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1.Dead, and alive: Marxism is history. Markets are a must. But capitalism needed and needs leftwing ideas
As Chinese Communist Party celebrates a 100 years, its record mixed, across economic, political and social spectrums, it’s a good time to ask – how do we assess communism? In 1989, when Soviet Union cracked, China had already reset its Marxism, Francis Fukuyama famously predicted communism’s death as a living ideology. But it remains dead, undead and alive all at once.
Articulated in the late 19th century, the classical Marxist doctrine never quite played out. Even in Soviet Union and China, the idea took shape in their own distinct ways. These days, communism in some shape or form still lives on in Vietnam, Laos and Cuba. It remains robust in parts of Latin America. It still engenders violent struggles all over the world. And its intellectual influence remains powerful in the social sciences.
It’s leftwing politics, a set of ideas inspired by but very, very distinct from classical communism, that lives on, not as struggle but as accommodation. As social democracy, it has tempered capitalist excess in nations around the world, through the turning cycles of power. In India, Kerala saw the first elected communist government in the world in the 1950s. Congress also borrowed many of left’s ideas, especially in 1970s. And rightwing BJP has intuited the power of leftwing social policy in a poor and unequal country.
Just as classical communists read it wrong, so did classical free marketers. Global capitalism has not only been through crises, it also needed government help to avert meltdowns. Plus, it left too many people insecure, without the state’s support, and buffeted by social churn. At macro levels globally, responses include a surge in rightwing populism, as well as socialism, differently defined in different contexts, gaining respectability.
And just as many so-called rightwing parties now stick to some of the basics of leftwing social policy ideas, left has evolved, too. Most of today’s left platforms are not looking to nationalise industries or replace markets with central planning. But they stress ideas and policies that they argue will produce less iniquitous outcomes, and emphasise public guardianship of essential services. The Covid experience has also exposed the downsides of relying mostly on privatised healthcare. It has also, again, shown how crucial it is that governments are able to provide both emergency welfare support and plan for emergency responses like mass vaccination. Whatever shape the near future takes, left is likely to hold its corner – and that’s alright.
2. Porting ration cards: A retooled PDS that’s alive to social and economic importance of migratory labour is a must
A Supreme Court judgment on Tuesday observed that the fundamental right to life enshrined in the Constitution’s Article 21 encompasses the right to food. To actualise this right, the court directed that all states implement the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme by the end of the month. This is a welcome directive, and one that is doable. ONORC builds on India’s vast public distribution system that today covers 814 million beneficiaries. Another way of looking at it is that 75% of the rural and 50% of the urban population are covered by it to ensure food security.
The PDS system evolved in an era where labour mobility was limited. Therefore, beneficiaries were tied to Fair Price Shops (FPS) in an earmarked area. This needs to be adapted to a period when labour mobility has not only increased but is also essential to meet aspirations. To cope with this change, the PDS has been retooled to allow beneficiaries to pick up rations from any FPS in India. About 92% of FPS are linked through electronic point of sale machines and 91% of ration cards are linked to the Aadhaar database. Today, 32 states and UTs are networked and ready for ONORC.
There are four exceptions among states. A parliamentary standing committee report in March observed that Assam and Delhi have not fully networked their FPS. West Bengal, on the other hand, has fully networked its FPS but finished only 80% of Aadhaar seeding of ration cards. Chhattisgarh has a compatibility issue between its FPS network and the biometric authentication. These issues can be solved in a matter of weeks. India’s migrant workforce is an essential but invisibilised part of the economy. Making their right to food security portable is fair, and from the point of view of the economy, smart.
3.Small doses: On the second COVID-19 wave and the stimulus
The first relief package for the second COVID-19 wave falls short of expectations
After asserting that people should wait for the Union Budget’s announcements to trickle down before seeking a fresh stimulus to cope with the second wave of the pandemic, the government finally unveiled a relief package of sorts this Monday. The financial implications of the measures, such as the promise of easy small-ticket loans for 25 lakh micro-entrepreneurs and 11,000 tourist agents and free tourist visas, have been projected at about ₹6.29 lakh crore by the Finance Ministry. Nearly ₹2.68 lakh crore of this is in the form of credit guarantees. A further ₹1.5 lakh crore of guarantees has been promised to add to the ₹3 lakh crore emergency credit scheme, but the scheme’s tenure hasn’t been extended beyond September 30. Similar backing has been announced for loans worth ₹60,000 crore to COVID-affected sectors, but only tourism has been publicly identified. Enhancing loan guarantees will perhaps give risk-averse lenders more confidence in extending loans when the credit:deposit ratio has hit a multi-year low. But there is little to make such loans viable by stirring demand for goods and services. Free visas are a good idea but are unlikely to gain traction till India has a firmer grip on the pandemic by providing vaccines for all, including for those under 18. Loans of ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh for travel agents may help meet some liabilities or expenses but won’t make people take holidays. Just like last year’s ₹20 lakh crore package, the actual outgo from the exchequer this time is minimal and the direct stimulus to demand abysmal.
Additional spending of ₹15,000 crore to ramp up paediatric healthcare, with guarantees for ₹50,000 crore low-interest loans for health projects in the hinterland, are critical to cope with future pandemic waves. It makes sense to direct resources towards health and faster vaccination. But the inclusion of measures already announced (such as fertilizer subsidies and food grains for the poor), along with spends planned over the next two or five years, and even a ₹77.5 crore bailout plan for an ailing farm marketing firm, gives the package just extra padding. Investing time and resources to figure out some form of income support for the vulnerable sections in rural and urban areas would have been more helpful. Weak demand is a bigger concern for industry this year as high inflation, a propensity to save for future medical bills, and an uncertain job market have led to belt-tightening from consumers. If the government is hesitant about creating new doles for the fear of them becoming permanent features, it could have at least offered some immediate relief for all by addressing the elephant in the room – high fuel prices. This would dampen inflation, empower RBI to lend greater support to growth and leave a little more money in people’s hands to spend. While the effort to maintain fiscal restraint may impress global rating agencies, they would be among the first to acknowledge that there’s a tipping point where policy inaction risks hurting the economy’s long-term prospects.
4.Desert home: On UAE as India’s cricket venue
India seems to have warmed up to the UAE as a cricketing venue after earlier misgivings
The ICC Twenty20 World Cup’s shift from India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was inevitable following recurrent waves of COVID-19 infections and the logistical difficulties of hosting an event featuring multiple squads. Over the last few weeks, the news first started as a source-based whisper before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s top brass — President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah — spoke individually, clearly stating that India would host the championship in the UAE. Finally, the International Cricket Council issued a statement declaring that the tournament will be held from October 17 to November 14 with Oman stepping in as a co-host for the qualifiers. Once the BCCI scheduled the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in West Asia ahead of the T20 World Cup, it was no surprise that the premier championship too would follow suit. With its three grounds at Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah being in close proximity, the UAE cuts out the need for air travel, and teams can adhere to bio-bubbles in their respective hotels, an essential requirement in these fraught times of a constantly mutating virus. India hosted England earlier this year and the IPL too commenced this summer, but the pandemic’s surge meant that the league had to be suspended while a second wind was sought in the desert sands prior to the T20 World Cup.
That for a year India paused its domestic cricket makes it all the more difficult for it to suddenly lend its weight to international fixtures at home. Now that the ambivalence has been shed, it is interesting to note the emergence of the UAE as a popular neutral venue. Fans of a certain vintage would recall past jousts at Sharjah lit up by the legendary exploits of stars ranging from Javed Miandad to Sachin Tendulkar. And then India stayed away for a while as talk about bookies and off-field corrupt influences surfaced. Meanwhile, terrorism-scarred Pakistan kept the UAE as its home venue as nervous rivals refused to land either at Karachi or Lahore. Since then, India has warmed up to the UAE as a cricketing outpost while Pakistan has found a few visitors willing to play on its turf. As a second host for the IPL, the UAE has always stepped forward and India had an instant solution for its T20 World Cup hosting crisis. After winning the inaugural ICC World T20 in South Africa back in 2007, India has suffered a title drought and there is a case for course correction. But before that, its dual units have to tackle six limited-overs contests in Sri Lanka and five Tests in England.
5. Living together, separately
Indians are largely conservative when it comes to religion. But social barriers aren’t insurmountable
The findings of the latest Pew survey on religion in India raise questions that lie at the heart of India’s contemporary political debates. The survey shows that while an overwhelming majority of Indians are believers, they also recognise the importance of respecting other religions as a religious virtue. This respect for other religions co-exists with a high support for religious segregation, not just on questions such as marriage but even in choosing neighbours and friends. Defying taboos related to food is among the biggest triggers for being considered an outcaste from one’s religion. If these findings are true, it confirms what is anecdotally known: Indians are largely conservative when it comes to religion.