Best of BS Opinion: Land reforms, nuclear energy can power Indian economy

Today's Opinion page traverses the regulatory landscape, from land reforms to nuclear power, corporate governance to government divestment and comes away with deep insights into all

Hello and welcome to the Best of BS Opinion, our daily wrap of Business Standard's opinion page.  Indian manufacturing has long battled the bogey of land acquisition, which can be slow, costly, and riddled with red tape across jurisdictions. Multiple chokepoints mean higher costs, financing hurdles, and sometimes even render entire projects unviable, notes our first editorial, and also commends the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) call for a comprehensive overhaul of land acquisition for manufacturing. The NDA government had early on in its first term attempted land reforms but was forced to beat a retreat in the face of political and farmer resistance. Indeed, the landscape for land reforms is fraught with political sensitivities but the economic compulsion for it means the government must bite the bullet, using political consensus and transparent safeguards for sellers. Given the churn in global supply chain, India needs to bump up manufacturing's share in GDP, but unresolved issues in factor markets could cost it a golden opportunity.

  The central government earlier this month opened up multiple elements of the nuclear energy ecosystem to the private sector, including uranium mining, imports, and processing, besides nuclear power generation. This, our second editorial notes, is a big push towards the country's ambitions of a 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047, and a nod to its role in climate imperatives, energy mix, and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Given India's low uranium reserves, the relaxation on imports will be key. However, all of this will entail significant changes to existing laws, especially the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act that has so far deterred foreign firms. Meanwhile, private players must adopt innovative financing structures suited to the long-term nature of nuclear assets. The government also must engage with local communities to allay public fear and ensure environmental care and fair compensation.

  All headline-grabbing corporate frauds - from Enron to WorldCom to our own Satyam - have thrown up a common question: What were the independent directors doing? Amit Tandon takes on this nettlesome issue in his column, pointing out that the role of an independent director must go beyond passing an exam. It is not enough to being familiar with the letter of the law; independent directors must follow its spirit. For too long, boardrooms had become a family-and-friends cocoon until Sebi brought in strict regulation to diversify them. But then, diversity in corporate governance  should not remain a box-ticking exercise, and mere compliance should not be confused with culture. Independent directors, he reminds us, must be true to their designation: willingn to challenge, question, and dissent when needed.

  The question of what to do with slothful public sector enterprises (PSEs) has vexed many a government. In 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi loftily announced at a divestment webinar that “The government has no business to be in business.” Earlier that year, the Union Budget had announced the government’s policy on “disinvestment in all non-strategic and strategic sectors". But, as our columnist Amit Tyagi points out using data, that policy has now made a 180-degree turn, with divestment activity now lower than before FY21. Tyagi notes that this poor show in divestment is likely due to the reluctance of the ministries to part with their fiefdom and patronage; and bureaucratic fear of getting into trouble with investigative agencies over potential allegations of underselling PSEs. Even more worrying is the recent trend of the government infusing substantial funds into PSEs through equity and easy loans, a case of throwing good money after bad. The Centre, he argues, must return to its 2021 divestment policy and implement it with rigour in a time-bound manner, backed by proper planning, as only privatisation can transform the working culture of PSEs.

  The King of Fruits: That is how the mango is known across the Indian subcontinent, where it is said to have its origins. A new book 'Mango: A Global History' follows the fruit on its globetrotting journey through empire and slavery, revolution and recipes. The authors, writes Sneha Pathak, recount how world leaders and slaves alike took to the fruit - the former for flavour, the latter for survival - while the messy eating of its fleshiness meant that memsahibs of the British empire took to devouring it in the bathroom, earning it the moniker 'bathroom fruit'. In fact, the authors Constance L Kirker and Mary Newman tell the reader in the introduction itself that eating a mango is a “full body experience” and that to savour it one must get out of one’s “comfort zones and get messy”.