Off the UPA track

The CPM8217;s verdict on the Foreign Educational Institutions Bill, which has now been put on hold pending wider consultations, is that FDI in education cannot be accepted; no foreign university should be allowed in India and therefore no legislation on the issue is required. In 8216;FEI Bill: Crass commercialisation of higher education8217;, Vijender Sharma writes that in a 8220;market model university8221;, like the foreign educational providers, departments that made money would be given top priority, and heads of universities would act like travelling salesmen to promote their programmes.

Agrarian successes

Left economist and former head of the Kerala Planning Board, Prabhat Patnaik, writes about how in the last one year, the LDF government in Kerala pursued an active and successful development agenda without pursuing so-called 8216;neo-liberal policies8217;. He says the state government had set up the Agriculturists8217; Debt Relief Commission, that, apart from negotiating with institutional credit agencies would also arbitrate on a case-by-case basis. Secondly, the LDF government established its 8220;autonomy8221; in dealing with private parties. Patnaik draws out two instances: negotiations for a 8216;smart city8217; where it could drive a better deal with a Dubai-based group than the earlier UDF government did, even though the private party had threatened to call off the negotiations. The Munnar demolitions 8212; the ground for the recent flare-up in party rivalry 8212; were also an example of this. Thirdly, he points to the way in which the state government tackled the financial crisis, not by raising taxes but by curtailing government expenditure. He says the LDF government8217;s one year8217;s rule is a resounding success.

Compiled by Ananda Majumdar