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Rising China
Not a distress sale |
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Quality control a must
Reinventing Nehruvian model
The Departure Lounge
Salute the military role in nation-building
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Rising China China is on the way to getting a new leadership to steer it to achieve its top objective of becoming a new superpower. Like the leadership change last time, when Hu Jintao became the country’s President and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, the handing over of power to Vice-President Xi Jinping, as planned, is likely to be smooth.
Vice-Premier Li Keqiang is also set to replace Premier Wen Jiabao without any difficulty. Problems can be seen in the complexion of the standing committee of the Communist Party’s Politburo which may have mostly conservative members. The powerful standing committee can make it difficult for the new President and the Premier to further liberalise the Chinese economy to ensure its faster growth. But what is more worrying for China at this stage is the cancer of corruption at every level in the Communist Party and the administration. Rampant corruption and exploitation of people at their work places for achieving unrealistic production targets have led to widespread social unrest. These are too serious issues to be ignored, as pointed out by outgoing President Hu Jintao while speaking at the opening session of the congress of the Communist Party of China that began last Thursday to formalise the leadership change in the country. What Hu said shows the situation is quite alarming, “If we fail to handle the corruption issue well, it could prove fatal to the party and even cause the collapse of the party and the fall of the state.” Yet the Chinese appear to be confident of successfully tackling the issues of corruption and social unrest. They have done this in the past as their record shows. They know how to overcome any hurdle that comes in the way of achieving their ultimate objective —- the status of a superpower. A drive is on for political and economic reforms “to speed up the creation of a new growth model and to ensure that development is based on improved quality and performance.” These reforms, besides fighting the issues pointed out by President Hu, are essential for the realisation of China’s ambitions now when it has become the second largest economy of the world.
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Not a distress sale For a man deep in debt, liquor baron Vijay Mallya has got a good deal for his flagship liquor company, United Spirits Ltd. London-based Diageo Plc, the world’s largest liquor company by revenue, has bought a 53.4 per cent stake in USL, the world’s biggest distiller by volume, at a hefty price of Rs 1,440 per share. The USL share closed at Rs 1,360 on Friday.
Vijay Mallya, whose flamboyant style is often compared to that of Virgin’s Richard Branson, owns the troubled Kingfisher Airlines, which is making losses, has accumulated heavy debt and is struggling to pay salaries and dues of the fuel companies and the tax authorities. Though Mallya has denied it, the stake sale in USL is seen as an attempt to save Kingfisher. His other company, United Breweries Holdings, will get Rs 2,404 crore from the deal and the money can be used either to reduce the debt of Kingfisher or provide a collateral for further money infusion to save the beleaguered airline. The United Spirits share has appreciated 35 per cent since September when word about a possible Diageo takeover spread. The company’s net profit has plunged 74 per cent to Rs 39.3 crore from a year ago and it has a debt of Rs 8,300 crore. Despite being in a financial mess, Mallya has secured a good price. The $2 billion deal is the biggest in corporate India this year. In December last year the Vedanta group had acquired Cairn India Ltd after paying $5.5 billion in cash. After initial unsuccessful bids, Diageo has finally managed to enter a country where whisky consumption is doubling in five years as it did between 2005 and 2010. The price may be high, but then India is a huge market. The policy environment is, by and large, investor friendly. Other multinational giants like Wal-Mart and IKEA too plan to open stores in India. |
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Quality control a must
While the need for deemed universities can’t be discounted, these institutions can’t be allowed to function without any monitoring. It is in this light that the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s observation becomes imperative. Recently a Division Bench of the High Court pertinently ruled that the deemed universities needed approval of the All-India Council for Technical Education before starting technical courses.
It has also questioned the engineering degrees being offered through distance learning, calling it “bad in the eyes of the law”. Indeed, if deemed universities start doling out degrees regardless of the UGC guidelines it can only be detrimental to the cause of education whose interests they are supposed to be serving. Institutions are declared deemed-to-be universities on the UGC recommendations. The intention to bring under the commission’s purview the institutions “which for historical reasons or for any other circumstances are not universities but doing work of high standard” is indeed well-founded. Yet often it has been seen that the deemed universities function in contravention of the laid down guidelines. The furore that the country saw over the bid to derecognise 44 deemed universities was a clear indicator of the anomalies that plague these universities. Deficiencies in infrastructure as well as lack of expertise are some of the many ills that undermine the effective functioning of deemed universities. If India has to emerge as a knowledge power it can’t allow universities to turn into teaching shops. Many features of the UGC (Institutions of Deemed to be Universities) Regulations 2010, including the one according to which the organisation seeking deemed university status will not commercialise higher education, are in the right sprit. The panel set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to examine the UGC Deemed University Regulations 2010 with regard to autonomy and regulation issues too indicates the government’s intention to find a solution. Whatever the committee’s recommendations, the key parameters of education — requisite infrastructure, a trained faculty and a screening process for students — can’t be compromised. A fool-proof system alone can ensure that the quality of education doesn’t become a casualty. |
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Nature knows no pause in progress and development, and attaches her curse on all inaction. — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Reinventing Nehruvian model
India’s
high growth story revolves around the economic liberalisation policies of the 1990s. Empirically, it seems valid as the Indian economy achieved a high growth rate, including reaching a peak of 9 per cent, only during the post-liberalisation period. International experience, especially of Latin American and Sub-Saharan African countries, however, suggests that economic liberalisation policies are not sufficient for high growth trajectory. For the success of economic liberalisation, some prerequisites are also essential. In India, the Nehruvian model provided these prerequisites, including diversified industrial base, economic and physical infrastructure, trained manpower and commercialised agriculture. In parts, the credit for keeping the Indian economy at bay from the global slowdown also goes to the regulatory regime deriving strength from the Nehruvian legacy. The economic reforms in India thus thrived on the foundations of the Indian economy laid down by the Nehruvian model. The vision of the Nehruvian model is to build a modern and self-reliant India. The model aims to achieve a higher rate of growth, rapid industrialisation, modernisation of agriculture, resource mobilisation, self-reliance, reduction in economic inequalities, mitigation of unemployment and reduction in regional inequalities. For achieving these objectives, the model rests on a development strategy of heavy industrialisation. The model favours more investment in the capital goods industry instead of the consumer goods industry for achieving a higher rate of growth on a long-term basis. For ensuring the development of heavy industry, the Nehruvian model assigns a strategic role to public enterprises for controlling the “commanding heights” of the economy. The fragile private sector victims of de-industrialisation policies of the colonial regime were neither having adequate capital nor technical knowhow and hence could not be relied upon for setting up heavy industries. Nonetheless, the private sector is recognised as a partner in the development; simultaneously its behaviour is under state scanner specifically in the form of industrial licensing system. Thus, the mixed economy is the overarching facet of the model. Further, the import substitution-led strategy accompanied by a protectionist policy for industrialisation is preferred over the export-led strategy. The centralised development strategy steered by the Planning Commission and implemented by the economic bureaucracy is also one of the thrusts of the model. The performance of the model is a mixed bag. It has fairly remained successful in areas such as growth, industrialisation, modernisation of agriculture, resource mobilisation and self-reliance. The model’s performance for reducing economic inequalities, unemployment and regional imbalances is not satisfactory. The economy registered a growth rate of 4 per cent during the Nehru era against less than 1 per cent during British rule. The model also succeeded in industrialising the economy. The impressive growth profile of basic and key industries like arms and ammunition, iron and steel, heavy machine tools, coal, shipbuilding, chemicals and chemical fertilisers, drugs, crude oil and natural gas, zinc and lignite is convincing empirical evidence of the model for laying down the strong foundations of industrialisation. Public enterprises are used as a trusted vehicle for industrialisation. Public enterprises also played a pivotal role in the promotion of infrastructural facilities like roads, transport and communication, electricity, financial institutions, and R and D efforts in national scientific and technological laboratories, which gave fillip to industrialisation. The facile generalisation about the Nehruvian model is the neglect of the agricultural sector. Empirical evidence, however, is contrary to this belief. The sectoral break-up of investment during the Nehru era clearly reveals that the agricultural sector was allocated investment funds even more than the industrial sector. Agriculture, including irrigation, claimed 22.7 per cent of the total investment made during the first three plans. Industries, in contrast, got only 17.2 per cent. Moreover, the foundations of the Green Revolution were also laid during the Nehru era. The performance of the model on account of resources mobilisation by the public sector is very impressive. In the beginning of the Nehru era the public sector savings were 65 per cent of the total savings. In the year 1964-65, the public sector savings contributed 68 per cent to the total savings. During the first two Five Year Plans, the share of public sector investment in the total investment was above 55 per cent which increased to 60 per cent in the Third Plan. The import substitution-led industrialisation has helped India to achieve self-reliance in a few areas and has also helped in saving foreign exchange. Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Hindustan Machine Tools Ltd, the Indian Oil Corporation and the Oil and Natural Gas Commission helped the country in achieving self-reliance and saving foreign exchange. The report card of the model on account of mitigation of economic inequalities and unemployment is not very encouraging. The Nehru era witnessed coexistence of relatively a satisfactory rate of growth and economic inequalities, poverty and unemployment. In the industrial sector, concentration of economic power among a few monopoly houses was also reported. According to the reports of the Monopolies Inquiry Commission 1965 and the Industrial Licensing Policy Inquiry Committee 1967, the monopoly houses succeeded in getting favour from the licensing authorities even at the cost of the public enterprises. For reducing regional disparities the transfer of financial resources from the Centre to the states on the basis of backwardness, fiscal incentives and setting up of public enterprises in industrially backward states have been used as instruments. In spite of these efforts, the regional disparities widened during the Nehru era. Western and southern states gained more on the industrial front compared to other states. The legacy of the Nehruvian model in areas like industrialisation, developing linkages between industry and agriculture, public enterprises, resource mobilisation and regulatory governance has contemporary relevance. Though the concept of self-reliance has become blurred during post-globalisation, diversified industrialisation is one of the prerequisites for enjoying national sovereignty in public decisions against the backdrop of the complex international economic and political environment. Learning from the Nehruvian model, India should continue with its policy of strengthening the industrial base of the economy. The agricultural sector being the lifeline of the majority of the people needs to be organically linked with industry. For developing complementarity between agriculture and industry, relevant lessons can be learnt from the Nehruvian model. Economic slowdown is almost a universal phenomenon. Strong public enterprises provide good protection mechanisms against the onslaught of economic meltdown. Investment in public enterprises is less vulnerable to global fluctuations. The strength of the Nehruvian model of sufficient resource mobilisation also needs to be emulated for avoiding the recurrence of fiscal crisis. Indian public enterprises contribute around 6 per cent to the national income. Their profit is around Rs 1, 00,000 crore. Public sector enterprises even during slidedown are very rich having surplus funds totalling Rs 2.5 lakh crore. The Prime Minister, while addressing the top brass of cash-rich public enterprises on October 24, suggested these enterprises to invest the surplus for igniting growth impulses in the economy. Regulatory governance — a legacy of the Nehruvian model — also moderated the impacts of economic meltdown on the Indian economy. Though the model did not achieve much success in reducing economic inequalities, unemployment and regional imbalances, some of the well-known policy instruments like using Planning Commission funds and public enterprises investment for reducing unemployment, and economic and regional disparities can be relied upon in the future as
well. The writer is Dean, Faculty of Arts,
Panjab University, Chandigarh.
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The Departure Lounge
I
was going for his birthday party. He had turned seventy. An American research says that out of 70 years, we spend 25 years in sleep, eight years in study and education, six years in rest and illness, eight years in holidays and recreation, five years in commuting, four years in eating, and three years in transition, getting ready for all the above activities. That leaves only 12 years of effective living. I feel that after 70 years of age, a person gets into the Departure Lounge, and everyday after that is a bonus. These were my thoughts as I reached his farm on the outskirts of Delhi. It was opulently decorated. He had been a driven flanderer, and the signs of excessive living were showing. The cosmetic facelift to circumvent the inevitability of aging did not help. There are some fights that even the strongest individuals cannot win - aging is one of them. We were college friends. He joined business and I became a cop. Guests were pouring. I found that the traditional Indian ‘Namaste’ has been replaced by a hug and kiss. A kiss is a peculiar proposition. Of no use to one, it is bliss to two, a baby’s right, a lover’s privilege and a hypocrite’s mark. A small boy gets it for nothing, a young man has to lie for it and an old man has to buy it. To a young girl faith, to a married woman hope, and to an old maid charity. Expensive liquor was flowing. A large variety of food was laid on the tables. Rich food is like destiny, it also shapes our ends. I found a large number of woman drinkers. All of them were fashionably dressed. Fashion has been stripped of its elitism. I am a non-drinker. When I refused a drink, a Punjabi woman who looked like a sumptuous breakfast on a sunny winter morning, remarked that we cops only like to pinch bottoms. I told her that we pinch bottoms on merit; normally we like to kick bottoms. There was a genial laughter. Indian husbands have also reconciled to their wives drinking. Normally an Indian wants relationship with his wife like between Man and God, from the heart, but fearful. As we grow in years, the alarms on the biological clock start ringing and changes occur faster than people’s ability to adopt to this reality. Normal people tend to be passive and multi-directional. Their lives are a haphazard drift from one point to another. A Netajee arrived. I knew him quite well. He had spent a couple of days in jail. I asked him how he managed his evening drink in the lock-up. He laughed, and told me that the Jail Superintendent was told that “Netajee” had to perform evening ‘Puja’ and he needed “Ganga Jal” for that. Every evening, an earthen pot containing “Black Label” was delivered. Some earthen pots containing “Ganga Jal” were given to the religious-minded jail staff also. He asked me to join politics, “Maujan Karo Ga” --- you will enjoy. In India politicians are a privileged class from different angles. As I was coming back, I was thinking of the ravages of time. When one looks at one’s marriage album after 40 years of marriage, one wonders who is this young boy and this cute girl. One feels like saying, “O Time Arrest Thy Flight.”
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Salute the military role in nation-building History is proof that once threats fail, military force has often been used to achieve political aims; this trend in realpolitik is perhaps unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. Holistic national security strategy therefore, is a combination of political and military thinking and planning. Strategy bereft of such joint planning, will be found wanting.
Therefore, in formulation of ibid strategy the military leader is an indispensible part whose professionalism advice and involvement in decision making is a must to ensure victory. Once the military is involved and left to its role, visible changes come about in the sway of war and final victory. An example of sound strategy is that of the 1971 Indo-Pak war when the final decision to go war was taken after due consideration of the strategic concerns of the military leadership. The joint national effort thus executed by the Indian Army won a resounding victory leading to the creation of Bangladesh. That of a weak, ill-planned strategy is the 1962 Sino-Indo War and the IPKF operations in Sri Lanka. In both conflicts the political aims were over riding, external intelligence was non-existent, essential involvement of the military leadership left much to be desired leading to disastrous consequences; the former saw the nation face the ignominy of a humiliating defeat and, in the latter, heavy casualties were suffered and total success eluded the Indian ground forces. The armed forces were not only-ill equipped to battle; but their combined punch (i.e. of the Air Force and Navy) was not utilised, external intelligence so essential for planning was not available and, in Sri Lanka, the limited ground forces utilised did not have full freedom of operations. Ground realities
In our country, however, leave aside appropriate involvement of the military leadership in matters of national security, even their contribution is seldom acknowledged, and accolades seldom coming forth. This, despite the fact that the military has contributed tremendously to nation building, in ensuring its integrity and the freedom we enjoy today. This is no mean measure, as the military, especially the Army, has been in war or war-like operations since Independence without respite. This success has been achieved by the resilience of every soldier (the term includes sailors and airmen) and more so, the intense involvement of the military leader and their innumerable sacrifices. Since Independence there has been a constant effort to keep the achievements of the armed forces in the background, with the media playing along, strictly abiding by the adage for the military that, "good news is no news and bad news is news"! 'Bashing the Services', seems to be a by word. Despite this the armed forces continue to perform their varied roles with diligence and remain an organisation which can be relied upon in any emergency. Highlighting only negative news adversely affects morale of the armed forces and creates a wrong impression in the society. Society at large has little or no knowledge about the roles and contribution of the armed forces. There is no effort at national commemoration for the military. Freedom fighters of yesteryears are regularly remembered (and rightly so), but its ironic that the present freedom fighters, the Indian armed forces, have rather limited space in such remembrance. What takes the cake is the negative attitude of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) towards the armed forces. Examples are numerous, the recent case of the MoD going hammer and tongs against the rightful demands of the armed forces related to the 4th Pay Commission till the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the armed forces says it all. Professional demands The military profession expects much of its leaders. Threat scenarios and related challenges are immense; situations change rapidly, the identifiable danger merging with the unidentifiable danger. Today the military leader's obligation is beyond his primary role of battling the external enemy; there is a perceptible shift towards internal security; involving neutralising terrorists, winning the hearts and minds (WHAM) of an aggrieved populace through military-civic actions, riot control, saving lives during natural disasters, military diplomacy world-wide etc. The armed forces see no task as trivial, the aim always is to inject excellence in the job at hand and ensure mission accomplishment. In most vocations the matter of learning is one of personal preference, but to be a dynamic military leader, gaining knowledge is a duty. The leader has to constantly upgrade his professional skills by regular study (of the art of war, worldly and national developments, psychology, human relationship etc). His personal motivation has to be a part of his spirit; he is not a mercenary and is not lured by monetary gains or awards for his achievements. He is committed to serve the Nation and his soldiers with devotion. His responsibility to his men is paternal and absolute; their safety comes first but finally he has to lead them into what may well be a violent act endangering life or limb and often withstand tremendous mental strain due to the loss of a comrade. The leader has also to address the social problems faced by the soldiers but seldom finds it easy to go through the bureaucratic red tapes. The leaders have often to interact with varied populace country wide, some friendly some hostile; face complex and sensitive situations which have to be handled maturely, abiding by the law of the land, without hurting local sentiments. The onus to lead up front, be first to face danger and make the supreme sacrifice is an omnipresent part of a military leaders' duty. It is on record, that the ratio of casualties in war/operations of officers vis-a-vis their subordinates is one of the highest in the world in the Indian Army. The rank and file on their count, have as a rule rather than exception ensured observance of the soldier's code of conduct, have absolute faith in their leaders and always look up to them in any situation. Such traits are seldom required in other professions. Operational conduct The Indian Armed Forces conduct in war/ peace time operations, has been marked with professionalism, ensuring victory whilst safeguarding human values. They have abided by the tenants of the Geneva Conventions; enemy prisoners of war have been treated fairly, this despite repeated extreme provocation, by barbaric maltreatment of their brethren by the adversaries. Counter terrorist operations are delicate and demanding, a blurred line exists between the terrorist and the innocent majority, the risk of collateral damage looms large. In this rather sensitive matter the Army has come out with honour despite countless false allegations; the credit goes to the military leader who has kept his cool despite extreme provocation. One has to only compare the conduct of other armies the world over in similar operations, to perceive this achievement of the Indian Army. Military diplomacy Military diplomacy is an important adjunct of diplomacy. The military has earned tremendous good will of armies the world over for their professionalism. Over the recent past, armies of the US, the UK, France, Russia and a host of others have conducted joint training exercises to exchange military tactics and gain from experience of the Indian Armed Forces. In United Nations peace keeping operations the Indian Army has earned much appreciation of the local populations and armies of different countries for their helpful attitude, humane approach and expertise in WHAM operations. However, whenever the need arose to battle any rogue elements they have resorted to minimum force despite suffering casualties. Examples of their valour are many; the award of the Param Vir Chakra to Captain G S Salaria (posthumously), in Congo for his daredevil action is one such of many others. The military training imparted at the officers' academies and various schools of instruction are most sought after and subscribed by a host of foreign countries. The Indian Military Academy, Dehradun has to date, trained 1397 cadets from over 15 friendly foreign countries. In addition, with our expertise a number of military training academies have been raised in different countries. The professional courses at the Army War College, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and the National Defence College, New Delhi and other defence institutes are reputed internationally. Ethos of the military leader The loyalty of the military and its leaders has been above reproach; they have always remained apolitical and have never even vaguely acted in an anti-democratic way. They have great faith in our democratic set up and respected the values of state and society. The bipartisan role of the forces during the emergency is an outstanding example; when all other pillars of democracy crawled and stooped, the armed forces stood rock solid and upheld democracy. The contribution to nation building of the armed forces led by their leaders is an outstanding example of selfless service; fighting the enemy, putting down fissiparous and secessionist forces, reaching anywhere and everywhere to provide solace to our countrymen in any disaster, the list is endless. By their dedicated professional service and sacrifice the Indian armed forces have built a strong architecture of national security. These achievements have been possible by the constant desire of the military leaders to reinvent themselves and remain harmonised with current and futuristic warfare. The current sharp deficiency of officers in the armed forces is a national problem, and has to be seen and handled as one. A nation can only afford to deny the rightful place due to the armed forces and its leaders at its own peril. While the military leader will continue to risk all for cause and country with unflinching heart and known fortitude, his professionalism and contribution to nation building needs to be given the deserved salute, lip service will not do. The writer, a former Commandant of the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, is currently the Chairman, Punjab Public Service Commission |
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