand and work with.”
If an industry does enter the country by beyond these initial barriers to entry, the government gives them land in a remote area where people will find it hard to go and work, he says. “If the Government does not give them housing to live in, a school for their children to go to or a mall for them to visit during the weekends, how will anyone go and work there? ” he says.
“We will ensure that we facilitate not only the ease of doing business, but also have the necessary checks and balances on them. We will encourage the private sector to develop the area, for instance low-cost housing, in order to encourage geographic distribution of growth,” Reddy says.
“Growth can be facilitated by not looking at the population of the country as a liability but as a resource which can be empowered to add value, ” he concludes.
