[Shows up the nervousness among Modi backers. Thus this old prescription of depositing some (unspecified) amount of money to every Jan Dhan account, before the next parliamentary poll, makes a fresh appearance, with some touch-up. Of course, no need to even talk of bringing back a single rupee from illegitimate foreign accounts.
But when the suggestion had originally been put across (see, e.g.: < http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/201116/jan-dhan-accounts-to-get-rs-10000-sop-for-beneficiaries-with-nil-balance.html>), there was a strong expectation of a fairly decent harvest, even if not a windfall outright, as a consequence of demonetisation. Such an expectation now stands just horribly belied. And, the GDP is sinking. Also, so appears to be the confidence of the business and entrepreneurial communities in the Indian economy. In informed circles, people are voicing their apprehensions of capital flight in the event of fiscal profligacy. Thus the backdrop has changed rather significantly.] http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31816&articlexml=Write-of-Centre-DeMo-Dividend-How-PM-Modi-02102017003019 Oct 02 2017 : The Economic Times (Delhi) Write of Centre DeMo Dividend & How PM Modi can Revive His Mojo R SRIRAM *Govt should try to transfer some of the wealth from demonetisation and benami property to the poor* A few weeks ago, a former CEO walked up to me at party and shared some information. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, was losing the goodwill of the people and could come a cropper in forthcoming polls like British Prime Minister Theresa May . The reference to Ms May whose Conservative Party barely managed to eke out a victory after being ahead by 20 points in the polls was meant to indicate that Mr Modi, whose party -the BJP -is riding the crest of popularity may soon find itself floundering. The ex-CEO cited examples like ground-level discontentment in UP over Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's handling of law order and the chaos in GST filings as reason for the possible turn in the tide. This was before former finance minister Yashwant Sinha's rant and the horrific stampede in Mumbai that killed 23 people and shone a harsh spotlight on the dilapidated nature of India's railway system. Mr Sinha's rant may not sway lower middle class and rural voters given his diminished stature in the party and lack of popular appeal, but Friday's tragedy in Mumbai is going to stay in people's memories for a long time. Video clips of people struggling, jostling, pushing and dying in the railway bridge stampede is going to be part of campaign attacks not just in Gujarat but also in other states. Events of the past few weeks have disrupted PM Modi and BJP's attempts to control the narrative and highlighted the serious problems they have in setting the economy right. Leave aside Theresa May and relevance of UK polls to India, what the former CEO said is also important from a larger perspective. The narrative, at least among certain parts of the urban middle class, traders and businessmen, has changed in the past few months. The drop in GDP to 5.7% in the first quarter, the continued agitation among farmers and the Mumbai railway station tragedy have focused attention on certain failings of the Modi's administration. Turning around the railways or lifting farmers' incomes is not an easy task and there will always be problems along with way . Having said that, there are two or three specific problems that the government should focus on. One is the complex, time-consuming nature of filing GST returns. It is all right for big companies to file three returns a month but for smaller firms and shopkeepers, the burden is just too much. The problem has been worsened by data connectivity issues though the ministry says that filers have exacerbated it by coming in a bunch on the last two days of the month. Whatever it is, the government should immediately set right this problem. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has made the right noises when he said the compliance burden should come down and that the number of rates could be compressed once the revenue neutral situation becomes clear. Some relief has already been given to small exporters who have exempted from providing a bank guarantee. If the government cuts some red tape and streamlines the whole process by middle of next year, it would have put the issue of burdensome GST on the backburner. The biggest indirect tax reform since Independence should enhance tax collections and make people pay tax willingly , not cramp their ability to do business. Demonetisation is another matter. Last year and this year, people voted overwhelmingly for the BJP across elections partly in the hope that the Mr Modi has struck a blow against the rich and that the poor would be taken care of. In Gujarat, in December, they may still vote the same way . But will the mood remain the same in 2019? By then, people may want to see results in terms of better infrastructure and quality of life. The government is hoping that its social and welfare programmes like free electricity connections and toilets would do the trick. It may . But what can definitely do the trick is a demonetisation dividend in form of transfer of a portion of ill-gotten wealth into the hands of the poor and the needy . Mr Modi hinted at this in one of his campaign speeches when he asked about how it would be if `15 lakh is transferred to each Indian's account from the black money stashed abroad.Now, I don't know whether `15 lakh is possible and that too to every account but Mr Modi should attempt to transfer some of the wealth from demonetisation and benami property crackdown into the poorest of the poor, the 28.9 crore Jan Dhan account holders. The financial implications can be worked out by the ministry of finance but if it happens, this should go a long way in assuaging the restive public desirous of exemplary action against the corrupt. Obviously , infrastructure needs should be taken care of but if Mr Modi is eager to show the results of demonetisation and benami property crackdown, he should definitely consider this option. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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