PM Modi US Visit
The Indian Prime Minster's present visit to US has raised many hopes in the minds of public in general, and in the process we come across many articles in the Indian media on the subject. It is assumed that the visit is seen as an attempt to attract foreign direct investments but to me it is only one sided. In fact it all started with his positive initiative, of inviting US President, Barack Obama, as the Chief Guest for this year's Republic Day and the President's acceptance at a short notice, signalled that India and US were seeking to take relationship to a different level that had never been attempted earlier and therefore this trip of Mr Modi is being regarded as continuity.
On home front Modi had indeed failed the test as on date, on pushing through GST and the revised Land Acquisition law, to suit domestic and foreign business interest and will need to put the matters straight whenever he interacts with the business community in US.
Modiji organised G4 summit in New York and as expected discussed the reforms in UNSC and put forth India's views very unambiguously .
But as contemplated India can never hope to grow only through FDIs,however the efforts made in attracting investment is equally important because of the employment opportunities that come with it for our large labour force. Naturally the burden of labour on agriculture could be reduced if the investments create jobs in the manufacturing sector.
Therefore while the Govt is right to pursue FDIs and information Technology but it also gives the impression that it is not giving equal importance to the other areas. He would find farmers suicides in general in both AP & TS . Bihar to which state he has promised an out of turn special assistance of Rs 1.25 lakh crores, where majority of the rural house holds do not have access to proper sanitation. In Delhi he would find a doctor of All India Institute,( AIIMS) announce on TV that Dengue is " endemic" to its population, a grave diagnosis indeed. In Rajasthan,a state run by his own party, he would find that a senior civil servant ran an extortion racket yielding four crores,rupees, thus taking the meaning of "ease of doing business " to an altogether a new level. So alighting from the flight, he is likely to be struck by the thought that while " digital India" is a worthwhile project per se, it could only be the partial answer to what needs to done, in this vast and yet the underdeveloped country .
Whatever it is worth, Modi would top the list of most travelled Prime Ministers and has more or less, become a Non-resident PM. Hence people have some apprehensions which may be valid to some extent. Both his international trips and on domestic front the announcement of schemes are either Utopian or election centric with little relevance, to the realities on ground. Merely copying the west,or providing largesse to the states to garner votes are not going to help our country to achieve the growth the PM desires, is my view .
It is also a fact that the challenges to India's growth and development are internal, but the focus should be on finding indigenous solutions. Weak governance, corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy, judiciary and police is the biggest impediment that is holding India back.
