Silent Heal

A new project/policy? So there are the basic problems and questions arising in the mind. Patriotic and money does not matter? Well dude, there are more challenges you going to face.

Just going through an article in FRONTLINE I was really impressed by the strategies which actually exists in major of government projects and the main factor underlying all the survey reports and conclusions comes to India is a developing country. The principles and approaches should agree with the poor mass and the fact that India is a developing country, hence, growth. So are these two factors ways in two separate lanes?

As said India is diverse country is very true in respect when we consider wealth factor and standard of living in the mass. India is trying very hard to come up in global market but for a perfect development it definitely needs some sacrifices. The question then arises is what exactly you define as developing country. Well here is a definition I found best as far I have learnt now

“A country whose per capita income is low by world standards. Same as LDC. As usually used, it does not necessarily connote that the country's income is rising.”

Some say “developing” is euphemism for “poor”. For a layman, developing country is a country that is in way of making a good industrial and commercial base and a country that is poor and whose citizens are mostly agricultural workers but that wants to become more advanced socially and economically. So what exactly is problem for a developing country or specifically India? We need to derive out a relation between growth and a fight for poverty.

I am not at all interested in figures here but one thing is for sure that agriculture has contributed a lot in India’s growth. Part of adverse Indian experiences are accounted by investments in large, long gestating, capital intensive projects such as electric power, irrigation and infrastructure. But the point is these all are quite necessary. Actually delayed completions, under use of capacity and cost overrun were major contributing factors.

There has been a distinction created by most officials and economists namely formal and informal sectors of economies. The first one constitutes mainly rural and urban sectors and latter one is focused by modern sector. Farmers and rural sectors constitute mainly major percentage of people below poverty line. So does this mean targeting these people will help erase poverty and the other side government can focus on growth too? The answer is very much complicated and is based on growth versus inflation.

You must be wondering what all crap I am talking about when I started on point of some new policy or project. The basic point here was inclusion of a model when devising any strategy for a new project or policy. The benefit should be accrued to poor as well as economy of country. In this context what Mahatma Gandhi said should guide policy: “The acid test of right action is to bring into your imagination the poorest man you have ever seen and decide if your policy is going to benefit him.” But today’s scenario of India requires forcing a model in every policy/project which should include following points:

1) How well the policy will help the poor?

In economic terms what measures should be adopted in this new model which can increase not just per capita income as whole but per capita income of people who lie below poverty line. Best model should be one which maximizes increase of per capita income of people having lowest per capita income. A statistical model is required to rate every model which emphasize on points based on x times rating for increase in per capita income multiplied by y times rating for the expectation value for present per capita of people it is aiming at.

2) How well it affects the growth of nation as a whole?

Well no need to discuss this factor. But there actually needs some revisions in policies which actually involve emphasis on this factor rather than individuals gains.

In the current models the first factor is generally stifled and considered only at time of elections or to gain appreciation but it should be stressed here that it is statutory. Fight for us right now is not to go developed but to eliminate poverty to the extent of developed countries. Any delay in consideration of factors will become more expensive and more difficult to work on and will be very much desired. Remember the rule of thumb that any fail in any economic factor causes poor to suffer most.