Tags:
Journalism of Courage
An economic think-tank today said the feel good in the economy claimed by the NDA government was 8216;8216;fragile8217;8217; and listed out 30-point deficiencies, saying nearly half of the country8217;s population did not have access to basic healthcare.
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management IIPM wondered 8216;8216;is India really shining8217;8217; with nearly 24 crore Indians going hungry every day and about 30 crore people living below the poverty line.
In its economic review 2003-04, IIPM found that Rs 50,000 crore worth of food grains were wasted in the country, which was in excess of what Australia produced. It also said while the budget for 2003-04 promised to cover only 50 lakh families under Antoyaday Scheme, 52 million tonnes of food-grains were rotting in godowns.
Lamenting that government8217;s claims of India shining and the feel good factor had been 8216;8216;sheer luck8217;8217; with certain positive economic factors 8212; soaring agricultural output, rising forex reserves and sensex, IIPM founder director M K Chaudhuri said 8216;8216;peeping deep into the 8.0 per cent growth rate, one finds that all these factors are fragile and short-lived, which are not sustainable for a long period.8217;8217;
IIPM said only 25 per cent of the consumers8217; rupee reaches the farmers as compared to 50 per cent in developed countries, indicating the extent of pilferage through middlemen. It also said the per capita availability of land has been declining over the years and that the country was spending a paltry 0.3 per cent of agricultural GDP in R038;D as compared to 2.8 per cent in US and 4.02 per cent in Australia.
