Reflections

This is the first part of a 3-part analysis on the Union Budget 2018-19, in which I propose to go into the basic strategy behind the budget, and look at its  pluses and the minuses pointwise – in two parts;. The third part will be the background, history and Macro-Economic Framework analysis, which has been my standard approach in studying the budget. And my first impression of this budget, was listening to it / reading about it, was “ interesting ”, but requires deeper analysis. My second impression, after talking to various people, reading extensive opinions, and going through the entire set of budget documents : “ Excellent Budget ” THE UPPER AND MIDDLE CLASSES A lot of my friends are disappointed in the budget; all of them are highly educated, and are from the top 10% of the population – exceptions prove the rule, so please excuse me. To them, I can only state: India is about the rest of the 90% as much as it is about us, privileged top of the heap. We, the people...

DEATH OF A MONEYLENDER BY KOTA NEELIMA I picked this book up from Western Book Store, Sadar, Nagpur , as I was strolling the market; just missed the Author who had visited the same store… a deep regret for me! Coming to the book, this is a book of rare skill, a book that defies description as it successfully blends two diametrically different genres into one composite whole. It is also a book, with some detailing and  alteration, that can become an excellent non-fiction work as well, and that is its true strength. This is the third book by the current author I have read, and it has to be said that each work has been different from the others, each has been really good, which speaks volumes for the versatility of the author.  THE CHARACTERS Falak : Journalist, clear headed in his ideology and approach towards his job and his vocation. Also highly confused about his his ideology and approach towards his job and his vocation… yup, both in the same person ...

Today’s Indian Express carries an interesting article on the rural landscape of India, bringing to the fore a superbly balanced presentation of the farm gate prices issue: should farmers be able to sell as per their choice, and not just through the APMC-demarcated regulated market   yards and auctions. This raises many questions, as we shall see. But first, the article in question: APMCs were originally established with a view to prevent exploitation of farmers by intermediaries, who compelled them to dispose of their produce at the farmgate at very low prices. By mandating all farm produce to be brought to regulated market yards and sold through auctions, the APMC mechanism was meant to ensure fair prices to farmers. But in many cases, these bodies have themselves become dens for cartelisation by traders, who control prices and charge hefty commission fees on produce transactions. An extreme case that surfaced recently was of Devidas Maruti Parbhane. Thi...

It has been stated that Industry level growth is the key, the answer to India’s many woes, that industrialisation and its attendant advantages will ensure growth eventually percolates to all levels of society. The caveat in that line of thought is “Eventually” : just how long is eventually supposed to mean? How many lives and generations will have to suffer the pangs of poverty till that eventuality transpires? And, what do we do in the interim? These people are equal to us, the privileged class – the ones with education and great {or good or even average} well paying jobs. They are our equals in every single way; they have the same rights as us, they have the same dreams and desires as us. The luck of birth, and the chance of education that has been provided us has ensured we live well, by the grace of God. Granted that some among the poorer classes do manage to break the shackles and grow out of poverty; but does that mean we forget the rest of them? There is a tendency...

Continuing the series of thoughts on farming, let us  look at some real examples of human tragedy – not suicide, but examples of poverty in farming and rural India to put things in perspective, and look at the scale of the problems facing us as a nation. We in Urban India wax eloquent on industry, technology developments; the question is how to give amelioration in the rural tracts of the country? How can we ensure participative growth? I am not looking at the economic argument of trickle down versus inclusive growth; I am looking at the human side of things – which, in my opinion, is the only way to look at things. That is a question that requires an understanding of the scale and nature of the problem confronting us. In a previous article, I had listed the problems facing agriculture; and had also analysed profitability from farming Wheat and Paddy for a period of seven years. Those articles list a series of research reports that provide hard data on the abysmal status of...