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COMMENTARY
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E-mail from readers the world over
Date sent: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 16:13:34 -0400
This Budget encourages NRI investment in a very small way. Overall, it lacks meat perhaps due to the coalition partners's wishes. This Budget does not do away with Inspector Raj. For example, what the government could have done is to fix duties on passenger goods to remove the discretionary powers of customs inspectors (say, fix duty for televisions at a flat rate of Rs 1,000 irrespective of size/usage/make/model). This was more important than doubling the duty-free baggage allowance to Rs 12,000. It was expected that there would be privatisation of banking, with increased speed to improve flow of funds and improve their utilisation. It seems that even the BJP does not have the vision needed to take India ahead with full speed. It appears that the babudom still had its way in preparing the Budget provisions. Subsidies and deficit are still very high. There was no provision for a social security number to enable a link between multiple financial systems. Unless the banking, tax and insurance systems are not linked, little use can be made of computerisation. It's time agriculture was treated like a business and not as a birthright. There should be tax on agriculture just like any industry. The government should exit from hotel, airline, shipping, entertainment, broadcasting, banking and insurance sectors immediately to aid their rapid growth. The biggest white elephant -- the Indian Railways -- is allowed to continue in the same old way.
Jayant Mehta
Date sent: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 19:57:54 +0530
The coverage of Budget '98 was just too professional. It was the most up-to-date coverage of an event in the history of Indian Internet history. Keep up the good work done by the Rediff team and my congrats to the whole team.
Satinder Singh
Date sent: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 11:46:24 PDT
I think the reason why Manmohan Singh and Chidambram are upset with Sinha's Budget is that Sinha has upstaged both of them and put his money where his mouth (or BJP's mouth) is; ie, in infrastructure and agriculture. While the earlier FMs kept talking about infrastructure and agriculture, they did precious little in terms of encouraging measures. Sinha, with his increased emphasis on infrastructure and agriculture, has corrected the past sins of his predecessors. Also, it is welcome to see the increase in defence outlay in accordance with cost inflation. The privatisation initiative is probably the most far-reaching, compared to all the Budgets since the so called liberalisation started in Narasimha Rao's time. And it is time that some of our naive politicians understood that liberalisation means increased competition and reduced entry barriers. It can also be done by allowing the domestic industry to compete and grow. It does not necessarily means selling the country to foreigners. Foreign capital is welcome but, without cultivating the domestic industry, we will never become an Asian tiger. All the strong Asian economies provide a lesson in that direction. Kudos to Sinha for a decent Budget in very difficult times.
Robert Shaw
Date sent: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 14:28:06 -0400
Has any ex-finance minister ever praise his successor? Will Rediff publish the comments by Madhu Dandavate on Manmohan Singh's Budget and comments by Manmohan Singh on Chidambaram's Budget in past 6, 8 years? I do not care what these bunch of politicians have to say. I do care what Nani Palkhivala has to say and what our industrywallahs are saying. Please publish Nani Palkhivala's comments.
Date sent: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 17:52:44 -0700
India's defence budget, as a percentage of our GDP, was quite high. There is no reason to increase it by 14 per cent. We'd like to be economic giants but we can gain economically only if we are strong enough. We needed nuclear power to show our muscle strength and to take advantage of being strong. But now that the defence budget has gone up, I can only see it as an arms race. For a poor country like India, it's too much. At this time, India needs more education, more infrastructure -- it does not need to spend more on defence. Only a rich country can afford an arms race. I definitely think this will instigate Pakistan to make more weapons -- India, in turn, will have to do the same. Since now our economy is open to foreigners, it will be wise to start developing our own industry base. Otherwise, foreign investment will proliferate and, if the Indian industry can't compete, it will be devastated. We need to spend more money on education, health care, science, technological development and, of course, infrastructure.
Kavita
Date sent: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 13:57:47 -0300
This is a good move. A very good move indeed. The reason is as follows: China, our biggest neighbour and one of the few Communist nations in the world today, spends far more on defence but, being a Communist nation, they only care about a strong army. India, on the other hand, is a democratic nation which puts its society 100 years ahead of the Chinese. The Budget is a positive one, very different from the previous Budgets presented by non-BJP parties. Over 100,000 houses are to get water, there will be more NRI investment and increased outlay in agriculture. Yet, its swadeshi outlook will boost the Indian economy and protect India from sanctions. If we can maintain our democratic society with a strong economy and MATCH the Chinese defence Budget, then it won't be long before India will, socially and economically, be a much better place than China. There are many Opposition ministers like Shri Chidambaram who have ALREADY started criticising the Budget without realising the fact that THEY were in power a few months ago and presented their own Budget. There are many ways to look at a thing negatively. The need today for the government is to do positive things for India and for us Indians to appreciate them. Certainly, after May 11, this is a next big step.
Akshay
Date sent: Mon, 1 Jun 1998 16:28:24 -0700
I have read some of the details of the Budget. Education and defence have been given priority, and that is a joy. I am very heartened by the emphasis on NRI investment. Privatisation of government-held enterprises is definitely welcome. Increasing duty charges by eight per cent is counterproductive, given our extortionist customs bureaucracy. However, the 'Inspector Raj' is being curtailed, mercifully -- the first meaningful step toward burying socialism. And finally, planned capital expenditure for infrastructure development will create the boom similar to the one that happened in the Roosevelt era in US -- there is no need to be overexercised about deficit. Good luck to the new government and people of India.
Pradip Parekh
Date sent: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 10:50:17 +0800
I was keen follower of Professor Madhu Dandavate when he was the railway minister in the 1977 Janata government and the finance minister in 1989. I had high respect for him. He was one of the Wise Men in Indian politics. But I am afraid to say that is his analysis of the Union Budget '98 is wrong, biased and based on some political whims. If he was a BJP man, he would have given different analysis. He is trying to bring in party politics, rather than analysing their point of view. Either he has become too old or has some grudge against the BJP government.
Shielesh Damle
Date sent: Sun, 31 May 1998 16:01:32 -0500 (CDT)
I want to comment on Rahul Bajaj's article titled Sell the public sector units to raise revenue. According to Nature magazine reports, India spends less than 0.5 per cent of its GDP on research. And most of it comes from government-based organisations. The amount of money spent on research and development by private sector industries is really very, very small. The percentage of sales profit spent on R and D by these industries is also tiny. But in developed countries, industry contributes to 50 per cent of the total research done in their countries, which amounts to 3 per cent of GDP. Though companies like Bajaj, Kirloskar and many other grown in the past decade, their R and D spending is still very tiny part of their total turnout. The percentage of sales profit that comes from export is also very small. They are content with the apparently large domestic market. As we have seen in the past, the R and D carried out by the government has made us self-sufficient in space and nuclear technology. In other technological areas, we are lagging behind the developed countries by more than 30, 40 years. Most of the Indian industries buy cheap technology (mostly obsolete) from developed countries and sell their products in India. The government should force these "rubber stamp'' industries to spend more on research and to promote exports. Instead of writing big reports, I urge the industrialists to spend more on research and help the Indian economy.
S Sandeep Pradhan
Date sent: Sat, 30 May 1998 09:44:10 -0700
Mahesh has given us an insight into the working of the BJP. It is nice to read that some projects that have been bogged down by the bureaucracy have been approved. Now, let us see the progress we have made! We need nuclear weapons and we need foreign investment. The Western countries need India just as India needs the west. After all, we are the world's largest democracy. As long as US companies have a stake in India, they will not support the American embargo. We should try to make sure that all foreign investment projects are on schedule and within the Budget. Now that we have seen the Pokran tamasha, let us see to the roads, electricity, water and housing. We enjoy our rail and road facilities, and India definitely offers the most affordable way to get from point A to point B. But I am not sure how an increase in the fare will help the passengers. Why should someone going for a central government job interview travel on a discount ticket? This "BABU" mentality has seeped in again. We do not need any more "BABUS" in the central government, all they do is make more laws and rules to enhance their presence and pockets. A passenger travelling with a valid ticket should be able to keep his seat for the entire journey without being hassled by petty thugs and railway employees. Will the new Budget achieve this dream? Will the airconditioner work if one pays for the service? Will there be a clean toilet with water? Will one be able to travel safely and reach one's destination on time? Will my reserved seat be available, will I have enough leg and head room? Will there be a security man or policeman available during the journey, will he be answerable to a citizen's advisory committee? Mr Nitish Kumar, it is easy to write a Budget, how are you going to give value for the extra cash that you are trying to grab? The British achieved this in India for their own kind in the railways and we never learnt anything from them. In the last 50 years, travel has become more a nightmare than a pleasant journey.
Date sent: Fri, 29 May 1998 20:05:03 +0100
Good article!
Venkat
Date sent: Sun, 31 May 1998 14:20:02 -0400
I found the tone of this article repulsive. It is fine to express your opinions, but making knee-jerk statements such as 'India will unconditionally sign the CTBT and behave like a lamb' and 'NRIs are more pro-American than the average US citizen' is insulting to anyone reading your article. In future, you should cool your temper and choose your words carefully. I do not believe from what I've read thus far that India would ever compromise its national security and 'behave like a lamb' for America. I also take personal offense to your statements about NRIs. I am a second generation Indian-American. I grew up in this country and I can tell you from my personal experience that an Indian's feeling of pride in being American does not, in any way, mean that they care any less for India. The fact that the economy there is affected by sanctions does not motivate people like me here to disinvest in India. QUITE TO THE CONTRARY, I and many others I know have made it a point to invest more and send more money to their families there. In addition, I and many other Indian-Americans have been writing and talking to our Congressmen and government officials to protest these discriminatory sanctions and point out that it is in America's long-term interest to support the largest democracy in the world versus the largest communist nation. The comparison to Indonesia is incorrect, they do not have a democracy there and their economy has developed along different lines from India's. I think, in the coming months, people like you will be surprised to see how this scenario will change. India's position in the world will rise because of the tests (which should have occurred back in the early 1960s when the US actually wanted India to do it to counter the initial Chinese tests then), and the economic sanctions will force India to undertake another round of economic liberalisation. This was what India did in 1991, when faced with the balance of payments crisis. The impact of such liberalisation will make us a much better economic state when compared to a less open economic situation that might have existed otherwise. Lastly, decades ago, people in America knew nothing of China other than that 'people were starving to death' there. China built up its military WHILE it was still in a state of poverty, and Americans began to respect them. Then, with greater national security and law and order, China worked to open up and modernise its economy. Now, Americans greatly respect China despite the fact that we despise Communism, their invasion of Tibet and their poor human rights record. India has taken the first step to securing its national security. I expect that, in the coming years, the law and order situation will improve as will the economy. Twenty years from now, India will be the most populous nation on Earth. But it will remain the world's largest democracy; it will have a strong, respected military; a huge economy (supported by much higher literacy and urbanisation than exists today) and a political stature that will be respected by the world. This is the process of development that large nations (including the US) tend to undergo. What India is going through does not surprise those who have studied the history of modern nations. Development is a long, difficult process that normally involves ups and downs. If you see problems, it is your right to point them out, but don't make shortsighted or insulting comments in the process.
Raj Mohanka
Date sent: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 11:02:40 -0500
Mr Mitra, get out of your terrible mindset for once and treat the BJP as a regular political party. You may be weeping at millions going to bed hungry, but try to analyse how many more will go to bed hungry if you do not have a say in world matters. Perhaps, it might even include you and your near-dear ones. Think about it and then write such articles.
Sanjay N Gattani
Date sent: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 17:52:11 -0500
It is because of such armchair philosophers-cum-politicians (in other words -- HYPOCRITES) that India is still wallowing in the stagnant pool of misery and poverty. Just ask him what has he done to alleviate the condition of the people in his own state. He considers himself one of the best intellectual brains of our country and that is what sets him apart from the rest of us. Nothing wrong with that, but he should try to do what he professes. He belongs to that rare breed of capitalistic Communist who have tried to keep their feet on every boat on their sight.
Date sent: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 22:32:16 -0400
I don't have time to write a detailed note, but I will say this. Your columnist must have been binge drinking before writing this column. It baffles me as to how the hell does he come up his irrational arguments. It would be nice if you also published the profiles of your columnists, most who seem to be hallucinating with their extreme views. I'd like to know what Mr Mitra did to fight illiteracy or poverty. Talk is cheap, Mr Mitra! Save it until you find something constructive to write. Enough with the punditry!
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