TOI manifesto: An agenda for the new government
Government should be a force for good. Sadly, in India, it has become synonymous with corruption and intimidation, even as we as a society have become increasingly illiberal and fractious. What this nation desperately needs is a clean and caring, efficient and enlightened government. A government that serves the people instead of harassing them; that facilitates instead of obstructing; that creates opportunities for the greatest number instead of favouring a select few; that is fair and consistent, not vengeful and whimsical; that instils hope instead of spreading fear; that encourages initiative and entrepreneurship instead of killing it.
Five years ago, there was a buzz around India. We appeared to be a nation headed, almost inevitably, for superpower status. China and India were spoken of in the same breath. That promise has clearly been belied. Growth has plummeted from sub-10% to sub-5%. Corruption has become endemic, and is eating into the very soul of this nation. It's obvious that the priority of the next government should be to get growth back as close to double digits as possible. But will that alone put India back in the superpower sweepstakes? A nation that cannot provide basic healthcare or education or housing to large swathes of its people, and where millions go without a full meal a day, cannot claim to be 'developed'. Our socio-economic indicators are dismal — trailing, on several counts, even our neighbours Bangladesh and Nepal. We tend not to take sports seriously (except cricket), but our shameful record at the Olympics is emblematic of a deeper malaise.
Perhaps we should stop bothering about tags, and simply focus on doing the right things the right way.
The Times of India has put together a manifesto that it would like political parties to study seriously and perhaps even incorporate into their own; we would also urge the new government to debate it with an open mind and in a spirit of bipartisanship.
Broadly, the TOI manifesto makes a case for fiscally responsible policies and socially progressive laws. We believe an environment must be created for businesses to grow, but grow honestly and not through crony capitalism. We also believe in a pluralistic society, and that individual freedoms must be protected at all cost. Archaic laws, many of them dating back to our colonial past, should be consigned to oblivion because all they do is give corrupt government officers a handle to bully and extort. Education is modern India's greatest leveller and its redemption; it is the path out of the slum, the road to the high table. We are all prisoners of birth, but education has the power to snap the meanest bonds of economic and social enslavement. It's the best investment we can make in our youth and in our future.
Besides price rise and jobs, corruption is what exercises people most today — to the extent that a new party made a spectacular electoral debut on the back of it. So, what should be done about it? There are several bills pending in Parliament; they should be passed at the earliest. But that alone will not suffice. Most of these laws deal with catching and punishing the corrupt. There's a need for preventive measures that strike at the very roots of corruption. That will require a complete relook at the way just about everything is run: the economy, the bureaucracy, the police, the judiciary. Our manifesto is informed by this understanding of dealing with corruption by making all parts of the system more transparent and accountable, instead of merely cubby-holing it as an 'issue' or 'topic'. Government and the legislature have become a symbol of much that is wrong with India. Governance has all but collapsed at every level, and there is cynicism everywhere. Do our politicians have it in them to regain the trust and respect of the people? We hope that the 16th Lok Sabha will bury the unhappy memory of the 15th and do what the legislature is meant for: legislate and legislate well.
We do not claim to be the ultimate repository of wisdom; there are Indians of great integrity, knowledge and experience who should also be heard before policies are framed and laws made. But we will have achieved our objective if our manifesto serves as a starting point for a deep conversation that places the interest of the nation - and not narrow, partisan considerations - front and centre.
Over the next few weeks, we will bring you the thoughts of prominent Indians as part of a 'My Manifesto' series. And we welcome your feedback at www.timesofindia.com — The Editor
ECONOMY, BUSINESS, ENTREPRENEURSHIP
LOWER TAXES, SIMPLIFY TAX LAWS
The entire tax regime - both direct (personal and corporate income tax) and indirect - needs a revisit. Given that less than 3% of the population shows any taxable income at all, there's clearly a need to bring many more into the net instead of burdening the already taxed. It's also high time the field were levelled and rich farmers were made to pay income tax. Tax rates for personal taxpayers should be made more reasonable, in keeping with inflation, if nothing else. The salaried class would benefit from reintroduction of standard deduction (a flat amount that is deducted from income, with the balance subject to tax). The bulk of taxpayers comprise the salaried class and reintroduction of standard deduction, abolished from April 2005, is the simplest way to usher in an additional tax reform for this class. This will also usher in equity, as currently individual taxpayers who are professionals or businessmen are entitled to offset their business expenses against income. Salaried taxpayers only get certain tax sops - such as HRA, LTA, medical or transport allowance - but these in large cities translate into peanuts, such as the Rs 800 per month tax-free travel allowance.
INDIRECT TAXES: SEAMLESS, PAN-INDIA REGIME
On the indirect tax front, political compulsions have repeatedly delayed introduction of the streamlined pan-India goods & service tax (GST). Value Added Tax, which has replaced state specific sales tax in most states since April 2005, started off on the right note - with an intent to provide for uniform tax rates, an input tax credit mechanism to prevent 'tax on tax', and relatively standard processes. Today, because of local revenue compulsions, states have increased VAT rates and blocked or reduced input tax credit (which allowed a credit for taxes paid on intra-state purchases), thus hampering pan-India trade. India needs to be a seamless, not a fragmented, marketplace. VAT must be put back on track by bringing about uniformity in tax rates, rules and procedures in different states. In the long run, call it GST or by any other name (say, central VAT or consumption tax), but there needs to be an economically efficient indirect tax regime that promotes growth. Many developed countries have introduced a federal consumption tax. This is also emerging as the preferred alternative to customs duties in the context of trade liberalization.
NO RETROSPECTIVE CHANGES
Retrospective amendments to law must be introduced only in the rarest of rare occasions to correct a flaw in the tax provisions and not to earn revenue. Otherwise it will only add to pending litigation (worth Rs 2.7 lakh crore in 2012-13).
REVIEW APPEALS
A review of the appeals process may be worth undertaking. The first stage of tax appeal in India is the Commissioner (Appeals). Some countries ensure that the appeals division is independent and has no links with the tax department which is responsible for tax assessment, scrutiny and tax demands. In the US, the appeals division is an independent body, whose officers are evaluated based on their ability to settle cases without next-step litigation.
END WASTEFUL GOVT EXPENDITURE
Instead, focus on a handful of critical areas such as education, healthcare, infrastructure and law and order/security, but with a far stricter audit of performance and finances. Give taxpayers a clear, unambiguous idea of where and how their money is being spent. Several ministries, ranging from textiles and steel to culture and youth affairs can be disbanded. Also, the government should exit slothful, pereniallyhemorrhaging undertakings like Air India.
ALLOCATE RESOURCES IN A TRANSPARENT MANNER
Some of the biggest corruption scandals of the past several years have arisen out of either misconceived or rigged allocation of resources such as coal, ore, spectrum and land. The 1991 industrial policy of the Narasimha Rao government was meant to usher out the licence raj, but just the opposite has happened; sale of government-controlled resources has become the new frontier of crony capitalism. The process by which natural resources are allocated to the private sector must be made transparent and designed to serve public interest rather than the government of the day and its favoured few. This can be done once it is recognized that maximizing short-term revenues for the government does not maximize public interest. Public interest is best served when we ensure a healthy, competitive industry, which is then able to offer goods and services to consumers at a reasonable price. A one-step e-auction, conducted by an independent body, is the best means of addressing these multiple objectives.
BRING BLACK MONEY BACK
A report by Global Financial Integrity states that India has lost nearly $213 billion (about Rs 14 lakh crore) in illicit capital flight since Independence (till 2008). Even if, say, 20% of it can be brought back, through an amnesty scheme, that is close to Rs 3 lakh crore, which is more than the Centre's annual education and healthcare budgets. The repatriated funds could be taxed at 3-5% above current Indian rates, as a moderate penalty. Three-fourths of it (Rs 2.25 lakh crore) could be exclusively earmarked for spending on health, education and infrastructure, and the remaining one-fourth (Rs 75,000 crore) could be distributed as a onetime rebate among all individual taxpayers in proportion to their taxable income - as a reward for honesty (yes, it might be difficult to execute, but worth considering). Total income tax collections are budgeted at less than Rs 2.5 lakh crore in 2013-14. A large inflow of dollars would also help strengthen the rupee. In the US, the American Jobs Creation Act, 2004, offered a temporary tax sop to companies that repatriated dividends by imposing a tax levy of just 5% instead of 35%. However, the repatriated money was allowed to be spent on specific permissible activities like R&D and capital expenditure which would promote growth and job creation. (It could not be used for, say, declaring dividends or for share buybacks.)
CREATE JOBS THROUGH PRIVATE SECTOR INCENTIVES
About 50% of India's 1.21 billion population is less than 25 years old. The government will need to ensure that the employment expectations of its skilled and educated youth are met - a need that cannot be fulfilled via government sector employment or funded schemes alone. The participation of the private sector is critical. Tax exemptions, grants for job creation, credits against tax payable, weighted deductions for the cost of new hires and their training costs are some of the variants used globally to encourage job creation in the private sector. Countries such as Hungary, Portugal and Switzerland offer tax breaks for investments that result in a specific number of new jobs. Luxembourg incentivizes both training and hiring - 10% of training costs and 15% of gross salary paid to persons who were earlier unemployed can be offset as a credit against corporate income tax. Direct incentive by way of a cash grant is available on newly created jobs in the Slovak Republic.
PROMOTE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
All industries, including retail, media and defence, should be opened up to FDI. The Indian retail market is expected to be worth $500 billion by 2020 and could create up to 100 million jobs in the next 10 years. Also, a decision taken by the Union Cabinet to allow FDI in a sector must be respected across the country; states mustn't be allowed to block entry.
PRIVATIZE AND DISINVEST AS FAR AS POSSIBLE
PSUs should be privatized as far as possible - especially in industries such as aviation, hotels and steel - but in a fair, transparent manner (just as with resource allocation). Elsewhere, the disinvestment route should be taken.
MAKE IT EASIER TO START A BUSINESS
India ranks 134th among 189 countries, according to a World Bank report on ease of doing business. On ease of starting a business, it ranks even lower: 166. The report says that 35 permissions/procedures are required to construct a warehouse, which takes an average of 168 days. One can only imagine the time and number of clearances it takes to build a factory. Small businesses, too, face frustrating hurdles: for instance, to open a bar & restaurant in Maharashtra, 38 licences are required, many of which date back to colonial times and are outright bizarre. This allows corrupt inspectors to make money at every turn; those who resist, are harassed till they pay up or shut shop. Why should it be so difficult to start a business? It provides employment, creates wealth and generates revenue for government. There's a crying need to drastically reduce the number of permissions required, set a tight time limit for them to be granted (if all the paperwork is in order) and penalize babus if they take longer. Also, the entire system should be online and transparent.
PROMOTE MICRO, SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
MSMEs generate the largest employment (nearly six crore) after agriculture. In terms of value, MSMEs account for 45% of total manufacturing output, 40% of exports, and contribute around 8% to GDP. But they find themselves stymied by their very regulatory definition. For instance, under the MSME Development Act, a small enterprise in the manufacturing sector is one whose investment is between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 5 crore, and for the service sector Rs 10 lakh to Rs 2 crore, which is too low. Those who wish to expand find themselves bereft of credit - which either flows to the 'well-defined' MSME sector or large companies. For growth to be encouraged there is a need to redefine what constitutes MSMEs. Across the European Union, three parameters are used to define what constitutes a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise: employee strength, turnover, balance sheet value. While employee strength is a fixed criterion, a company can chose to opt for either the turnover or balance sheet criterion. In the MSM ranking, a medium-sized enterprise is one which employs fewer than 250 persons and which has either an annual turnover of less than 50m euros (Rs 426cr) or a balance sheet value of not more than 43m euros (Rs 366cr). If enterprises fall in this range they are eligible for a variety of funding. Providing a tax credit or investment allowance to MSMEs is another solution.
FLEXIBLE LABOUR MARKET, BUT WITH A SAFETY NET
Innumerable surveys around the world have shown that labour market inflexibility actually hurts creation of jobs - employers are wary of hiring even in boom time if they are not allowed to trim their workforce in a downturn. A flexible labour market, on the other hand, gives employers the confidence to add staff. But this must be accompanied by a comprehensive social security programme, including unemployment benefits/insurance and assistance in retraining and finding alternative avenues of income generation. (Obviously, people who have no interest in working cannot be kept on a dole.)
EASE LAND ACQUISITION FOR INDUSTRY
Industry is complaining that the new law will make it very difficult for it to acquire land, even for important infrastructure projects. There is a need for better compensation, but the price of acquisition should not be so exorbitant that it hobbles industry. A middle path that is fair to all sides needs to be found.
LEGAL REFORMS
Implement CIC decision bringing parties under RTI: None of the six national parties has complied with the CIC's path-breaking decision in June 2013 to appoint information officers and appellate authorities under the RTI. The Representation of the People Act should be amended to make it mandatory for all recognized parties, national or state, to set up the necessary RTI machinery.
Sec 377 should apply only to non-consensual gay sex: The retrograde Supreme Court judgment on homosexuality needs to be overturned. In fact, the same verdict suggested legislative intervention to get rid of this bizarre notion of "carnal intercourse against the order of nature". The new provision should be clearly limited to penalizing non-consensual gay sex.
Gradation in punishment for rape: Much as some of the rape provisions enacted in the wake of Nirbhaya were necessary, there is a need to tweak the new law, especially to introduce gradation in punishment. While expanding the definition of rape to include all forms of penetration (and not just penile vaginal intercourse any longer), the 2013 law prescribes the same range of penalties (seven years to life) irrespective of the gravity of the crime committed. The new Section 376(1) IPC makes no distinction between, say, somebody who committed a full-blown rape and somebody who did not go beyond inserting his fingers in the victim's vagina before heeding her protests. The one who withdrew at an early stage of the sexual encounter and the one who did not give up till the end can't be rendered liable under the same clause.
Introduce a law against torture: Despite signing the Convention against Torture in 1997, India is yet to enact a law which would enable it to ratify the treaty. The Bill introduced in 2010 needs to be enacted at the earliest.
Turn adultery into a civil offence: The IPC provision drafted in the Victorian era treats adultery as a crime, which can be complained against only by the husband and never by the wife. Following the example of liberal societies, India should make adultery a civil offence — breach of trust — even as it remains a ground for divorce.
Decision to file charges should be prosecution's: Unlike advanced democracies like the UK and US, India empowers the police to decide whether a chargesheet should be filed and if so against whom. As a result, the prosecution is delivered with a fait accompli; it is entrusted with the responsibility of securing conviction although it has no formal role in drafting the chargesheet. This anomaly needs to be redressed through a radical amendment.
Overhaul sedition and blasphemy laws: The colonial provisions of sedition and blasphemy don't belong in the 21st century. In different ways, they hollow out the freedom of speech and expression. The sedition provision — section 124A IPC — needs to be amended to check the recurring misuse of sedition by state authorities against political malcontents. The amendment should incorporate the SC's liberal interpretation in 1962 that, no matter how much the accused spreads 'disaffection' against the government, sedition can't be invoked unless he incites people to violence. The blasphemy provision — 295A IPC — needs to be scrapped as the inbuilt safeguard has proved inadequate.
Get rid of obsolete laws: After over two decades of economic reforms, our laws have still not been rid of obscure and obsolete provisions. Whether they are central or state, the laws continue to offer ample scope to 'authorities' to harass law-abiding citizens. You can be arrested, your homes and establishments raided, your businesses shut down, and your reputation besmirched for reasons that no right-thinking person would consider criminal or immoral. For instance, a five-star hotel was harassed under the Sarai Act, 1867, which makes it mandatory for hotels to serve water to passersby. The Jain Commission, which reviewed administrative laws, admitted that multiplicity and complexity of laws and rules, as well as lack of information about them, leads to misuse (read facilitates corruption) and hampers growth. It sought repeal of over 1,300 central laws (including 11 British statutes). The Commission admitted that there isn't even a rough estimate of similar state laws, which could run into several thousand. The National Law Commission has, down the years, also been giving its recommendations for repeal or revision of laws. Yet, apart from a onestroke repeal of 315 Amendment Acts in March 2002, progress is pathetically slow. Owing to our legislative framework, a law or Act never dies unless specifically repealed. There is a need to institute a mechanism that makes it easier to repeal laws or read down provisions that have either lost relevance or are pernicious.
Stop relying on AFSPA to deal with 'disturbed areas': The strategy of controlling Kashmir and the North-East by conferring draconian powers on the Army has yielded diminishing returns. There is a need to look afresh at the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee's 2005 recommendation to replace AFSPA with a more humane approach, balancing security with human rights.
JUDICIAL REFORMS
Enact laws on judicial appointments and accountability: The existing system of appointments to the superior judiciary, through a collegium of senior judges in every high court and the Supreme Court, has proved to be ineffective because it is completely in-house and opaque. The Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2013 to redress these two deficiencies, should be enacted. The older Bill relating to probity, the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, also needs to be revived, especially because of its virtue of giving a say to non-judicial voices without compromising on judicial independence.
Improve judge-population ratio: It is 12 years since the Supreme Court, with regard to the subordinate judiciary, directed an increase in the judge strength from 10.5 per 10 lakh people to 50 per 10 lakh people. Successive governments have made little budgetary allocations to achieve such a five-fold increase in the human resources and infrastructure of the subordinate judiciary, where the bulk of the 3.2 crore cases are pending. Since no government wants it to be strong, the judiciary must have a greater say in the allocation of funds for its needs.
Make the Supreme Court more accessible: The government should implement the 2009 Law Commission recommendation that the highest court in the land be split into a Constitution Bench in New Delhi and Cassation Benches in the four regions to deal with all the appellate work arising out of high court decisions. Though the Supreme Court has expressed reservations about such radical re- structuring, Parliament should give greater weight to the public interest involved in sparing litigants the trouble of approaching the Capital from distant states.
EDUCATION
Raise spending: India must meet the globally accepted norm of central and state governments spending at least 6% of GDP on education rather than the roughly 4% that states and Centre put together spend currently. This is essential if the shocking dropout rate of about 50% by class 10 is to be brought down, and the gross enrolment ratio in higher education raised beyond the current 16-17%. That number compares poorly with China's 24%, not to mention the OECD's 62%. The Centre must take the lead in this. The enhanced outlay should go not only towards beefing up infrastructure in schools, but also in ensuring decent salaries for teachers so that quality talent is attracted. At the same time, teachers should be made accountable through an effective monitoring body that includes parents of students from the school. To improve quality of education imparted, training of teachers at school level needs to be modernized.
Bridge skill gap: With just 2% of the youth having technical education, the skills gap is becoming a gigantic problem. A strong technical education stream linked to in- dustry must be put in place and fostered. Vocational/tech-nical curricula need to be up- graded and dynamically linked to labour market demands.
Incentivize private sector: In higher education, regulation - particularly of professional institutions like engineering and medical colleges - must be strengthened. (There have been far too many instances of fly-by-night operators and shady politicians setting up colleges without basic amenities and pathetic or non-existent faculties.) The government, on its part, must invest in setting up enough colleges to ensure that quality higher education is available at affordable prices. The private sector, especially reputed business houses, must be encouraged and incentivized to invest in education; but this must be accompanied by rigorous monitoring and regulation to ensure no corners are cut.
Make English education accessible: According to a recent report, those who speak English fluently earn up to 34% more and those who speak a little English earn about 13% higher on average than those who don't. But only 20% of Indians can speak English, and only 4% can do so fluently. English education is often expensive and difficult to access. In most government-funded schools, which account for about 70% of school education, the medium of instruction is Hindi or the local language. No wonder poor parents willingly opt for not-so-cheap private school education. The number of children enrolled in English- medium schools has more than doubled since the turn of the century. English as the medium of instruction, which was in fourth place behind Hindi, Bengali and Marathi in 2006, is now next only to Hindi, and will soon overtake it. The government must recognize and address this need by vastly improving the quality of English education in its schools. The benefits to society from this relatively small investment would be enormous. The hypocrisy of some politicians who advocate vernacular education for the masses while sending their own children to English-medium schools must not be allowed to derail this effort.
HEALTH
Hike expenditure: India's public health spending barely accounts for 1% of GDP, among the lowest in the world. There are just a few countries like Chad, Eritrea, and Yemen which spend a smaller proportion. As a result, over 70% of all health expenditure is paid for by people from their own pockets. Barring a handful of African countries, Yemen and Myanmar, nowhere else is out-of-pocket spending on health a larger proportion than in India. In most of the developed world, private expenditure is well below 25% of total health expenditure. One fallout of this is that health expenses are the second most common reason for people's indebtedness in India. Public spending on health must rise manifold to counter this as well as ensure that crucial indicators such as maternal mortality rate (MMR), infant mortality rate (IMR) and the immunization rate for children do not remain abysmal. India's IMR is a shameful 42 deaths per 1,000 live births. Even Bangladesh and Nepal have cut IMR to 33 without the kind of economic growth that India has had in the last decade. MMR in India is 178 deaths per 100,000 live births; even Nepal is better off at 170. Only about 44% of kids are fully immunized compared to 84% in Bangladesh and 87% in Nepal.
Free medicines in public health facilities: More than 72% of the money people spent on healthcare is on buying medicines, and it is estimated that 50-80% of any treatment cost is on medicines. To prevent people from being impoverished by the cost of medicines, the government had promised distribution of free medicines in public health facilities. The planning commission calculated that the Centre would have to allocate over Rs 5,000 crore per year to fulfill its share (85%) of the cost of the free medicines for all schemes. This is a small price to pay for the potential benefits and must be paid.
More doctors in rural areas: There is an acute shortage of health personnel in rural areas, from nurses and technicians to doctors and specialists. Of the over 19,000 specialists needed, less than 6,000 are in place. Staff nurses required at the community health centres (CHC) level is over 14,000, but only about 6,300 are in place. These appointments need to be made.
Healthcare for urban poor: Urban public health, which has had no significant planning or allocation, is in a shambles. More than 50% of urban poor children are underweight, and almost 60% miss total immunization before completing one year. The under-five mortality rate among urban poor, at 72.7, is significantly higher than the urban average of 51.9. With increasing migration to the cities, the urban poor, estimated to be about nine crore, desperately need an efficient and functional public health system. This must be created.
Better pay for ASHAs: Almost half the children in India are chronically malnourished. Malnutrition among children is highest for those born of underweight mothers. Among under-five children, almost 70% suffer from anaemia. The midday meal and the ICDS scheme are the main schemes meant to tackle malnutrition and related disorders. But these and primary health services are mostly run by an underpaid army of women employed as contractual workers. Health schemes are implemented through eight lakh plus ASHAs who get paid Rs 400-1,200 per month. In a country where 27 million children are estimated to be born every year, there are just 1.3 million anganwadis meant to cater to those aged 0-6. They earn just Rs 1,500-3,000 per month. Those at the cutting edge of delivering the schemes must be paid better and given more job security.
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS
Enact public grievance redress Bill: It's an unwieldy the Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011. But Parliament should not have allowed this Bill to lapse as it was very much part of the "sense of the House" resolution which had been adopted in 2011 in the wake of Anna Hazare's fast. This is a necessary complement to the Lokpal law that has since been enacted.
Appoint a second states reorganization commission: The formation of Telangana has reignited demands across the country for smaller states. This calls for the appointment of the second states reorganization commission to ensure that decisions are not made purely on political expediency but on the basis of empirical studies coupled with rational and variable principles.
Professionalize and modernize police: The police need to be professionalized, protect-ed from political interference, and given modern weapons and a more dignified life, with better housing. The police/population ratio should be increased from the present 106 per lakh population to the UN-recommended 222.
Insulate policemen from politicians: Way back in 2006, the Soli Sorabjee Committee submitted its draft of a model police law to replace the Police Act 1861, which has been the template for various state draft without further delay as it is designed to make at least the Delhi Police more professional and less susceptible to illegal political diktats. This may set an example for the states, which have been remiss in implementing in letter and spirit the 2006 Supreme Court judgment on police reforms. The judgment stipulates a mechanism to protect police officers hampered by undue political interference and another empowered to deal with complaints of citizens against police excesses. It also mandates a more transparent process for appointing DGPs and a minimum tenure of two years for them and officers on operational duties.
Hold the police accountable: Public confidence in our police force has never been lower, to the extent that most of us think twice before seeking assistance. There are countless stories of policemen acting criminally - running protection and extortion rackets, harassing the public, extracting bribes, bumping off people in custody and through encounters - instead of fighting crime. In the UK, there is an independent commission that evaluates complaints against the police for racism, bribe- taking, and other unethical/unlawful acts. At the risk of adding another layer, an independent regulator/ombudsman may help introduce an element of check-and-balance.
AGRICULTURE
Increase investment: Over 60% of Indians country's GDP comes from agriculture. Obviously, the farm sector is being forced to support far too many people. That is why over nine million people have left farming in the past decade. But agriculture is essential to feed the population. Hence it needs rejuvenation. The primary task is to increase investment in agriculture, both public and private, to realize untapped irrigation potential, catalyze scientific research and link producers with consumers.
Help farmers improve yields: Policy must prioritize enhancement of productivity of foodgrains as well as vegetables and other cash crops, which lag behind international benchmarks. In paddy, for instance, India's average yield of 3.6 tonnes per hectare is not only less than half the United States' yield of 8.4 tonnes per hectare, but compares poorly even with China's 6.7 or Vietnam's 5.6. As part of this effort, we must strengthen agri-extension services to deliver new technologies to farmers.
Link them to markets: Enabling farmers to produce more won't help if they are not linked to markets and are unable to get a good price for their produce. Hence, we must develop agricultural markets with deep linkages with small producers, including transport infrastructure, as well as infrastructure for storage and warehousing, including cold chains. The government must also ensure remunerative prices to farmers and competitive wages for agricultural labourers.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Indigenize defence production: Dramatic position as the world's biggest importer of weapons. Indian companies need to be trusted and given a bigger role in defence production while defence PSUs and the DRDO are overhauled for the emerging battle realities. Corruption and middlemen need to be fought, not just for transparency but also to protect India's war-fighting capabilities.
Integrate military: The Indian military should be integrated, under a Chief of Defence Staff. It needs to work towards theatre commands, where army, navy and air force are seamless war machines.
Strengthen intelligence: It may be time to consider parliamentary oversight for intelligence agencies. There is a need to strengthen human intelligence (boots on the ground) both at home and abroad, as well as our tech/cyber capabilities to deal with the diverse threats facing the country.
FOREIGN POLICY
Improve ties with neighbours: We should strive to integrate Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Myanmar into the Indian economic matrix. Open up Indian markets to them, and build trans-border economic projects that give them a stake in India's growth. Water is rarely thought of as a tool of linkage - build more inland waterways, cross-border water links. Pakistan's internal conditions will remain precarious for some time so our best bet is to encourage better trading and commercial links. Better fences make better neighbours. We should focus on settling three undemarcated boundaries. The India-Bangladesh boundary agreement is almost done and a constitutional amendment should go through. The India-China boundary deal requires political will for some exchange of territory. We should have a political overture ready by the time Xi Jinping visits India later this year. We should start serious boundary negotiations with Pakistan. Since it will be politically difficult to exchange territory here, formalizing the LoC into a boundary could be a start.
Reach out to southeast Asia: We should complete the Asian trilateral highway to Thai- land by 2016 as well as the Kaladan multi-modal transport corridor. Link a new port in Chennai with Dawei in Myanmar and on to Thailand. This is very important, because the more east-west connections we can build into southeast Asia, the easier it will be to project ourselves as a credible balancing power to China in the Indo-Pacifc region.
Cooperate with Japan: Japan has the ability to transform India's economy. It should be invited to build Indian infrastructure. India, on its part, should support Japan in its effort to rebuild its defence capabilities to tackle a resurgent China.
Ink investment treaty with US: India should complete a bilateral investment treaty with US as well as pitch for a place in the Trans Pacific Partnership. This will be important in the future because the global trading system is evolving into smaller arrangements.
Build energy corridor: Build an undersea energy corridor connecting oil terminals in western India to oil sources in Iran, Qatar etc. We should push Iran to let us complete building the Chahbahar port and the north- south corridor. Both these links not only open Central Asia and beyond to India, they allow India to help stabilize Afghanistan.
Beef up foreign office: India has one of the smallest foreign offices in the world - a bench strength of around 1,800 officials. China has three times this number and the US over 20,000. Adding to India's official strength is crucial. We also need to find a new way to recruit and train diplomats - picking them up directly from campuses, bringing experts in from various fields, and making employment flexible so people can move between academia and government.
WOMEN
Improve job opportunities: Data shows that Indian women's work participation rate is one of the lowest in the world — a mere 29% of the 15+ female population — and unemployment among women graduates is the highest, about 60%. One reason is that only about 7.4% have had or were undergoing any kind of training. Clearly, we need not just more vocational education for women but one with a more modern approach that does not merely train them in vocations assumed to be for women like tailoring and cooking. But providing women skill sets will help only if they can find jobs. Private sector firms must be incentivized through tax breaks if they employ, say, 35% of the workforce. Government needs to legislate and implement equal pay for equal work.
Lower taxes: Tax incentives should also be provided directly to women - from lower I-T rates to concessional stamp duty if properties are registered in their name (yes, husbands may use their wives as fronts to lower their own tax burden, but once a property is officially in the name of the wife, it empowers her).
Creches for working women: Since women are saddled with child-rearing work, their participation in the workforce can happen only if legislations mandating widespread availability of creche and daycare facilities are passed and implemented stringently. Creches also prevent young girls from being pulled out of school to look after their younger siblings.
POWER
Prioritize alternate energy: An economy cannot grow fast if it is power-starved. One important step is greater public investment in setting up power generation capacity, with particular focus on alternate energy.
Single-window clearance: Create a single-window clearance mechanism for all power projects and bid out projects to private players only after all approvals and fuel linkages have been finalized.
Strengthen national grid: Invest to strengthen a high-capacity national transmission grid for smooth flow of power from surplus areas to those with deficit. Create a vibrant spot market for power.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Develop employment avenues in rural areas: Cities are vibrant hubs of economic and cultural activity. Yet, urban enclaves in India are today virtually unlivable due to large-scale environmental abuse, high population density, poor infrastructure, and rampant corruption. At the time of Independence, barely 15% Indians lived in cities. Now, urban centres hold 31% of India's people (roughly 377 million) of which around a quarter reside in the eight urban agglomerations of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. According to the 2011 census, there are 53 cities in India with a population of a million or more; by 2031, that number will rise to 87. With major cities bursting at the seams, long-term attention must be paid to developing employment avenues in rural areas and providing basic amenities to rural residents so that they aren't forced to seek shelter in urban centres for survival or advancement.
Make masterplans for all cities, towns: With people's participation, develop masterplans with zoning laws for all cities and towns, taking into account future expansion. Ensure that these plans are rigorously implemented under close monitoring by designated committees of experts and local residents. The plans should include housing for economically weaker sections and employment centres along with green spaces, natural features and heritage sites.
Check corruption in local bodies: Strengthen local bodies, give them more powers and financial clout but put in place comprehensive monitoring mechanisms to check incipient corruption.
Make the commute shorter, easier: Establish a modern public transport system in all cities and towns. Also develop transport linkages with suburbs. Decentralize workplaces to reduce commutes.
SPORTS
Make sports compulsory in schools: No other large country has as little to show by way of sporting achievements as India. This needs to change not only for reasons of national pride, but because developing a sports culture is as good a way as any of keeping the populace fitter and reducing healthcare costs. One way of doing this is by making sports a compulsory part of the school curriculum. The government must ensure that all government schools have basic sporting facilities and mandate the same for private schools.
More public facilities: Build public sports facilities in residential neighbourhoods (along the lines of the DDA sports complexes in Delhi).
Clean up sports administrataion: We need a law to clean up sports administration, by mandating, for instance, professional CEOs and a mechanism of accountability to stakeholders and the public.
Give tax breaks: Firms willing to invest in promoting sports at the grassroots level should be given tax breaks in order to incentivize them.
ENVIRONMENT
Improve public transport: On the issue of climate change, while India must stick to its principled stance of equity in international talks, it must simultaneously take proactive measures at home to check the demand for fossil fuels. Unless excessive consumption by some is curbed, it will mean depriving those who need to consume more of their legitimate share. As part of this, much more focused attention is needed for promoting renewable energy sources. A combination of fiscal incentives and mandatory norms would be required. Also, in order to reduce petroleum demand, reduce traffi c jams and improve air quality in cities and towns. Public transport needs to vastly improve to encourage people to shift from private vehicles.
Make polluters pay: We must build many more sewage treatment plants to reduce pollution of ground and river water. We must also mandate strict effluent control laws in line with the 'polluter pays' principle and ensure rigorous enforcement.
Eco-audits a must: Sustainability and ecological impact must be instituted as part of cost audits of all projects, both at the conceptualization and monitoring stages.
DISABLED
Make public places accessible: There are an estimated 70m persons with disability of whom about 27m were counted in the 2011 census. There is sufficient evidence that a large proportion of this population has enough ability to actively participate and contribute to the economy instead of simply receiving charity their entire life. That can become a reality only if they are provided equal opportunity by removing barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential. All public places and transportation, irrespective of ownership, should be made accessible because education facilities, employment opportunities and reservation will make no sense without accessibility. With the bulk of employment, education products and services being in the private sector, government will need to ensure that the private sector implements the law of the land, which rules against discrimination of any kind. It is their right as citizens to enjoy all the rights granted to the rest of the population and it is the responsibility of the state to ensure this happens.
Five years ago, there was a buzz around India. We appeared to be a nation headed, almost inevitably, for superpower status. China and India were spoken of in the same breath. That promise has clearly been belied. Growth has plummeted from sub-10% to sub-5%. Corruption has become endemic, and is eating into the very soul of this nation. It's obvious that the priority of the next government should be to get growth back as close to double digits as possible. But will that alone put India back in the superpower sweepstakes? A nation that cannot provide basic healthcare or education or housing to large swathes of its people, and where millions go without a full meal a day, cannot claim to be 'developed'. Our socio-economic indicators are dismal — trailing, on several counts, even our neighbours Bangladesh and Nepal. We tend not to take sports seriously (except cricket), but our shameful record at the Olympics is emblematic of a deeper malaise.
Perhaps we should stop bothering about tags, and simply focus on doing the right things the right way.
The Times of India has put together a manifesto that it would like political parties to study seriously and perhaps even incorporate into their own; we would also urge the new government to debate it with an open mind and in a spirit of bipartisanship.
Broadly, the TOI manifesto makes a case for fiscally responsible policies and socially progressive laws. We believe an environment must be created for businesses to grow, but grow honestly and not through crony capitalism. We also believe in a pluralistic society, and that individual freedoms must be protected at all cost. Archaic laws, many of them dating back to our colonial past, should be consigned to oblivion because all they do is give corrupt government officers a handle to bully and extort. Education is modern India's greatest leveller and its redemption; it is the path out of the slum, the road to the high table. We are all prisoners of birth, but education has the power to snap the meanest bonds of economic and social enslavement. It's the best investment we can make in our youth and in our future.
Besides price rise and jobs, corruption is what exercises people most today — to the extent that a new party made a spectacular electoral debut on the back of it. So, what should be done about it? There are several bills pending in Parliament; they should be passed at the earliest. But that alone will not suffice. Most of these laws deal with catching and punishing the corrupt. There's a need for preventive measures that strike at the very roots of corruption. That will require a complete relook at the way just about everything is run: the economy, the bureaucracy, the police, the judiciary. Our manifesto is informed by this understanding of dealing with corruption by making all parts of the system more transparent and accountable, instead of merely cubby-holing it as an 'issue' or 'topic'. Government and the legislature have become a symbol of much that is wrong with India. Governance has all but collapsed at every level, and there is cynicism everywhere. Do our politicians have it in them to regain the trust and respect of the people? We hope that the 16th Lok Sabha will bury the unhappy memory of the 15th and do what the legislature is meant for: legislate and legislate well.
We do not claim to be the ultimate repository of wisdom; there are Indians of great integrity, knowledge and experience who should also be heard before policies are framed and laws made. But we will have achieved our objective if our manifesto serves as a starting point for a deep conversation that places the interest of the nation - and not narrow, partisan considerations - front and centre.
Over the next few weeks, we will bring you the thoughts of prominent Indians as part of a 'My Manifesto' series. And we welcome your feedback at www.timesofindia.com — The Editor
ECONOMY, BUSINESS, ENTREPRENEURSHIP
LOWER TAXES, SIMPLIFY TAX LAWS
The entire tax regime - both direct (personal and corporate income tax) and indirect - needs a revisit. Given that less than 3% of the population shows any taxable income at all, there's clearly a need to bring many more into the net instead of burdening the already taxed. It's also high time the field were levelled and rich farmers were made to pay income tax. Tax rates for personal taxpayers should be made more reasonable, in keeping with inflation, if nothing else. The salaried class would benefit from reintroduction of standard deduction (a flat amount that is deducted from income, with the balance subject to tax). The bulk of taxpayers comprise the salaried class and reintroduction of standard deduction, abolished from April 2005, is the simplest way to usher in an additional tax reform for this class. This will also usher in equity, as currently individual taxpayers who are professionals or businessmen are entitled to offset their business expenses against income. Salaried taxpayers only get certain tax sops - such as HRA, LTA, medical or transport allowance - but these in large cities translate into peanuts, such as the Rs 800 per month tax-free travel allowance.
INDIRECT TAXES: SEAMLESS, PAN-INDIA REGIME
On the indirect tax front, political compulsions have repeatedly delayed introduction of the streamlined pan-India goods & service tax (GST). Value Added Tax, which has replaced state specific sales tax in most states since April 2005, started off on the right note - with an intent to provide for uniform tax rates, an input tax credit mechanism to prevent 'tax on tax', and relatively standard processes. Today, because of local revenue compulsions, states have increased VAT rates and blocked or reduced input tax credit (which allowed a credit for taxes paid on intra-state purchases), thus hampering pan-India trade. India needs to be a seamless, not a fragmented, marketplace. VAT must be put back on track by bringing about uniformity in tax rates, rules and procedures in different states. In the long run, call it GST or by any other name (say, central VAT or consumption tax), but there needs to be an economically efficient indirect tax regime that promotes growth. Many developed countries have introduced a federal consumption tax. This is also emerging as the preferred alternative to customs duties in the context of trade liberalization.
NO RETROSPECTIVE CHANGES
Retrospective amendments to law must be introduced only in the rarest of rare occasions to correct a flaw in the tax provisions and not to earn revenue. Otherwise it will only add to pending litigation (worth Rs 2.7 lakh crore in 2012-13).
REVIEW APPEALS
A review of the appeals process may be worth undertaking. The first stage of tax appeal in India is the Commissioner (Appeals). Some countries ensure that the appeals division is independent and has no links with the tax department which is responsible for tax assessment, scrutiny and tax demands. In the US, the appeals division is an independent body, whose officers are evaluated based on their ability to settle cases without next-step litigation.
END WASTEFUL GOVT EXPENDITURE
Instead, focus on a handful of critical areas such as education, healthcare, infrastructure and law and order/security, but with a far stricter audit of performance and finances. Give taxpayers a clear, unambiguous idea of where and how their money is being spent. Several ministries, ranging from textiles and steel to culture and youth affairs can be disbanded. Also, the government should exit slothful, pereniallyhemorrhaging undertakings like Air India.
ALLOCATE RESOURCES IN A TRANSPARENT MANNER
Some of the biggest corruption scandals of the past several years have arisen out of either misconceived or rigged allocation of resources such as coal, ore, spectrum and land. The 1991 industrial policy of the Narasimha Rao government was meant to usher out the licence raj, but just the opposite has happened; sale of government-controlled resources has become the new frontier of crony capitalism. The process by which natural resources are allocated to the private sector must be made transparent and designed to serve public interest rather than the government of the day and its favoured few. This can be done once it is recognized that maximizing short-term revenues for the government does not maximize public interest. Public interest is best served when we ensure a healthy, competitive industry, which is then able to offer goods and services to consumers at a reasonable price. A one-step e-auction, conducted by an independent body, is the best means of addressing these multiple objectives.
BRING BLACK MONEY BACK
A report by Global Financial Integrity states that India has lost nearly $213 billion (about Rs 14 lakh crore) in illicit capital flight since Independence (till 2008). Even if, say, 20% of it can be brought back, through an amnesty scheme, that is close to Rs 3 lakh crore, which is more than the Centre's annual education and healthcare budgets. The repatriated funds could be taxed at 3-5% above current Indian rates, as a moderate penalty. Three-fourths of it (Rs 2.25 lakh crore) could be exclusively earmarked for spending on health, education and infrastructure, and the remaining one-fourth (Rs 75,000 crore) could be distributed as a onetime rebate among all individual taxpayers in proportion to their taxable income - as a reward for honesty (yes, it might be difficult to execute, but worth considering). Total income tax collections are budgeted at less than Rs 2.5 lakh crore in 2013-14. A large inflow of dollars would also help strengthen the rupee. In the US, the American Jobs Creation Act, 2004, offered a temporary tax sop to companies that repatriated dividends by imposing a tax levy of just 5% instead of 35%. However, the repatriated money was allowed to be spent on specific permissible activities like R&D and capital expenditure which would promote growth and job creation. (It could not be used for, say, declaring dividends or for share buybacks.)
CREATE JOBS THROUGH PRIVATE SECTOR INCENTIVES
About 50% of India's 1.21 billion population is less than 25 years old. The government will need to ensure that the employment expectations of its skilled and educated youth are met - a need that cannot be fulfilled via government sector employment or funded schemes alone. The participation of the private sector is critical. Tax exemptions, grants for job creation, credits against tax payable, weighted deductions for the cost of new hires and their training costs are some of the variants used globally to encourage job creation in the private sector. Countries such as Hungary, Portugal and Switzerland offer tax breaks for investments that result in a specific number of new jobs. Luxembourg incentivizes both training and hiring - 10% of training costs and 15% of gross salary paid to persons who were earlier unemployed can be offset as a credit against corporate income tax. Direct incentive by way of a cash grant is available on newly created jobs in the Slovak Republic.
PROMOTE FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
All industries, including retail, media and defence, should be opened up to FDI. The Indian retail market is expected to be worth $500 billion by 2020 and could create up to 100 million jobs in the next 10 years. Also, a decision taken by the Union Cabinet to allow FDI in a sector must be respected across the country; states mustn't be allowed to block entry.
PRIVATIZE AND DISINVEST AS FAR AS POSSIBLE
PSUs should be privatized as far as possible - especially in industries such as aviation, hotels and steel - but in a fair, transparent manner (just as with resource allocation). Elsewhere, the disinvestment route should be taken.
MAKE IT EASIER TO START A BUSINESS
India ranks 134th among 189 countries, according to a World Bank report on ease of doing business. On ease of starting a business, it ranks even lower: 166. The report says that 35 permissions/procedures are required to construct a warehouse, which takes an average of 168 days. One can only imagine the time and number of clearances it takes to build a factory. Small businesses, too, face frustrating hurdles: for instance, to open a bar & restaurant in Maharashtra, 38 licences are required, many of which date back to colonial times and are outright bizarre. This allows corrupt inspectors to make money at every turn; those who resist, are harassed till they pay up or shut shop. Why should it be so difficult to start a business? It provides employment, creates wealth and generates revenue for government. There's a crying need to drastically reduce the number of permissions required, set a tight time limit for them to be granted (if all the paperwork is in order) and penalize babus if they take longer. Also, the entire system should be online and transparent.
PROMOTE MICRO, SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
MSMEs generate the largest employment (nearly six crore) after agriculture. In terms of value, MSMEs account for 45% of total manufacturing output, 40% of exports, and contribute around 8% to GDP. But they find themselves stymied by their very regulatory definition. For instance, under the MSME Development Act, a small enterprise in the manufacturing sector is one whose investment is between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 5 crore, and for the service sector Rs 10 lakh to Rs 2 crore, which is too low. Those who wish to expand find themselves bereft of credit - which either flows to the 'well-defined' MSME sector or large companies. For growth to be encouraged there is a need to redefine what constitutes MSMEs. Across the European Union, three parameters are used to define what constitutes a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise: employee strength, turnover, balance sheet value. While employee strength is a fixed criterion, a company can chose to opt for either the turnover or balance sheet criterion. In the MSM ranking, a medium-sized enterprise is one which employs fewer than 250 persons and which has either an annual turnover of less than 50m euros (Rs 426cr) or a balance sheet value of not more than 43m euros (Rs 366cr). If enterprises fall in this range they are eligible for a variety of funding. Providing a tax credit or investment allowance to MSMEs is another solution.
FLEXIBLE LABOUR MARKET, BUT WITH A SAFETY NET
Innumerable surveys around the world have shown that labour market inflexibility actually hurts creation of jobs - employers are wary of hiring even in boom time if they are not allowed to trim their workforce in a downturn. A flexible labour market, on the other hand, gives employers the confidence to add staff. But this must be accompanied by a comprehensive social security programme, including unemployment benefits/insurance and assistance in retraining and finding alternative avenues of income generation. (Obviously, people who have no interest in working cannot be kept on a dole.)
EASE LAND ACQUISITION FOR INDUSTRY
Industry is complaining that the new law will make it very difficult for it to acquire land, even for important infrastructure projects. There is a need for better compensation, but the price of acquisition should not be so exorbitant that it hobbles industry. A middle path that is fair to all sides needs to be found.
LEGAL REFORMS
Implement CIC decision bringing parties under RTI: None of the six national parties has complied with the CIC's path-breaking decision in June 2013 to appoint information officers and appellate authorities under the RTI. The Representation of the People Act should be amended to make it mandatory for all recognized parties, national or state, to set up the necessary RTI machinery.
Sec 377 should apply only to non-consensual gay sex: The retrograde Supreme Court judgment on homosexuality needs to be overturned. In fact, the same verdict suggested legislative intervention to get rid of this bizarre notion of "carnal intercourse against the order of nature". The new provision should be clearly limited to penalizing non-consensual gay sex.
Gradation in punishment for rape: Much as some of the rape provisions enacted in the wake of Nirbhaya were necessary, there is a need to tweak the new law, especially to introduce gradation in punishment. While expanding the definition of rape to include all forms of penetration (and not just penile vaginal intercourse any longer), the 2013 law prescribes the same range of penalties (seven years to life) irrespective of the gravity of the crime committed. The new Section 376(1) IPC makes no distinction between, say, somebody who committed a full-blown rape and somebody who did not go beyond inserting his fingers in the victim's vagina before heeding her protests. The one who withdrew at an early stage of the sexual encounter and the one who did not give up till the end can't be rendered liable under the same clause.
Introduce a law against torture: Despite signing the Convention against Torture in 1997, India is yet to enact a law which would enable it to ratify the treaty. The Bill introduced in 2010 needs to be enacted at the earliest.
Turn adultery into a civil offence: The IPC provision drafted in the Victorian era treats adultery as a crime, which can be complained against only by the husband and never by the wife. Following the example of liberal societies, India should make adultery a civil offence — breach of trust — even as it remains a ground for divorce.
Decision to file charges should be prosecution's: Unlike advanced democracies like the UK and US, India empowers the police to decide whether a chargesheet should be filed and if so against whom. As a result, the prosecution is delivered with a fait accompli; it is entrusted with the responsibility of securing conviction although it has no formal role in drafting the chargesheet. This anomaly needs to be redressed through a radical amendment.
Overhaul sedition and blasphemy laws: The colonial provisions of sedition and blasphemy don't belong in the 21st century. In different ways, they hollow out the freedom of speech and expression. The sedition provision — section 124A IPC — needs to be amended to check the recurring misuse of sedition by state authorities against political malcontents. The amendment should incorporate the SC's liberal interpretation in 1962 that, no matter how much the accused spreads 'disaffection' against the government, sedition can't be invoked unless he incites people to violence. The blasphemy provision — 295A IPC — needs to be scrapped as the inbuilt safeguard has proved inadequate.
Get rid of obsolete laws: After over two decades of economic reforms, our laws have still not been rid of obscure and obsolete provisions. Whether they are central or state, the laws continue to offer ample scope to 'authorities' to harass law-abiding citizens. You can be arrested, your homes and establishments raided, your businesses shut down, and your reputation besmirched for reasons that no right-thinking person would consider criminal or immoral. For instance, a five-star hotel was harassed under the Sarai Act, 1867, which makes it mandatory for hotels to serve water to passersby. The Jain Commission, which reviewed administrative laws, admitted that multiplicity and complexity of laws and rules, as well as lack of information about them, leads to misuse (read facilitates corruption) and hampers growth. It sought repeal of over 1,300 central laws (including 11 British statutes). The Commission admitted that there isn't even a rough estimate of similar state laws, which could run into several thousand. The National Law Commission has, down the years, also been giving its recommendations for repeal or revision of laws. Yet, apart from a onestroke repeal of 315 Amendment Acts in March 2002, progress is pathetically slow. Owing to our legislative framework, a law or Act never dies unless specifically repealed. There is a need to institute a mechanism that makes it easier to repeal laws or read down provisions that have either lost relevance or are pernicious.
Stop relying on AFSPA to deal with 'disturbed areas': The strategy of controlling Kashmir and the North-East by conferring draconian powers on the Army has yielded diminishing returns. There is a need to look afresh at the Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee's 2005 recommendation to replace AFSPA with a more humane approach, balancing security with human rights.
JUDICIAL REFORMS
Enact laws on judicial appointments and accountability: The existing system of appointments to the superior judiciary, through a collegium of senior judges in every high court and the Supreme Court, has proved to be ineffective because it is completely in-house and opaque. The Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2013 to redress these two deficiencies, should be enacted. The older Bill relating to probity, the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, also needs to be revived, especially because of its virtue of giving a say to non-judicial voices without compromising on judicial independence.
Improve judge-population ratio: It is 12 years since the Supreme Court, with regard to the subordinate judiciary, directed an increase in the judge strength from 10.5 per 10 lakh people to 50 per 10 lakh people. Successive governments have made little budgetary allocations to achieve such a five-fold increase in the human resources and infrastructure of the subordinate judiciary, where the bulk of the 3.2 crore cases are pending. Since no government wants it to be strong, the judiciary must have a greater say in the allocation of funds for its needs.
Make the Supreme Court more accessible: The government should implement the 2009 Law Commission recommendation that the highest court in the land be split into a Constitution Bench in New Delhi and Cassation Benches in the four regions to deal with all the appellate work arising out of high court decisions. Though the Supreme Court has expressed reservations about such radical re- structuring, Parliament should give greater weight to the public interest involved in sparing litigants the trouble of approaching the Capital from distant states.
EDUCATION
Raise spending: India must meet the globally accepted norm of central and state governments spending at least 6% of GDP on education rather than the roughly 4% that states and Centre put together spend currently. This is essential if the shocking dropout rate of about 50% by class 10 is to be brought down, and the gross enrolment ratio in higher education raised beyond the current 16-17%. That number compares poorly with China's 24%, not to mention the OECD's 62%. The Centre must take the lead in this. The enhanced outlay should go not only towards beefing up infrastructure in schools, but also in ensuring decent salaries for teachers so that quality talent is attracted. At the same time, teachers should be made accountable through an effective monitoring body that includes parents of students from the school. To improve quality of education imparted, training of teachers at school level needs to be modernized.
Bridge skill gap: With just 2% of the youth having technical education, the skills gap is becoming a gigantic problem. A strong technical education stream linked to in- dustry must be put in place and fostered. Vocational/tech-nical curricula need to be up- graded and dynamically linked to labour market demands.
Incentivize private sector: In higher education, regulation - particularly of professional institutions like engineering and medical colleges - must be strengthened. (There have been far too many instances of fly-by-night operators and shady politicians setting up colleges without basic amenities and pathetic or non-existent faculties.) The government, on its part, must invest in setting up enough colleges to ensure that quality higher education is available at affordable prices. The private sector, especially reputed business houses, must be encouraged and incentivized to invest in education; but this must be accompanied by rigorous monitoring and regulation to ensure no corners are cut.
Make English education accessible: According to a recent report, those who speak English fluently earn up to 34% more and those who speak a little English earn about 13% higher on average than those who don't. But only 20% of Indians can speak English, and only 4% can do so fluently. English education is often expensive and difficult to access. In most government-funded schools, which account for about 70% of school education, the medium of instruction is Hindi or the local language. No wonder poor parents willingly opt for not-so-cheap private school education. The number of children enrolled in English- medium schools has more than doubled since the turn of the century. English as the medium of instruction, which was in fourth place behind Hindi, Bengali and Marathi in 2006, is now next only to Hindi, and will soon overtake it. The government must recognize and address this need by vastly improving the quality of English education in its schools. The benefits to society from this relatively small investment would be enormous. The hypocrisy of some politicians who advocate vernacular education for the masses while sending their own children to English-medium schools must not be allowed to derail this effort.
HEALTH
Hike expenditure: India's public health spending barely accounts for 1% of GDP, among the lowest in the world. There are just a few countries like Chad, Eritrea, and Yemen which spend a smaller proportion. As a result, over 70% of all health expenditure is paid for by people from their own pockets. Barring a handful of African countries, Yemen and Myanmar, nowhere else is out-of-pocket spending on health a larger proportion than in India. In most of the developed world, private expenditure is well below 25% of total health expenditure. One fallout of this is that health expenses are the second most common reason for people's indebtedness in India. Public spending on health must rise manifold to counter this as well as ensure that crucial indicators such as maternal mortality rate (MMR), infant mortality rate (IMR) and the immunization rate for children do not remain abysmal. India's IMR is a shameful 42 deaths per 1,000 live births. Even Bangladesh and Nepal have cut IMR to 33 without the kind of economic growth that India has had in the last decade. MMR in India is 178 deaths per 100,000 live births; even Nepal is better off at 170. Only about 44% of kids are fully immunized compared to 84% in Bangladesh and 87% in Nepal.
Free medicines in public health facilities: More than 72% of the money people spent on healthcare is on buying medicines, and it is estimated that 50-80% of any treatment cost is on medicines. To prevent people from being impoverished by the cost of medicines, the government had promised distribution of free medicines in public health facilities. The planning commission calculated that the Centre would have to allocate over Rs 5,000 crore per year to fulfill its share (85%) of the cost of the free medicines for all schemes. This is a small price to pay for the potential benefits and must be paid.
More doctors in rural areas: There is an acute shortage of health personnel in rural areas, from nurses and technicians to doctors and specialists. Of the over 19,000 specialists needed, less than 6,000 are in place. Staff nurses required at the community health centres (CHC) level is over 14,000, but only about 6,300 are in place. These appointments need to be made.
Healthcare for urban poor: Urban public health, which has had no significant planning or allocation, is in a shambles. More than 50% of urban poor children are underweight, and almost 60% miss total immunization before completing one year. The under-five mortality rate among urban poor, at 72.7, is significantly higher than the urban average of 51.9. With increasing migration to the cities, the urban poor, estimated to be about nine crore, desperately need an efficient and functional public health system. This must be created.
Better pay for ASHAs: Almost half the children in India are chronically malnourished. Malnutrition among children is highest for those born of underweight mothers. Among under-five children, almost 70% suffer from anaemia. The midday meal and the ICDS scheme are the main schemes meant to tackle malnutrition and related disorders. But these and primary health services are mostly run by an underpaid army of women employed as contractual workers. Health schemes are implemented through eight lakh plus ASHAs who get paid Rs 400-1,200 per month. In a country where 27 million children are estimated to be born every year, there are just 1.3 million anganwadis meant to cater to those aged 0-6. They earn just Rs 1,500-3,000 per month. Those at the cutting edge of delivering the schemes must be paid better and given more job security.
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS
Enact public grievance redress Bill: It's an unwieldy the Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011. But Parliament should not have allowed this Bill to lapse as it was very much part of the "sense of the House" resolution which had been adopted in 2011 in the wake of Anna Hazare's fast. This is a necessary complement to the Lokpal law that has since been enacted.
Appoint a second states reorganization commission: The formation of Telangana has reignited demands across the country for smaller states. This calls for the appointment of the second states reorganization commission to ensure that decisions are not made purely on political expediency but on the basis of empirical studies coupled with rational and variable principles.
Professionalize and modernize police: The police need to be professionalized, protect-ed from political interference, and given modern weapons and a more dignified life, with better housing. The police/population ratio should be increased from the present 106 per lakh population to the UN-recommended 222.
Insulate policemen from politicians: Way back in 2006, the Soli Sorabjee Committee submitted its draft of a model police law to replace the Police Act 1861, which has been the template for various state draft without further delay as it is designed to make at least the Delhi Police more professional and less susceptible to illegal political diktats. This may set an example for the states, which have been remiss in implementing in letter and spirit the 2006 Supreme Court judgment on police reforms. The judgment stipulates a mechanism to protect police officers hampered by undue political interference and another empowered to deal with complaints of citizens against police excesses. It also mandates a more transparent process for appointing DGPs and a minimum tenure of two years for them and officers on operational duties.
Hold the police accountable: Public confidence in our police force has never been lower, to the extent that most of us think twice before seeking assistance. There are countless stories of policemen acting criminally - running protection and extortion rackets, harassing the public, extracting bribes, bumping off people in custody and through encounters - instead of fighting crime. In the UK, there is an independent commission that evaluates complaints against the police for racism, bribe- taking, and other unethical/unlawful acts. At the risk of adding another layer, an independent regulator/ombudsman may help introduce an element of check-and-balance.
AGRICULTURE
Increase investment: Over 60% of Indians country's GDP comes from agriculture. Obviously, the farm sector is being forced to support far too many people. That is why over nine million people have left farming in the past decade. But agriculture is essential to feed the population. Hence it needs rejuvenation. The primary task is to increase investment in agriculture, both public and private, to realize untapped irrigation potential, catalyze scientific research and link producers with consumers.
Help farmers improve yields: Policy must prioritize enhancement of productivity of foodgrains as well as vegetables and other cash crops, which lag behind international benchmarks. In paddy, for instance, India's average yield of 3.6 tonnes per hectare is not only less than half the United States' yield of 8.4 tonnes per hectare, but compares poorly even with China's 6.7 or Vietnam's 5.6. As part of this effort, we must strengthen agri-extension services to deliver new technologies to farmers.
Link them to markets: Enabling farmers to produce more won't help if they are not linked to markets and are unable to get a good price for their produce. Hence, we must develop agricultural markets with deep linkages with small producers, including transport infrastructure, as well as infrastructure for storage and warehousing, including cold chains. The government must also ensure remunerative prices to farmers and competitive wages for agricultural labourers.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Indigenize defence production: Dramatic position as the world's biggest importer of weapons. Indian companies need to be trusted and given a bigger role in defence production while defence PSUs and the DRDO are overhauled for the emerging battle realities. Corruption and middlemen need to be fought, not just for transparency but also to protect India's war-fighting capabilities.
Integrate military: The Indian military should be integrated, under a Chief of Defence Staff. It needs to work towards theatre commands, where army, navy and air force are seamless war machines.
Strengthen intelligence: It may be time to consider parliamentary oversight for intelligence agencies. There is a need to strengthen human intelligence (boots on the ground) both at home and abroad, as well as our tech/cyber capabilities to deal with the diverse threats facing the country.
FOREIGN POLICY
Improve ties with neighbours: We should strive to integrate Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Myanmar into the Indian economic matrix. Open up Indian markets to them, and build trans-border economic projects that give them a stake in India's growth. Water is rarely thought of as a tool of linkage - build more inland waterways, cross-border water links. Pakistan's internal conditions will remain precarious for some time so our best bet is to encourage better trading and commercial links. Better fences make better neighbours. We should focus on settling three undemarcated boundaries. The India-Bangladesh boundary agreement is almost done and a constitutional amendment should go through. The India-China boundary deal requires political will for some exchange of territory. We should have a political overture ready by the time Xi Jinping visits India later this year. We should start serious boundary negotiations with Pakistan. Since it will be politically difficult to exchange territory here, formalizing the LoC into a boundary could be a start.
Reach out to southeast Asia: We should complete the Asian trilateral highway to Thai- land by 2016 as well as the Kaladan multi-modal transport corridor. Link a new port in Chennai with Dawei in Myanmar and on to Thailand. This is very important, because the more east-west connections we can build into southeast Asia, the easier it will be to project ourselves as a credible balancing power to China in the Indo-Pacifc region.
Cooperate with Japan: Japan has the ability to transform India's economy. It should be invited to build Indian infrastructure. India, on its part, should support Japan in its effort to rebuild its defence capabilities to tackle a resurgent China.
Ink investment treaty with US: India should complete a bilateral investment treaty with US as well as pitch for a place in the Trans Pacific Partnership. This will be important in the future because the global trading system is evolving into smaller arrangements.
Build energy corridor: Build an undersea energy corridor connecting oil terminals in western India to oil sources in Iran, Qatar etc. We should push Iran to let us complete building the Chahbahar port and the north- south corridor. Both these links not only open Central Asia and beyond to India, they allow India to help stabilize Afghanistan.
Beef up foreign office: India has one of the smallest foreign offices in the world - a bench strength of around 1,800 officials. China has three times this number and the US over 20,000. Adding to India's official strength is crucial. We also need to find a new way to recruit and train diplomats - picking them up directly from campuses, bringing experts in from various fields, and making employment flexible so people can move between academia and government.
WOMEN
Improve job opportunities: Data shows that Indian women's work participation rate is one of the lowest in the world — a mere 29% of the 15+ female population — and unemployment among women graduates is the highest, about 60%. One reason is that only about 7.4% have had or were undergoing any kind of training. Clearly, we need not just more vocational education for women but one with a more modern approach that does not merely train them in vocations assumed to be for women like tailoring and cooking. But providing women skill sets will help only if they can find jobs. Private sector firms must be incentivized through tax breaks if they employ, say, 35% of the workforce. Government needs to legislate and implement equal pay for equal work.
Lower taxes: Tax incentives should also be provided directly to women - from lower I-T rates to concessional stamp duty if properties are registered in their name (yes, husbands may use their wives as fronts to lower their own tax burden, but once a property is officially in the name of the wife, it empowers her).
Creches for working women: Since women are saddled with child-rearing work, their participation in the workforce can happen only if legislations mandating widespread availability of creche and daycare facilities are passed and implemented stringently. Creches also prevent young girls from being pulled out of school to look after their younger siblings.
POWER
Prioritize alternate energy: An economy cannot grow fast if it is power-starved. One important step is greater public investment in setting up power generation capacity, with particular focus on alternate energy.
Single-window clearance: Create a single-window clearance mechanism for all power projects and bid out projects to private players only after all approvals and fuel linkages have been finalized.
Strengthen national grid: Invest to strengthen a high-capacity national transmission grid for smooth flow of power from surplus areas to those with deficit. Create a vibrant spot market for power.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Develop employment avenues in rural areas: Cities are vibrant hubs of economic and cultural activity. Yet, urban enclaves in India are today virtually unlivable due to large-scale environmental abuse, high population density, poor infrastructure, and rampant corruption. At the time of Independence, barely 15% Indians lived in cities. Now, urban centres hold 31% of India's people (roughly 377 million) of which around a quarter reside in the eight urban agglomerations of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. According to the 2011 census, there are 53 cities in India with a population of a million or more; by 2031, that number will rise to 87. With major cities bursting at the seams, long-term attention must be paid to developing employment avenues in rural areas and providing basic amenities to rural residents so that they aren't forced to seek shelter in urban centres for survival or advancement.
Make masterplans for all cities, towns: With people's participation, develop masterplans with zoning laws for all cities and towns, taking into account future expansion. Ensure that these plans are rigorously implemented under close monitoring by designated committees of experts and local residents. The plans should include housing for economically weaker sections and employment centres along with green spaces, natural features and heritage sites.
Check corruption in local bodies: Strengthen local bodies, give them more powers and financial clout but put in place comprehensive monitoring mechanisms to check incipient corruption.
Make the commute shorter, easier: Establish a modern public transport system in all cities and towns. Also develop transport linkages with suburbs. Decentralize workplaces to reduce commutes.
SPORTS
Make sports compulsory in schools: No other large country has as little to show by way of sporting achievements as India. This needs to change not only for reasons of national pride, but because developing a sports culture is as good a way as any of keeping the populace fitter and reducing healthcare costs. One way of doing this is by making sports a compulsory part of the school curriculum. The government must ensure that all government schools have basic sporting facilities and mandate the same for private schools.
More public facilities: Build public sports facilities in residential neighbourhoods (along the lines of the DDA sports complexes in Delhi).
Clean up sports administrataion: We need a law to clean up sports administration, by mandating, for instance, professional CEOs and a mechanism of accountability to stakeholders and the public.
Give tax breaks: Firms willing to invest in promoting sports at the grassroots level should be given tax breaks in order to incentivize them.
ENVIRONMENT
Improve public transport: On the issue of climate change, while India must stick to its principled stance of equity in international talks, it must simultaneously take proactive measures at home to check the demand for fossil fuels. Unless excessive consumption by some is curbed, it will mean depriving those who need to consume more of their legitimate share. As part of this, much more focused attention is needed for promoting renewable energy sources. A combination of fiscal incentives and mandatory norms would be required. Also, in order to reduce petroleum demand, reduce traffi c jams and improve air quality in cities and towns. Public transport needs to vastly improve to encourage people to shift from private vehicles.
Make polluters pay: We must build many more sewage treatment plants to reduce pollution of ground and river water. We must also mandate strict effluent control laws in line with the 'polluter pays' principle and ensure rigorous enforcement.
Eco-audits a must: Sustainability and ecological impact must be instituted as part of cost audits of all projects, both at the conceptualization and monitoring stages.
DISABLED
Make public places accessible: There are an estimated 70m persons with disability of whom about 27m were counted in the 2011 census. There is sufficient evidence that a large proportion of this population has enough ability to actively participate and contribute to the economy instead of simply receiving charity their entire life. That can become a reality only if they are provided equal opportunity by removing barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential. All public places and transportation, irrespective of ownership, should be made accessible because education facilities, employment opportunities and reservation will make no sense without accessibility. With the bulk of employment, education products and services being in the private sector, government will need to ensure that the private sector implements the law of the land, which rules against discrimination of any kind. It is their right as citizens to enjoy all the rights granted to the rest of the population and it is the responsibility of the state to ensure this happens.
(With inputs from Lubna Kably, Manoj Mitta, Subodh Varma, Rema Nagarajan, Indrani Bagchi, Sidhartha, Surojit Gupta, Josy Joseph and Nauzer Bharucha)