Need for employment intensive
India centric development
We are all aware that one size cannot fit all and thus a development model meant for other nations cannot be adopted blindly. After failure of communism in most parts of the world, leading economists have turned to varying forms of capitalism that is completely shorn of ethics and ecological considerations. Underbelly of capitalism in form of offshore tax havens or international financial centres is aiding speedy concentration of wealth in fewer hands raising spectre of plutocracy. A few corporates and families are now able to instal leaders and bureaucrats across the world.
Big agri corporates have decimated small farmers. Big Pharma has taken control of our lives and big tech is going to decide how we conduct ourselves. Deployment of technologies like AI, robotics, blockchain, cryptocurrency etc may give us more material comforts but will compromise human dignity, health and happiness.
We have set a goal of 5 Trillion Dollars of GDP in a few years that will have technology, unbridled capital and big business as the driving forces. As we are guided by global consultants, we shall probably go for consumption oriented, wasteful, reductionist and jobless economic model that will pay lip service to ethics, equity and environment .With addition of around 2 crore people every year, we shall have a grave challenge to provide meaningful employment to large populace. We may probably face the spectre of financial colonisation followed by data colonisation if we do not think in India centric manner.
There are several pragmatic steps that can help us in a holistic and healthy development of the nation while providing meaningful employment to our people
- Utilisation of “wasted lands”
- Good lands that have not been used for last 20 years and will not be used for next 20 years to be classified as “wasted lands”
- Large parcels with govt, trusts, temples, waqf boards, churches, enterprises etc
- Allowing utilisation for designated purposes without change in ownership
- Leasing of wastelands to all for limited period
- Throw open leasing of wastelands for agriculture, dairying, animal husbandry, horticulture etc to all
- Varying lease period for different activities
- Speedy clearance of building projects all over India that meet national building code or other rational rules
- Reform process of approvals of plans using technology and other means
- Reduce regulatory time and costs dramatically
- Skilling for all types of jobs
- Improvement and excellence needed for proper execution at all levels
Skilling to be encouraged using appropriate means in agriculture, building, construction, sanitation, hospitality and other low investment professions
- Will improve quality, output and confidence of workers
- Flexibility in labour laws
- To give two options to future employees
- Employment with prevailing laws
- Employment without legal recourse of any type but carrying retrenchment allowance of 75/ 90 days for each year or part of employment
- Conversion of contract workers doing long term jobs into regular employees with above options
- Flexibility to employers to arrange skilling in relevant field and transfer as per needs of enterprise
- Higher priority to waste to wealth opportunities
- Waste is a resource at wrong place
- SBA+ to be adapted and implemented aggressively
- Conversion of all organic waste into biogas, organic fertiliser, power etc feasible
- Policy for reuse of treated wastewater in place in Gujarat. To be reviewed and made practical for attracting enterprises
- Wasted talents in plenty in education to be harnessed for supporting education and skilling
- Increased thrust on renewables in energy mix
- Renewables now cheaper than fossils in many domains
- New models for decentralised distributed power using renewables feasible and to be supported all out
- Designing transmission infra time to handle mix of discontinuous and continuous power supply
- Great for decentralised business activities
- Genuine support to MSME
- Micro and small nearly 99% of all in numbers providing employment to self and others
- Flow of funds to be proportionate to GDP and employment generated by them
- Encourage creation of plug and play modules with all clearances for them by private developers or government for rental or ownership all over India. Will reduce investment and time to start business for enterprises
- Boost to agri and rural enterprises
- Decentralised micro grids feasible. Energy economics now very different
- Local cold chain facility using renewables or blended power now possible
- Local processing ,value addition etc to be given huge boost
- Special thrust on tourism
- To be given high priority status
- To aim for 10% contribution to GDP of India in 5 years and at least 10% of overall employment
- Scope for all types of tourism with enabling environment and proper skilling of people
- Thrust on preventive and promotive aspects of health
- Allopathy good in curative only
- Need to openly support AYUSH for preventive and promotive aspects of health
- Health and wellness centres to have dominant role of AYUSH
- Food and nutrition improvement as well as immunity boost through solutions in AYUSH
- The above two aspects of health alongwith palliative and rehabilitative parts sure to create many employment opportunities
- Support to open, blended and outcome based learning
- Paradigm shifts now in the way knowledge is created ,transmitted and delivered
- Need to reduce cost and time for delivery of quality knowledge using technology and other means
- To reduce controls in process of education and skilling
- Instead go for outcomes and evaluation of learning by transparent bodies for certification
- New paradigms in overall plans
- Resource/ capacity utilisation
- Resource efficiency
- Waste reduction/ reuse / recycle/ recover/ recreate (5R principle)
- Integrated and holistic approach as against reductionist thinking and philosophy
- Hardnosed and pragmatic approach from policy to action
- Calibrated reduction of subsidy in predefined years from launch to drive people to self reliance through hard and honest work
- Adopt maxim “Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam” everywhere
- Adoption of Third way or Indian model of development
- Time to motivate society to move from Pure Profit (Shudhh Labh) or Zero Profit (Shunya Labh) to Ethical profit (Shubh Labh)
- Time to also probe offshore tax havens that permit transfer of funds to huge but dishonest corporates and groups for low employment but high tech and high capital model of economic growth.
S B Dangayach
Founder Trustee
Innovative Thought Forum
+91 99988 22680