Professor (Dr.) M.M. Goel* (Asian independent)
To face covid created challenges, we have to adopt common sense approach. I believe that common sense is to have sound judgment without specialized knowledge. One being street smart understands and assesses the situation and adopts common sense approach for understanding, analyzing, interpreting and adopting the solutions of the problems at hand.
There is no time for blame game on China for the manufacturing of coronavirus and its spread around the world. For making China global friendly, I wish to be diplomatic by saying that China stands for come home I need affection (CHINA) which I have already experimented during 2010-11 on my colleagues at HUFS, Seoul who became very friendly with me later on.
The measures taken at all levels starting from those at the international level ( WHO, World Bank, ADB and IMF) to those governing social and economic issues by the three tier governments in federal economy of India were necessary. I place on record my appreciations for the covid warriors involved in ensuring the success of lockdown and maintaining social distancing with free flow of information through mass media with mandatory masks. They deserve more than appreciation and I pray to god for their well-being in all the dimensions of life both professional and personal.
Being needonomist, I foresee the challenges in the crisis of covid bigger than expected difficult to quantify but observe implications in terms of recession (if not depression), bankruptcies, unemployment, underemployment, farmers suicides, white-collar crimes, terrorism, exploitation, discriminations, deprivations and discontent among the stakeholders including moving migratory workers. We have to understand the struggle of the migratory workers as ‘silent satyagrah’ a kind of protest and come out with concrete programme of action including labour reforms.
The challenges of indiscipline at all the levels are dangerous for the economy. I foresee chaos after lockdown as discontent is aggravating and people will be on roads. The discipline is urgent and calls for measures. Maintaining survival by many in unorganized sector including 46 crore migratory labour in 2011 census is certainly difficult. The shrinking economy as predicted by National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) to the tune of 12.5 percent in 2020 -21 deserve attention，We need discipline in the economy which calls for compulsory five year military service for youth as being practiced in South Korea .
I foresee discontent among various actors of the economy leading to agitations by the trade unions including government employees for the discriminatory approach towards them including freezing the dearness allowance (DA) which is a compensation for the inflation in the economy. If, Government is able to control inflation, there is no DA entitlement and is good for all.
It is pertinent to mention that the rich are not bothering for anything including inflation and the poor are taken care off by the government and the middle class is left to themselves for the survival and existence which is sadly not the common sense approach.
To take easy sleep, the government should reconsider such decisions which have created discontent and will lead to agitations and aggravate the situation which may go beyond control in reviving the economy. The government should maintain a good chemistry with its employees (includes covid warriors also) for cultivating and maintaining a work culture necessary for reviving the economy.
The measures taken so far by the RBI and the Ministry of Finance are biased towards the corporate sector for reviving the economy through the supply side. In the name of public well-being, the free foods to the poor people without even a lip service for the middle class who are also victim and deserve empathy (not sympathy).
It is the largest middle class which has the capacities to revive the economy in-terms of creating demand for the goods and services already in the market locked down.
I fail to understand the wisdom of the policy makers to ignore the middle class who possess the potential to revive the economy by creating demand for almost all goods and services produced by the corporate world.
The need of the times is to provide purchasing power to the people including poor who have been made dependent by giving them free food during lockdown. The free rider problem self- created by the politicians in power is not in good taste as it cannot be continued endlessly and prove discriminatory against the middle class.
We have to search, research alternative sources of financing the central, State and local governments in India. I have been advocating proper pricing of the birth certificate, marriage certificate and death certificate as 10 percent of the income. It can generate sufficient resources to be shared by three tiers of the government. For ensuring, efficiency, sufficiency and equity, the user charges and fee structure for the entire domain of services can be linked with the inflation rate based on retail prices.
The corporate sector should be asked to use the CSR funds for meeting the requirements of covid crisis management.
The Government has to remove the fear, risk and uncertainties of all kinds by providing insurance to the performing sectors ( with care and convictions) and windup avoidable activities including ostentatious expenditures on Indian embassies around the world as the same work can be performed and looked after by a special Cell in PMO or external affairs ministry in one room with e-Governance to be exactly street SMART ( the writer has written earlier on the SMART and SIMPLE models of effective governance ). We need to become street smart to use smart phones in digitalised India.
The Atamnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan can prove to be panacea in rebuilding the rural economy which has the potential to recover faster by concrete plan of action and utilizing the migratory workers as human resources. We have to think positively for converting the challenges into opportunities.
To prove Atamnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan as an insurance to the Indians, we have to adopt ‘Needonomics’ ( economics of needs) which is nonviolent, spiritual and ethical in nature as common sense approach and deserve attention of the prime minister and his think tank.
I believe that the government will understand the miserable plight of the migratory workers on ‘silent satyagrah’ and also middle class who comes under the definition of common man and are the real victim of the crisis and deserve empathy. For speedy revival of the economy, we have to replace fear with fearlessness and work without worries (www) – the real www in the virtual world wide web (www).
* Former Vice Chancellor and known Professor as ‘Needonomist’ (economist for needs) retired from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra.
