Women’s security: What do the people of India want? People want employment, equality and security. I read interview of a grosser from Meghalaya who says why isn’t the Government making the nation secure for women?  What is so called progress that our nation has made, what is the great deal that we have achieved? Our women are not secured in their own motherland. The induction of women pilots in air force, induction of women in armed forces are optimistic steps the government has taken, yet, the security of women in India has always been a matter of concern. The situation has become more ironical because there have been various kind of programmes initiated by the Government for women, like the ‘ Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’, ‘ Ladli Laxmi Yojana’ and ‘ Sukanya Samridhi Yojna’. What is the great deal of all those schemes, where a woman’s identity is at stake, can they really celebrate on being a woman?

Unemployment: The demographics of the nation are such that nearly 1.3 crore Indians leave the workforce every year because they cross 65 years of age, or die. On the other hand, over 2.5 crore citizens celebrate their 15th birthdays every year. This means 1.2 crore people effectively join the workforce every year. According to the World Bank estimates the number is closer to 1.56 crore, or 13 lakh per month. Ironically, this is what we call India’s demographic dividend. Normally, economic growth comes from higher per capita productivity, that is, the same workforce produces more, or a larger workforce, which ensures growth even with flat productivity. A bulge at the lower end of workforce pyramid (younger people at the bottom of the pyramid) guarantees strong growth for decades, subject to, of course, to the workforce being productively employed. In India’s case, the economy needs to create employment for roughly 10 lakh people a month to cash in on the demographic dividend. This pathetic reality exits after seven decades of its independence.

The available data indicates that, four years into the BJP’s term, unemployment remains a big concern. In 2017, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimated that 30% of Indians aged 18 to 29 was unemployed and looking for work.

Standard of living: The idea of a “fully unified nation” in the Indian context refers to only vagueness: be it economic, gender, caste, religion we are far from it. Equality per say remains open ended question unless we spell out in what context we are mentioning it. Economic equality refers to an imaginary situation in which all the inhabitants of a country or region are equally wealthy. Whether the proposition is feasible and sensible has been a major point of contention between free market supporters and socialist thinkers. But the questions involved are really very simple. People are longing for better living conditions instead of looking for economic equality. For many people the concept of freedom is vague. They feel what freedom is all about; they don’t have the basics of food, shelter and clothing. BJP promised improved standard of living to crores of Indians. The situation has not improved for the down trodden.

Reservation quotas: The clamor for ‘reserved quotas’ is only growing which is highly politicized; government does not want to change it for vote bank politics. Is reservation legitimate after 72 years of independence? Does a ‘democratic’ country still need it? Do we still need to divide the country on caste, creed and religion? The laws can be changed to suit the people of our country by passing a bill in the parliament. Yes, we can indeed change the “reservation system” in our country. Till such time we don’t alter the bill of reservation, we will never experience what equality means. Whether it is education, employment or any benefits, the chances are given to the ‘reserved classes.’  Reservation has become a roadblock in progress of this country. This is the reason the deserving are leaving the country and settling down in advanced countries.

Four years of BJP Government: In past four years the Modi Government has failed on issues of Jobs, inflation, basic necessities and security of women mainly. The BJP Government had promised to bring back black money stashed in overseas banks. However, this remains only verbal, no actions taken. Among other promises, the manifesto talked about ensuring a minimum of 50 per cent profits over the cost of production for the farmers, reforming Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act 2003, implementing farm insurance and adopting a ‘National Land Use Policy’, which remains only on papers. Farmers are distressed in most parts of the country. Suicides are still taking place. The Lokpal bill is also sidelined.

Conclusion of exit polls: The masses in nation need to experience the benefits. Big manifestoes, tall promises during the canvassing of elections need to be implemented and delivered. It’s the mass pes who     they go out in majority and vote. The poor mostly vote because they feel vote is their right and the fresh new government will give them livable environment. The poor voters turn up to booths in a hope that they will not be mistreated and ignored; when they feel cheated, they easily cast out a government, hope BJP picks the clues.

Modinomics will boost growth 

The book Modinomics – Inclusive Economics, Inclusive Governance authored by Sameer Kocchar talks about Narendra Modi’s thought process and his idealism on the Indian Economy. Mr. Modi feels that neither Soviet style socialist path nor free-market western capitalist economy is going to work for India. He is of the view that the country must have a unique blend of its own socio-economic policies that would leverage India’s unique strengths and propel it further to centre-state economy. Modi also feels that India’s unique strengths – its diverse demography, geography, and natural resources are not utilized so far. Modinomics is about inclusive economics and inclusive governance. The book highlights the uniqueness of the brand Narendra Modi – who is very Swadeshi at heart, while also globalist and pragmatist. He is bureaucratic, always thinks big, while he pays attention to details. A Gujarati to the core and believes in India first.

The book talks about Modi’s rise which has overlapped with the UPA II Government’s downfall due to the economic slowdown. Modi’s intelligence and pragmatism helped him captured the political and economic mind space left vacant by the UPA. Modi’s Gujrat model has stood tall on two things one is his is personal vision and ambition for the state and second is his ability to get the best out of the bureaucracy by delegating it authority and responsibility. Modi’s hawk- eyed administration kept the state administration tick round the clock. His astute communication allowed him to rise; he is blessed with oratory skills. He used social media to the fullest by subtle messaging and a natural wit. He is the most followed leader on social media and his website is interactive. Kocchar has written the book precisely in a chronological order.

Modi’s charisma got the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies the whooping 336 seats in the 2014 Loksabha election. No sooner he came to power, he sent a loud message to corporate houses and investors—both nationally and internationally, that India is open for business again. His mantra “maximum governance, minimum government” says a lot about his liberalization instinct and opening of the economy further by reducing hindrance. He is well aware of the left centered intellectual mainstream in the nation; which will initially create some roadblocks for him to push forward major economic reforms. Modinomics centers on lower government debt, more privatization and greater openness to foreign investors.

India’s economy is stumbling under high inflation and the worst slowdown since free-market reforms in the early 1990s, and the budget is the first major test of Mr Modi’s reformist credentials since he swept to power in May with a pledge to boost growth and create millions of new jobs. In its first ever budget, the new government has promised a new era of fiscal prudence and greater opportunities for foreign investors in key sectors of the economy, what is worth praises is defense is given priority which was overdue. To ensure that the military, which has repeatedly used warned of outdated and inadequate equipment, has its way on the modernization drive, the government has budgeted Rs. 94,588 crores, Rs. 5000 crore more than what was sanctioned by the previous government in February in the interim budget this year. Overall defense spending has gone up by Rs. 26,000 crores.

The budget promotes skilling and vocational training among youth and to make them job-ready. The stress is laid on rural entrepreneurship; to encourage rural youth to start their own ventures, Finance Minister. Jaitley has announced a spending of Rs 100 crore to start village entrepreneurship training schemes. Recognizing the importance of stepping up vocational trainings and bringing it at par with the higher education system, he has announced the ‘Skill India’ programme and allocated an amount of Rs 14,389 crore for job creation, a huge part of which will hopefully be spent in training the youth.

The Finance Minister has also proposed setting up of five new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and five Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) across the country at a cost of Rs 500 crore, this shows the new government’s inclination and keenness to accelerate the skills of youth, education is given priority. For the farmers, the budget has announced a slew of much-awaited measures. Focus on increasing irrigation facilities, farm markets, financial help to landless farmers and Kisan TV to provide real time information to farmers would help in increasing productivity of the farm sector. Moreover, Haryana, Jharkhand will have research centers in Horticulture, Agriculture and Maharashtra will get agri-biotech clusters.

The budget is has tried to touch the aspirations of all sections of society. Landless farmers will be given cheaper credit, the rural poor have been promised broadband, cheaper TVs and better roads, Dalit-focused schemes have been allocated more money, the middle class have been given tax breaks and India’s holiest river will get funds for a clean-up.

To give a stimulus to the infrastructure and manufacturing sector, a 10-year tax holiday for undertakings that generate and transmit power has been unveiled. Focus on industrial infrastructure such as a plan to establish seven industrial cities in India would enhance industrialization and create employment opportunities in the economy. The allocation for urban infrastructure earmarked at Rs 50,000 crore is really appreciable and this would expedite the pace and urbanization in the country and give a massive boost to growth and expand the national economy much faster.

The boost to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts is very encouraging news for the real estate and infrastructure markets as it offers innovative and modern tools of investment to Indians. These are all important signals. Investment allowance of 15% to the manufacturing companies investing Rs 25 crore in plant and machinery would accelerate capital investments and propel manufacturing growth.

Steps are undertaken to revive SEZs would help to rejuvenate the investment cycle. Similarly, facilitation to manufacturing units to sell their products through retail and e-commerce would reduce the selling cost and benefit both manufacturers and consumers. Furthermore, it is also a taxpayer-friendly budget as the income-tax exemption limit has been raised by Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,50,000, the PPF ceiling to Rs 1,50,000, housing loan rebate to Rs 2,00,000, investments under 80C to Rs 1,50,00. In view of this, through appropriate tax planning those drawing a salary up to Rs 6,00,000 can bring down their tax liability to nil.

Taking into account the fact that our Finance Minister got only 45 days’ time to prioritize his priorities and for drawing up the budget for 2014-15, he has done an excellent job because this budget is undoubtedly very progressive, astute and realistic. Modi has consolidated ministries and scrapped cabinet panels to streamline administration and speed decisions. Finance Minister, Jaitley has been honest about not being interested in “mindless populism” in burdening public finances.

I personally think Modinomics is put into practice in the Union Budget – 2014 in inclusive economics and inclusive governance.