Soniaji speaks

Context :

Entire country heard cries of migrants but not govt: Sonia Gandhi 

Extract :

Ø  “ We again urge the Centre to unlock its coffers and help the needy.

        Put direct cash of Rs 7,500 per month in the account of every family for the next six months and provide

         Rs 10,000 immediately;

        Ensure safe and free travel of labourers back home, employment opportunity and rations; and

       Increase the number of work days under MNREGA to 200 days to facilitate jobs in villages,” the Congress

       chief said.

Ø  Sonia Gandhi said that “ there is no dearth of money, it should be utilised properly  ”.

Ø  “That 20,000 crore which the government has kept for beautifying the central vista project in Delhi should be used to help these famished people walking on the roads,” she said.

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Question :

Who does Soniaji classify as “ Needy  “  ?  It would be nice if she had clearly defined who are the “ Needy “

Absence of such clarity / specificity, could do injustice to many - besides providing fodder for political fire !

Let us assume :

Ø  10 crore MGNREGA workers ( have to be “ Rural and Unskilled “ as per the Act )

Ø  10 crore worker rendered jobless ( local + migrant ) from 6 cr MSME ( Urban + Semi Skilled )

Ø  Total of 20 crore “ NEEDY – POOR “

Implication of Soniaji’s suggestion :

Ø  ONE TIME payment ( DBT ) of Rs 10,000/-  to each needy

Rs 10,000 / - x 20 cr needy  =  Rs  2 Lakh*Crore

Ø  OUTGO over next 6 months

Rs 7500  x  6 months  =  Rs 45,000 per “ needy “  x  20 crore persons  =  Rs   9 lakh*crore

Ø  Total   >  Rs 11  Lakh*Crore

Remember this in the context of the recent announcement of Smt Sitharamanji , allocating an additional Rs 40,000  cr to the original budget of Rs 61,000  cr for MGNREGA , taking the total to Rs  1.1  lakh*crore

 

So , what Soniaji has suggested is TEN TIMES of what the Government has provided for the NEEDY  !

When “ needy “ have to be given Rs 11  lakh*crore , saving Rs 20,000 crore ( Central Vista ), is not much help !

But could Soniaji be right when she says :  “ there is no dearth of money, it should be utilised properly  ” ?

She could be right  !

Only last Aug , a Govt Task Force came up with a big report called : NATIONAL  INFRASTRUCTURE  PIPELINE [ NIP ]

Talking about NIP , Shri Modiji had said :

 (  Quoted from news report )

"For the development of modern infrastructure, an amount of ₹100 lakh crore has been earmarked for this period ( 2020 - 2025 ), which will create new job opportunities besides improving the living standards," Modi had said.

[  Source :  Infra funding requirement pegged at ₹111 lakh crore during 2020-25  ]

 

Hence , postponing NIP by ONE YEAR ( 2021 – 2025 ) , could release Rs 20  lakh*crore  to help out the needy !

 

Soniaji’s suggestion would help maintain our economy on some kind of a “ Life Support System “ for 6 months

But , in order to take our economy, off that Life Support System and fully REVIVE it on a long-term / permanent basis ,  we MUST invest heavily in INFRASTRUCTURE . May be much more than earmarked Rs 100 lakh*crore

 

There is a way to meet these, seemingly opposite requirements as explained in my following earlier e-mail :

MGNREGA : Can it morph into UBI ?   …………………………………………..[ 11  May  2020 ]

Extract :

 

       #     MGNREGA should be re-named, MGNRUGA ( Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Urban Employment Guarantee

              Act )

      #    Besides RURAL households, it should cover URBAN households as well

      #   Besides “ Unskilled Manual Work “, it must also cover “ Semi-skilled / Skilled “ work as well

        [  De facto , this is already happening – ignoring the provisions of MGNREGA Act – as can be seen from :

           Postgraduates, graduates enrol for work under MGNREGA   ]

      #   Number of “ Guaranteed Days of Work Employment / year “ should be :

Ø    Rural Areas ………………….. 300 days ( up from current 100 days )

Ø    Urban Areas :

                 Class II towns ………………… 200 days

                 Class I Cities……………………  100 days

#    If an Urban establishment provides work to any of the REGISTERED UNEMPLOYED, referred by MGNRUGA

              web site, it will not be required to pay wages ( to those  persons ), for periods mentioned above

   

      For them, the wages will get paid directly by the Ministry subsidizing , at rates prescribed under

      the Act ( DBT ) . Any wages paid in excess , will have to be borne by the establishment concerned

 #    My suggestion will extend the scheme to cover urban offices / factories / shops etc , where millions have

        been rendered jobless due to lockdown

As to the problem of finding those Rs 111 lakh*crore for NIP – without raising taxes ( direct or indirect ) or market

borrowing , read my earlier e-mail :

Mothballing Mega-Projects ?                                    [ 21  May  2020  ]

 Madam Gandhiji  /  Shri Rahul Gandhiji  /   Shri  K C Venugopalji

[  soniagandhi@sansad.nic.in  ]  /  office@rahulgandhi.in   /  kc.venugopal@sansad.nic.in

kcvenugopal.org@gmail.com  ] ,

Based on my suggestions, I urge you to frame ( in consultation with all opposition parties ) ,  a

Ø   COMPREHENSIVE  CONSTRUCTIVE ECONOMIC  REVIVAL  SCHEME ,

and present it to Shri Modiji

Considering that he is a strong believer of :  Subka  Saath  ,  Subka  Vikas ,  I think he will accept to

implement the same

with regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com

29  May  2020