The Positives, Negatives, Frivolities and Blanks of NDA Govt as it nears its anniversary.

T.Mukhopadhyay

10 April, Gurgaon.

As our PM is on his Nuclear Power Shopping Trip to France and Canada (Hey where’s Ms Sushma Swaraj our designated FM, these days?) , let’s have a look The Positives and Negatives and Frivolities and Blanks of the NDA Govt. After all it will be completing its first anniversary in office on 26 May 2015. These are the foremost that comes to my economically and politically challenged mind!

The Positives:

1)     Jan Dhan Yojna (Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is National Mission for Financial Inclusion to ensure access to financial services, namely, Banking/ Savings & Deposit Accounts, Remittance, Credit, Insurance, Pension in an affordable manner. India has become fully banked, a feat commended by the Guinness Book of World Records for being accomplished in the short span — about five months. It paves the way for the government's ambitious plan to transfer annual subsidy of around Rs 51,029 crore directly to bank accounts of 15.45 crore beneficiaries in the next year, plugging system leakages.)

2)      Transparency through open auctions of Coal Mining Licences and Telephony Spectrum

3)      No major scams unearthed so far.

4)      Very proactive measures in rescuing Indian citizens trapped in war-laden Yemen.

5)     Agreement on reviving the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant Project with French Collaboration in Ratnagiri district of Maharastra – will give a massive boost to the anemic National Power Grid should the project go through (it was in hibernation for the past 5 years). Also sign off Nuclear Fuel Purchase deal for 25 yrs with France to sustain the plant.

The Negatives:

1)      Hike in Service Tax (from 12.36 to 14% – affecting virtually everybody directly or indirectly. (Fail to understand as to why do this when the Govt is enjoying substantial saving through Oil Import Bill?). Good thing about this is that majority of people won’t even realize that they are paying more for virtually everything. Classic case of a silent chakoo)

2)      Withdrawing support to the centrally-sponsored rural drinking water program.

3)      Cut of 15% spending on healthcare. (Modi tweeted on world health day: “Govt is working tirelessly to realize the dream of a Healthy India where every citizen has access to proper and affordable healthcare”)!!!

4)      Department of Rural Development’s budget was cut to half (not sure whether it is a positive or negative – no significant rural development was happening anyway…)

5)      Budget for ministry of Women and Child Development was halved.

6)      Education budget was cut by 16%. (What does this imply for a country that aims for universal literacy and importantly “Make in India workforce?”)

7)     INR 3000 crore Sardar Patel Statue Project in PM’s home state – why? Is this a priority? Sure there will be many who would like to see India in the map of Monuments – but the expenditure is a big luxury for Indian Economy. I would view this as an extravaganza. It’s projects like this compels the Govt to raise the Service Tax!

Wasting Energy on Frivolous and Non-Priority Causes:

1)      Debates and counter debates on links between cancer and tobacco addiction.

2)      Ban on beef and cow slaughter

3)      Starting a thought process on hosting 2024 Olympic Games.

Blanks (Promises made with monotonous repetition in all pre-election campaign speeches by the NDA leadership):

1)      The tainted scamsters of UPA regime continues to move around as free birds.

2)      Where are the so-called black money stashed in so-called Swiss Accounts which was supposed to reach India’s shores and relieve the hapless citizens of tax woes?