Remove colonial mindset

If political pundits are right, Narendra Modi is set for the third term as the Prime Minister of Bharat. All through his prime ministership, one of the key points highlighted by him is the need to remove colonial mindset by all Indians. I am sure the focus will continue in Modi’s third term.

No doubt, the government has taken steps in this direction. We have a new parliament building. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has replaced the British made Indian Penal Code. The government and a section of the press prefers to use the word “Bharat” in lieu of “India”.

Is it possible to erase colonial legacy or mindset ? The new education policy emphasizes on the rich heritage of Indian knowledge. This is in contrast to Lord Macaulay’s minute on Indian education. The objective of Macaulay’s policy was to create a class of Indian people who would be Indian in blood and colour but British in taste, moral and intellect. One such product of British Indian education system was BR Ambedkar and he had drafted the Indian Constitution. Despite the huge majority of the ruling party, they concede that the constitution can’t be changed.

After independence, cricket has become a pan India obsession. Is it not a colonial legacy ? I am quoting a few sentences from a British author about 2023 cricket World Cup—” Modi’s World Cup is more election rally than global power play. But international cricket- in effect, all cricket everywhere has been a powerful engine in selling his aspirational Hindu nationalism.”

Tea is another colonial legacy. Most Indians need tea on hourly basis. Indian state of Assam is also a globally popular tea brand.

The Kaziranga National Park in Assam also has colonial legacy. Baroness Mary Victoria Leiter Curzon, the wife of Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India took the initiative of wildlife preservation in Kaziranga in 1904.

Perhaps there will be many more examples. If we introspect we will admit that the great dream of millions of Indians is to go to the United Kingdom and earn a living there. Above all, I am sure many Indians can’t do without western toilet.

Can we remove colonial mindset ? What are we talking about ?

Why has Elon Musk postponed India visit

I am trying to jot down the possible reasons of Elon Musk postponement of visit to India.

1. Tesla obligations. The company is not doing well recently. There is stiff competition. Unsure about what to do next.
2. Elon Musk saw ” the writing on the wall ” as suggested by the Congress party leader Jairam Ramesh. May be Elon Musk thinks that he can negotiate a better deal with an opposition led government.
3. Elon Musk does not find the latest EV policy of the government to be good enough in cost-benefit analysis.
4. Elon Musk does not find the Indian market attractive enough.
5. Elon Musk does not find Indian manufacturing echo-system good enough.
6. He felt that it might be morally wrong to side with a political party in the midst of an election and declare investment which would be like endorsing a particular political party and infuriating many others.
7. Actually he wanted to promote the other company “Starlink”, but the government of India is not taking any appropriate measures.

As I see, there should not be much hype about Elon Musk’s India visit or even the postponement. Indian automobile manufacturers and Indian MNCs are doing decently within their constraints. Great thing is that, Tata, India’s local vehicle manufacturer is leading the EV market in India. One or two new manufacturing units by Tesla will not make much difference in terms job creation given that it will be at the cost of import duty.

Is there an electronic chip connection to Elon Musk visit ? Is it that the viability of proposed semi conductor plants in Gujarat and Assam is dependent on Tesla’s demand of electronic chips?

Boring Manifestos

Many learned people have viewed that 2024 Indian general elections will be a boring one-sided affair. That we will know only after the election results are out. Having read the manifestos of the two main political parties I am fully bored. The Congress is trying to prove that the country is doomed in the last ten years. There is threat to democracy, massive joblessness, crony capitalism, injustice against minorities and backward classes, inflation etc etc. The BJP on the other hand is claiming great achievements in the last ten years. The party promises to keep doing the good works such as infrastructure development, direct benefit transfer to various sections of the society, easy loan etc.

As a layman I am impressed by so many new flyovers in my city. But the core issue of easing traffic congestion has remained unchanged. Even in this capital city, piped water supply is not there for large number of people. The BJP is emphasizing on the startup ecosystem it has created. In my assessment startups have created hypes but the business sustainability is not so promising. Byju and Paytm are just examples.

Perhaps, in a manifesto policy decisions are avoided. In both the manifestos there is no reference to privatization or disinvestment. Both the parties have promised nearly everything on earth to key social groups, such as women, the poor, the backward castes, middle class, students etc.

Manifestos are prepared by scholarly people. Despite that why there are such instances of lack of application of mind:

a) The BJP manifesto says that ” Sarovars ( large water bodies) will be constructed to mitigate Assam floods. The location of such Sarovars will be decided by satellite images.” But the party is in power for 10 years. Why is the satellite image based study still not complete ? Due to clear indication of climate change, rainfall pattern in Assam has changed. Groundwater depletion, extreme heat are worrying factors today rather than flood.

b) The Congress wants to relaunch the failed “Mahila Bank” ! Perhaps the Congress has made it a habit to launch and relaunch failed products.

c) The Congress idea of establishing one Agricultural college and one Veterinary college in every district does not seem to be a great idea. My apprehension is that such colleges may just create job-seekers rather than transforming agricultural practices.

Auction of 100% dust grade of tea

Though I sip tea several times a day and I made conscious efforts to understand diverse tea flavour, I feel haven’t made much headway. I found the government of India directive to sell 100% dust grade tea through auction route very interesting.

On this subject we already see two opposite viewpoints. The proposition is supported by the Indian Tea Association and several other leading all India tea business entities. The strong opposition comes from Assam tea trade bodies and interestingly from the government of Assam as well.

There has been a paradigm shift in tea cultivation in Assam in recent years. Major companies are winding up tea cultivation and tea is largely produced by small tea growers. The concern is that tea industry reports don’t speak favourably about the quality of tea produced by these small tea growers.

If I have understood properly, the resistance from Assam on the 100% auction notification of dust grade tea is due to this quality aspect. To participate in the auction process, the tea has to pass the quality benchmark as set by the government. Assam small tea growers are unable to obtain the test certificates because they can’t afford such testing laboratories.

If this notification is implemented immediately it will be a big blow to Assam small tea growers. But as a consumer I can’t endorse anything which is even remotely considered unsafe, though perhaps personally I don’t consume any dust grade tea.

In this conflicting scenario, I believe the failure is of Assam government. Tea is already highly subsidized by the government. For branding Assam tea, Assam government must ensure that the tea produced in Assam is of the highest quality. Only government intervention and investment can end the impasse.

Government guidelines permit 50% of other than dust grade teas to be sold through non-auction route. The 50% tea may have reached the market without going through the quality check. If this is so, it’s a major concern.

ইলেক্তৰেল বন্দৰ বিষয়ে

যোগবিদ্যা বা শূণ্যৰ দৰে ইলেক্তৰেল বন্দ ভাৰতীয় প্ৰতিভাৰ উদ্ভাবনী শক্তিৰ সৃস্তি , ই আমাৰ মানব সভ্যতালৈ অবদান । দুখৰ বিষয় যে ন্যায়পালিকা আৰু সংবাদ মাধ্যমে ইয়াক হাহিৰ উৎসত পৰিণত কৰিব বিছাৰিছে ।

বৈদিক নীতিশাস্ত্ৰত ঘোচ দিয়া বা বলপূৰ্বক ধন আহৰণৰ অধিকাৰৰ বিষয়ে ন্যায়পালক সকলৰ উত্তেজনাপূৰ্ণ তৰ্কৰ বিবৰণ অছে । ২০১৭ চনৰ জেইটলি শাস্ত্ৰত উল্লেখ আছে যে সৰ্বসাধাৰনৰ ঘোচ লোৱা বা দিয়াৰ অধিকাৰ নাই । তেনে কৰিলে তেওৰ একাউন্ত -২৭ ডিগ্ৰী ছেন্তিগ্ৰেডলৈ ফ্ৰীজ কৰা হব । কিন্তু ৰজাৰ ক্ষেত্ৰত ঘোচ লোৱা বা দাবী ধমকিৰে ধন আহৰণত বাধা নাই । চান্দা পুৰানত কোৱা হৈছে যে ব্যবসায়ীয়ে সময়ে সময়ে ৰজালৈ ধন আগবঢ়োৱাতো ধৰ্ম । যিসকলে এই কাম পালন নকৰে , তেওলোকক ইডি নামৰ সংস্থাৰ দ্বাৰা বিহিত ব্যবস্থা লোৱা হয় । ৬০০০ বছৰ পূৰণি হাফটা সংহিতাত এই বিষয়ে বিসদ আলোচনা কৰা হৈছে ।

সুশাসনৰ বিষয়ে ভাৰতীয় নীতি শাস্ত্ৰ “বন্দ সুত্ৰ” ত উল্লেখ আছে ” হে পাৰ্থ , ইলেক্তৰেল বন্দ কিনা ব্যবসায়ী সকল স্বৰ্গীয় ঐশ্বৰ্য প্ৰাপ্তিৰ দিশত অগ্ৰসৰ হয়, কিন্তু ৰজালৈ বৰঙণি আগ নবঢ়ালে , ইডি ,,,,,,,”

( জি সম্পথ ৰ , দা হিন্দু কাকতত প্ৰকাশিত ব্যংগ ৰচনাৰ অসমীয়া ভাবানুবাদ তথা সাৰাংশ )

CAA, as I understood

I have very limited understanding of law. Despite that I have tried to understand the content of https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/UserGuide/E_gazette_11032024.pdf which explains CAA. Now I fully agree with the Assam Chief Minister that the number of applicants as per CAA will be very low in Assam.

The Assam Accord of 1985 automatically grants citizenship to many only in Assam, who may not qualify to be Indian citizens in rest of the country. Assam Accord is not a law passed by the parliament and can be overlooked while framing or amending laws. Prior to CAA, citizenship acts had been amended several times directly violating the Assam Accord. As per provisions of Assam Accord , several attempts were made to identify foreign nationals who had entered into Assam illegally. All such attempts are largely unsuccessful.

No doubt Assam is home to millions of Bangladesh origin people, both Muslims and Hindus and all are Indian citizens having voter ID. Indian laws have failed to prove any significant number of people as illegal immigrants till now.

The last exercise was the NRC, about which the ruling party is not even willing to talk now. The NRC process put “doubts” on 19 lac citizens as illegal immigrants. As per reports, majority of them are Hindus. It’s only doubt, and they continue to be Indian citizens and it’s unlikely that legal process will continue to bring an end to the “doubt”.

As per the procedure given in CAA, a person has to declare himself as a foreign national to apply for citizenship. I really doubt that any Bangladesh origin Hindu in Assam would do so. There are another category of people , who are treated as ” D ” ( doubtful voters) by the state machinery and are not allowed to vote. The Hindu D voters in Assam will be less than 1 lac. They are fighting a legal battle. I doubt even they would not declare themselves as Bangladeshi citizens and then apply for citizenship through CAA.

If these “doubtful” people decide to take the CAA route, I and the Assam Chief Minister may be proved wrong.

CAA seems to be very simple. Though it asks for many documents, no way the government can check the veracity of the papers. Schedule 1A, point number 8 talks about an open ended document ” Any document that shows that either of the parents, grandparents, great grandparents had been a citizen of the countries….” I believe that “document” will not come in the way of anybody’s citizenship. Post independent India’s history clearly establishes it.

Ironically despite the highest judiciary order, Chakmas and Hajongs of Arunachal Pradesh continue to be denied citizenship in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Assembly and Testing of semiconductor chips

There can’t be a better news for Assam’s industrialization, that an investment of over INR 27OOO CR is happening here that too in the key sector of electronic chips. The world was alerted about the skewed distribution of chip making infrastructure during the pandemic. Major economies and superpowers have devised their own action plans recently to correct the scenario. Indian government has been framing and updating policies to promote chip making ecosystem in India. As a part of the endeavour , the government has approved a proposal by the Tata group to set- up a semi conductor test and assembly unit in Assam’s Jagiroad town. A test and assembly unit is a labour intensive which is another great news for local youths.

I don’t think it is inappropriate to have some apprehensions as well.

a) Is it going to take-off so fast ( 100 days ) as promised ? I understand the electronic chip ecosystem is extremely competitive, involves latest and dynamic technology and it is globally inter-dependent.

b) As I learn, a testing and assembly unit is labour intensive but it gives low margin. The commercial viability is clearly daunting.

c) The project is subsidy-driven. The success rate of subsidy-driven project in an extremely cut-throat globally competitive environment has not been encouraging. Tata group demonstrates high ethical conduct. But can we rule out “rent-seeking” ( a terminology I have just learnt).

d) I could not agree to some statements in Tata group’s press release https://www.tata.com/newsroom/business/first-indian-semiconductor-assembly-test-facility

“Assam is closer to current semi conductor assembly and test hubs like Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore” ( really ?) .

“The proposed facility in Jagiroad is strategically located with access to abundant water and green (?) power”. I can only hope that Tata authorities have done the home work well.

e) Finally, why such good news just before a general election?

State Budget 2024-25

INR CR	Assam	Tamil Nadu	Rajasthan
Tax revenue	74148	244928	199028
Non Tax Revenue	8871	30728	22665
Grants in Aid	28924	23354	36683
Revenue expenditure	110091	348289	282247
Capital expenditure	33799	47681	43425
Fiscal Deficit	Not mentioned	108690	67240

I have tried to understand the state budgets 2024 of Assam, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. A pattern is visible based on the size of the states and resources. From the data in table it’s clear that none of the states is doing well on fiscal parameters. Total revenue of the states is not even sufficient to meet the revenue expenditure.

In the Assam budget, the phrase “Fiscal Deficit” is completely missing. It has been a trend since I have been following the Assam budgets. The reason is beyond my comprehension.

The deviation from proportionality is there in the proposed capital expenditure of Assam. With such high expenditure Assam is set to transform into a developed state.

In Assam state capital, Guwahati there is construction all around. Some flyovers are completed. But traffic congestion has not eased. Let’s hope for better days ahead. Ulubari Higher Secondary School, an old Assamese medium school in the heart of the city has a new building. I hope as promised in another recent Assam budget, Ulubari Higher Secondary School will become a centre of excellence.

There are electric buses plying on Guwahati roads. Still we are far from smart mobility in the town. ” GSC” (Guwahati Smart City Ltd) and “ASTC” ( Assam State Transport Corporation) are prominently painted on these buses. Not sure what is the role of GSC in running the buses and no information is available in public domain as well.

Water crisis is a major issue in the town. So far the government has failed to address it.

Nijut Moina in climate resilient model villages

Assam state budget 2024, was presented on 12th February by the state finance minister Ajanta Neog. The speech was in Assamese and a PDF copy of the Assamese speech was published in all local newspapers. Now I have got the English version and making a sincere effort to understand it. While going through the Assamese speech, I tried to understand the meaning and also saluted the translator for the daunting task he accomplished. Some of the words and phrases used are thought provoking and should lead to academic deliberation.

1. নিযুত মইনা nijut moina…million girls . The use of the word nijut is not as prevalent as English word million. In some parts of Assam, kids are called “moina”. To call all girls, even college going girls moina, I think may not be appropriate. At the same time I feel that the government should have attempted to make “Millionaire Baideus” (নিযুতপতি বাইদেউ) in stead of “Lakhpati Baideu”
2. আদৰ্শ জলবায়ু স্থিতিস্থাপক গাও ….climate resilient model village !! Here I can not comment about the translation. Perhaps only a subject expert can tell what is a climate resilient model village.
3. ” যোগাযোক দক্ষতাৰ সৈতে সমুহীয়া স্বাস্থ্যক প্ৰভাবিত কৰিব পৰা বিভিন্ন সাংস্কৃতিক কাৰকসমুহৰ বিষয়ে জনাৰ উদ্দেশ্যে……..very difficult to understand.

Language is a powerful tool. Sometimes it conveys clarity. Lack of clarity also has beauty because it makes us think.

White paper is not so convincing

The “White Paper on Indian Economy” prepared by the government is readily available in PDF form in the internet. I have downloaded and tried to understand the content. So far I am unable to convince myself that the UPA government performed poorly and the present government has done an excellent job.

I have failed to understand as to why there is a reference to UPA time scams. Even the report admits that the alleged scams are still in the judicial process. As on date there has been no conviction at all. The laughable calculation of INR 1.76 lac crore is mentioned once again, despite government collection of just INR 1.5 lac crore in 2023 through 5G spectrum auction. Most of the alleged politicians have got people’s mandate and are in power. The report has faintly hinted that the “retrospective taxation” was a bad policy decision. But the present government took years to scrap it. It is beyond doubt that telecom is a struggling sector. The disruptive entry by a particular company has exacerbated the scenario. The result is crystal clear. A government which is supposed to be a proponent of disinvestment now holds majority stake in a private telecom company (Vodafone .Idea).

If the present regime can be credited for effective management of the pandemic, there is no reason why the UPA government would not deserve credit for managing the 2008 global financial crisis. The white paper is critical about massive credit growth of banking sector during the UPA rule. Fundamentally credit growth is something that all banks aspire to achieve. If there was mismanagement in PSU banks, in all probability that continues even now. We have not seen any basic changes in the way PSU banks function, except for the mergers. Despite the in principle decision to privatize 2 PSU banks, the government has stopped talking about it. Only time will tell the impact of cleaning bank books by massive write-offs.

I don’t know what is the impact of fiscal prudence. But the claim that inflation is under control does not seem to be valid considering the price of petrol, fruits and vegetables. Another surprise is the reference to Indian rupee plunging against during the UPA rule. Indian rupee is weakest against USD in recent times.

A gentleman from another Indian state told me while on a visit to Guwahati that the whole country appears to be undergoing construction. We see construction because there is heavy investment in infrastructure building. Has it created enough jobs ? I don not know. In Guwahati , we see completed or under-construction flyovers everywhere.

Has it eased the traffic congestion ? It is not fully satisfactory. We may have to wait.