Context :
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.
========================================================================================
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 :
#
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
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
29 May 2020