Santosh Kumar Mohapatra
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uring his first tenure, Narendra Modi had promised creating a new India that is strong, prosperous and all-encompassing. The New India Movement envisages India free from poverty, corruption, terrorism, communalism, casteism and uncleanliness and unite the entire country by adopting good governance and using technology. After recent mammoth victory, he has reiterated this. Similarly, Naveen Pattnaik, who was elected for the fifth time as Chief Minister of Odisha owing to his charismatic personality and good image has also promised a new Odisha. However, both have failed to formulate policies that will lift the standard of life of people substantially.
But one question automatically comes to mind how new India and new Odisha are feasible when more and more people with massive wealth or with criminal backgrounds are elected as legislators. If power of formulating rules and deciding the fate of nation goes to the hand of people with criminal back ground or to wealthy in greater magnitude, hope for New India or New Odisha will prove a chimera. Will legislators with criminal nexus or desire for accumulating wealth work for betterment of society or improvement of masses? Normally, they oppose clandestinely social schemes, higher taxation on rich or corporate but prefer privatisation, disinvestment, more concession to rich and corporates.
They also try to enhance their business and retaining power at any cost forgetting the interest of people and country as a whole. Further if past performance of Modi or Naveen is examined, there is no hope in country, though little hope in Odisha. In the past years of Naveen regime, there is no deterioration but not substantial improvement to reckon except reduction of poverty and rise of growth. But in the first tenure of Modi regime, Indian economy has not only witnessing downturn but also India’s position has declined in various indicators and indexes.
Nobel-winning economist Amartya Sen was forced to say that India has taken a “quantum jump” in the wrong direction” since the BJP came to power in 2014. It means that during the previous regime proper attention was not given on social sectors, which led to visible prominence of backwardness in India. India has been ranked at 103 out of 119 countries in the global hunger Index 2018. India’s position has declined by 23 slots since 2015 when it was ranked 80th among 104 countries. What is disconcerting that India in the regressive league of 45 countries with hunger levels categorised as “serious”.
The global peace index conducted by Sydney-based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) gauges ongoing domestic and international conflict, safety and security in society and the degree of militarisation in 163 country and terroritiries by taking account 23 indicators. India’s rank has slipped five places to 141 among 163 countries on the Global Peace Index 2019.
The economic cost of violence in India in constant purchasing power parity (PPP) terms was $ 341.7 billion in 2014. But it has increased to $ 806.2 billion, or 9 per cent GDP) in 2017 Under Modi regime India continues to become unhappy as in Global Happiness Index (GHI) 2019, as it was ranked at 140 out of 156 countries, a decline of seven spots from the last year rank of 133.In last 4 years; India has declined by 23 spots.
India was also among the five countries that experienced the highest decline since 2005-2008 in the index. More than 40 million people were estimated to be victims of modern slavery in 2016 — and one in four of those were children The freedom of press and religious freedom is vital for survival of democracy .According to the 2019 World Press Freedom Index; India has been ranked 140 down by 4 slots from 2017, when India was ranked at 136. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has said that in India there is an “overall deterioration of religious freedom conditions in 2018.
According to The Democracy Index 2017 prepared by the Economist intelligence unit (EIU), India has been classified as a flawed democracy and has slipped to 42nd place, down by 10 slots from last year amid “rise of conservative religious ideologies” and increase in vigilantism and violence against minorities as well as other dissenting voices and lack of freedom of speech and free media.
India which was fourth most dangerous place in the world for women in 2011 has become most dangerous country as per the report of Thomson Reuters in 2018 because of its high incidences of sexual violence, lack of access to justice in rape cases, child marriage, female feticide and human trafficking. The NCRB’s 2016 report shows Odisha has the third highest rate of crimes against women. India is also ranked 108th in Global Gender Gap Index 2018, same as it was ranked in 2017. India slipped 21 places in Global Gender Gap index to 108 previous years. This inequality is mainly due to the very low economic participation of women in India.
India ranks a low 130 out of 189 countries in the latest human development Index (HDI) 2017 released by UNDP. Though India’s rank rose one spot compared to the previous year, it is in same position as it was in 2015 index when it was ranked at 130.By contrast, Odisha has emerged one of the top-10 performing States in the country in terms of improvement of HDI, as per State Bank of India (SBI) report on sub-national human development index. Among Indian States (1990-2017), Odisha, which has secured third position in terms of compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of social expenditure at 15.1 per cent, is the best performing State in eastern India. The report indicated that the States which were the worst performing in HDI during 1990s are presently doing well on the social parameter since 2014.
New India or New Odisha requires equitable distribution of wealth and creation of jobs and easy access to health and education. But nationwide, no attempt is made in this regards. Unemployment rate has touched the 45 years high of 6.1 percent in 2018. Health, education has become costlier. Inequality is also rising faster rate with India being one of most unequal country. While one percent of population held 48.7 of total national wealth in 2013, they own 51.53 per cent in 2018 according Oxfam report. Wealth of top 9 billionaires is equivalent to the wealth of the bottom 50 per cent of the population now. By contrast, 13.6 crore Indians, who make up the poorest 10 per cent of the country, continued to remain in debt since 2004.
The inequality conundrum becomes even pertinent with India being ranked 147th of the 157 countries in “Commitment to Reduce Inequality index 2018, released by Oxfam and Development Finance International .India has been placed at151st on the index for public spending for healthcare, education and social protection, 141st for labour rights and wages, and 50th on taxation policies. What is worrisome is that Indian economy is in grip of crony capitalism. Corporates are ruling country on proxy. Data are manipulated to enhance performance of government and camouflage failure. So slogan of New India is just a chimera, while there is little hope for New Odisha.
The writer is an Odisha-based economist. e-Mail: [email protected].
