Subir Roy: Build one India, brick by brick

The sharply perceptive interview on Headlines Today of Arun Shourie, who was the toast of news channels a year ago explaining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) victory, assessing one year of the Narendra Modi rule, has done great good to the cause of informed public debate. The BJP came to power by defeating a government led by an incapacitated and ineffectual Manmohan Singh. The BJP's campaign was centred around and led by Mr Modi in the manner of a US presidential election campaign and people voted foremost for Mr Modi.

Now, Mr Shourie has told us that one big negative of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule is the all-powerful role of the Modi-Amit Shah-Arun Jaitley threesome. Mr Modi led a generational change in the BJP that was vitally needed. The Congress is taking an aeon to do the same. But has this been good for the party and the people? The BJP has suffered a string of defeats after the parliamentary elections, most dramatically in Delhi. The feeling is that one man can shake things up, but a national party has to be built bottom upwards, taking in the country's many voices. A charismatic leader is fine up to a point, but beware if he is also possessed with a sense of his own glory and narcissistic, too (the monogrammed suit).

Democracy within the BJP apart, the economy is on a recovery path, but it had set out on that course even before the NDA came in. A new set of gross domestic product (GDP) numbers say India is emerging as the fastest growing economy in the world, but measures of industrial production, sentiment among business leaders and bank lending trends tell a different story. As for agriculture and rural India, a crisis of distress has blown up in the face of a government that has no answer. In comparison, it seems that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, goaded by the National Advisory Council, had a better grasp of the conditions of the poor and was able to make a dent.

To quickly get India back to the path of high growth, the Modi agenda promised ease of doing business. Some movement has taken place by way of simplification of forms and procedures, but this is a long and arduous journey that cannot be completed in a year or even five. There is also easing of labour laws and environmental regulations. But some experts say that to protect the interest of the poorest workers (minimum wages, statutory dues, even being given a helmet to wear), it is the small business units that need to be regulated; large businesses will compete to pay well to get the best talent.

As for environmental clearance, in the past these mostly eventually came through after great delay and cost. Worse, conditions imposed with clearance were not monitored. The idea is to have a regime that protects the environment through a transparent and simple process that is not corrupt. The idea is not to simply allow forests to be cut down to mine coal, but to say a degraded forest is one thing but a virgin forest in a core area is another.

On the ease of doing business, the greatest disappointment is over the tax regime. A change on the retrospective tax issue was promised, but not delivered. Then, facing protest, backtracking is taking place. Foreign travel details were sought to be included in income tax returns, but again, after protests, the latest is that it will not cover business travel. Who is to know which is which? It seems the tax administration tail is wagging the finance ministry dog. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, a well-spoken lawyer without a political base, has not brought to his position any new thinking in either economics or administration.

The one major policy change that the NDA government has brought about is going federal in its spending. The old Planning Commission has been disbanded, centrally sponsored schemes and budgetary allocations for them have been drastically cut. Even Mr Modi's pet projects, like Swachh Bharat and drinking water, have not been spared. The states have been given a substantial amount through the Finance Commission's recommendations and asked to make their bed and sleep in it. The Union government has for decades tried to cut down on centrally sponsored projects and schemes but failed. It makes sense to get rid of a good many of them, but hand-holding is needed for states with weak administrations. How to do this? Advise, cajole, dangle a carrot and stick. In sum, interact, listen to the many voices that make up India with its different levels of administrative efficiency and growth and help build sound systems brick by brick. For this, you need to consult grass-roots political formations, not diktats from the top.

Perhaps the most important point for which non-Sangh Parivar people will be thankful to Mr Shourie is his underlining the concerns of the minorities by focusing on those of a man like Julio Ribeiro. I can recall how Anglo-Indian boys of the air force covered themselves with glory in the 1965 war. If you have forgotten, go take a look at the plaque outside Bengaluru Cantonment railway station. The ghar wapsi-love jihad-church vandalising elements have to be told to cease and desist or face the strong arm of the law. This is because the idea of one India has to be protected to make the country strong.

subirkroy@gmail.com