QuoteBut feeding its people and funding its industry is going to be huge drain on the country's treasury. Unquote
That's a huge nasty joke! Whose "country" and whose "treasury"!? Beyond that, even an economist of the reputation - and with somewhat conservative orientation - of Amartya Sen has repeatedly pointed out that "investing" in people's health and education is a very prudent and necessary "investment" - it raises the quality of humanpower manifold and thereby the productive capacity of the country as a whole. This is apart from the fact that raising the quality of human life is an objective more than worth pursuing just for that. So this scaremongering is a routine part of the campaign of the "corporate world" to promote its project of selfish,and shortsighted, loot. Sukla On Sun, Jul 5, 2009 at 12:40 AM, saeed patel <saeed...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > Feeding the poor strains India's finances > > By Shilpa Kannan > India Business Report, BBC World, Delhi > > [image: Pushpa's family] With many mouths to feed, Pushpa is struggling. > *Finding rice to feed her family is a daily struggle for 30-year-old > mother Pushpa.* > Pushpa lives with her ailing in-laws, five children and her husband in a > crowded slum in east Delhi. > Pushpa's husband earns about $10 a month selling herbal medicine - so > several days a month, the family has to go to bed hungry. > Two of her five children have been in and out of hospitals for severe > malnutrition. > In the heart of Delhi, families such as Pushpa's are registered with the > government and have been issued identity cards that entitle them to > subsidised rice. > But they rarely get their share. > Pushpa is angry. > "I voted this government into power but to no avail," she says. "No one is > taking care of us. > "We even have our identity cards that entitle us to subsidised food. The > government has promised us cheap rice and wheat, but we get nothing. > "My children are dying of hunger. How can I feed them? They keep falling > sick." > *Costly malnutrition* > > [image: Grain market] > *The proposed Food security act will guarantee 25 kilograms of food grain > to the poorest people at a subsidised cost* > Parshuram Ray, the director of Centre for Environment and Food Security > That is why non-governmental organisations such as the Centre for > Environment and Food Security are now campaigning for the government to > guarantee food as a basic right to poor people. > Despite government food schemes having existed for more than 30 years, > Indian malnutrition and child mortality rates are worse than in Sub-Saharan > Africa. > Even in urban centres such as Delhi there are millions of people who cannot > afford to eat. > By some estimates, malnutrition has led to an economic loss of $29bn a year > - equivlent to almost 4% of India's gross domestic product, or GDP. > *Right to food* > Parshuram Ray, the director of Centre for Environment and Food Security, > says almost 80% of Indians do not get enough to eat. > > [image: Chandrajit Banerjee] > *We want it to be more investment oriented, more infrastructure projects, > simplification of tax procedures, rationalisation - rather than major cuts > in taxes, which the government can't afford at this point of time* > Chandrajit Banerjee, director of the Confederation of Indian Industry > "The proposed Food security act will guarantee 25 kilograms of food grain > to the poorest people at a subsidised cost," he says. > "It also gives people the right to go to courts and demand their right to > food. If not delivered, officials can be held responsible and it will be a > punishable offence." > A law that guarantees food security can be life-changing for poor people. > But it is the implementation of this law that is worrying industrialists. > While nobody disagrees with the law, its cost might exceed $10m. > Add that to the existing welfare schemes, such as the National Rural > Employment, the fertilizer subsidies, or the waiver of crop loans for > farmers - as well as the fuel subsidy for Indian consumers - and the > handouts bill is pretty high. > *Rising spending* > In April this year, total government spending reached $13.5bn, up 43% from > the same period last year. > > [image: Abdul Rashid] > *If the government helps us with tax incentives, interest subsidies and > post-export incentives, it will not just help us keep the company running, > but also help our employees* > Abdul Rashid, director, National Masala Mills > Critics fear that if the government continues to spend at this pace it will > have huge negative implications for the Indian economy. > The borrowing target has already been raised to $76bn for this year from an > earlier prediction of $62bn. > The current government has been voted in on a powerful mandate so the > expectation from both people and the industry for the upcoming budget is > running high. > While poor people such as Pushpa are looking for a respite from their > troubles, lobby groups and industrialists are knocking on the doors of the > finance ministry to make sure their voice is heard too. > India has announced three stimulus packages for the industry since > December. Taxes on consumer products have been cut in an effort to boost > consumer demand. > But the widening fiscal deficit is still worrying the Indian Industry. Some > estimate that the government is spending 7% more than it is getting in from > taxes and other income sources. > Such a 7% fiscal deficit would be the highest in 19 years. > *Investment budget* > As a result of the government's financial constraints, industry expects > less assistance in this budget. > > [image: Spice factory] Exporters want credit subsidies kept in place. > Chandrajit Banerjee, director of the Confederation of Indian Industry, says > industry will look at the budget in a manner where you get the benefits > without much of a fiscal stimulus. > He says that Budget 2009-10 should be an "investment budget" to enable > India to deal with the global economic crisis and aim at leading the economy > to a growth rate in excess of 8% in the coming year. > "Therefore we want it to be more investment oriented, more infrastructure > projects, simplification of tax procedures, rationalisation - rather than > major cuts in taxes, which the government can't afford at this point of > time." > *Cheap credit* > But smaller companies are worried. > [image: Women drinking tea] The failure to feed the poor is costing vast > sums every year. > National Masala Mills is an exporter of Indian spices to the Middle East, > UK and Africa. > In its factory on the outskirts of Delhi, hundreds of women are employed to > clean, sort and grade their spices. > The air is heavy and pungent as women dressed in bright red tunics are > cleaning baskets of red chillies. > The chillies are then machine ground and filled into sacks ready to be > exported. > The global economic crisis has been a huge blow to National Masala Mills. > So the company has high hopes that the upcoming budget will provide them > with a stimulus package. > Company director Abdul Rashid says they support more than 4,000 families in > procuring raw material, manufacturing and marketing their spices. > "If the government helps us with tax incentives, interest subsidies and > post-export incentives, it will not just help us keep the company running, > but also help our employees," he says. > Exporters are usually provided credit at a rate that is some 2.5 percentage > points below the prime lending rate (PLR) of banks. > But this arrangement comes to an end on 30 September this year. So Mr > Rashid wants an extension of interest subsidy for the sector to help access > cheap credit and remain competitive. > *Huge drain* > Back in the Delhi slums, Pushpa and her neighbours settle down for their > evening prayers. > As they huddle together singing Hindi hymns thanking god for their daily > bread, children line up for free sweets at the end of the session. > Many others hope Pranab Mukherjee, India's finance minister, will hand out > sweeteners of his own. > But feeding its people and funding its industry is going to be huge drain > on the country's treasury. > And it remains to be seen whether the finance minister can deliver the > economic miracles that millions of people want. > > ------------------------------ > Windows Live™ SkyDrive™: Get 25 GB of free online storage. 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