Keep It Simple Silly – It is all about the economy!!!

I wanted to pen my thoughts on what I think the government should do in light of the sheer magnitude of opportunities ahead of us.

1.     Last mile delivery

a.     One of the reasons for the success of the last government was their ability to drive some specific programmes (LPG gas cylinders, houses for poor in some states, building toilets, power generation and roads) – we need more of this

b.     We need to over-invest on urban infrastructure development by way of solving the serious water crisis we have and in building more flyovers, highways and airports!

2.     Get the tractors working

a.     Agriculture declined at -0.1% in the last quarter and we continue to have no clear plan or purpose behind the agriculture turn-around. We need experts at the helm and not politicians. Politicians at the helm have simply not worked for decades now. Agriculture as a contribution to our GDP has continued to decline, yet more than 50% of our population depends on it

b.     3 key measures that need to be executed on a war footing are –

                                                  i.     MSP is an absolute necessity in the wake of potential “El Nino” fears, trade tensions and crude price escalation. Failing which, we will not be able to do this again as the “window” would have passed and the current low inflation situation may not last. During high inflation, fixing a higher MSP will not be viable. And for those worrying about MSP impacting costs, the issue is not MSP, the issue is middlemen and the issue is the cost of not doing something for the farmer!

                                                 ii.     Do not give free money or waive loans off – It has only put our state governments in serious debt crisis and doesn’t solve the purpose. Instead, we should make organised financing easier for agriculture and agri-based industries. We should also ensure the crop insurance schemes are monitored and administered well

                                                iii.     Over-invest on technology across the entire value chain, with special emphasis on irrigation. We need to educate, excite and engage farmers in this massive transformation programme and the fact that if they don’t do it now, there is no coming back. This needs a holistic vision backed by a multi-year execution plan. Don’t expect immediate results here, barring a few success stories

3.     Minimum government, maximum governance – Err, the forgotten quote

a.     We need to continue to do away with unwanted ministries, processes, rules and roadblocks. Like how large organisations have a BAU and transformation target, this government should also give each Ministry a target to do away with say 20% of their processes

b.     Reduce expenses on deadwood projects and subsidies that don’t create jobs

4.     Sell our diversity story to tourists

a.     We keep missing the magnitude of opportunity we have, to be the “tourism” capital of the world. Where else do we get this level of diversity from snow to beaches to forests and from deserts to mountains!!!

b.     We haven’t done enough in this space. Instead we must be working with state governments to create unique selling propositions to domestic and foreign travellers

c.     Statues and bullet trains are not needed to achieve this. We need cleaner facilities, better security and more awareness

5.     Wake up and smell the coffee (Confidence building)

a.     Strength of India lies in our democracy and the independence our institutions have more or less enjoyed, barring some brief periods. Hence, it is imperative to show the world “real data” and “independence” in our decision making, particularly with RBI

b.     Close to 200 million “minorities” which on their own are bigger than all but 7 countries in the world (a tad smaller than Nigeria) need greater confidence. Confidence comes from actions and we need to ensure that they aren’t secluded from our system (Only one minister is a Muslim in the new cabinet!)

Finally, in the 1990s to 2010s – IT services and BPO was a major job creator for us. It definitely will grow, but not at that pace anymore and automation will disrupt the industry a lot. Do we as a nation know what we stand for? China has modelled itself on new age industries/tech, many other South-East Asian countries on tourism and so on!!! Because of our sheer size, it cannot be one area. For me, it has to be around (1) Agriculture for rural areas (2) AI, IoT, etc. for new age industries (3) Tourism – mass market
We should focus the next decade on 3 areas and put all resources to play in that space!!!

Some of you may term my article utopian. But, I never said I was writing this article as the President of any party that depends on certain segments for votes anyways!!! I am fiercely independent and will remain that way.