Introduction:
Self- reliant India will be force multiplier for Global economy
-P.M. Narendra Modi
As the entire world is facing major hardships in the time of pandemic physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and most importantly economically the Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi, addressed the nation on May 12, 2020, emphasizing the necessity of a self- reliant country. A blooming, confidant and ‘Aatmanirbhar’ India is needed not just for itself but for a long time global good. He said that we need to produce goods for ourselves rather than importing them from the other nations. There is a crucial need for improvement in quality and domestic supply of food chains in India.
At the time of the pandemic, India decided to change this crises situation into an opportunity and to strengthen the country’s various sectors. India is blessed with numerous natural resources in a very good quantity as well as quality but still, we export raw material to the world and import the final goods produced by them. Being self- reliant here meant to use our resources extensively and produce the final products all by ourselves in India only.
India being a developing country, has faced a lot of ups and downs in various subjects regarding economic imbalance, crashing GDP, unemployment, increased Covid-19 cases although with a good recovery rate. Through Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, PM Modi introduced the five pillars which could help keep in a better position than now in the future.
Five pillars of Atmanirbhar Bharat – Economy, Infrastructure, System, Demography and Demand. The Prime Minister emphasised that India now needs to be inclined towards local, Indian products and should even try to spread these products in global welfare. A package has also been released under the same campaign that promises to benefit the cottage industry, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), middle class, labourers, industries and such other sectors.
PM Narendra Modi’s Five Pillars of Making India Self-Reliant
Economy– there should be a developmental economy so that it does not bring incremental change but quantum jump.
Infrastructure– Infrastructure must help India recognize as modern India.
System – that does not follow norms of the previous century and should be able to fulfil the 21st century needs dreams and is technology-driven.
Vibrant demography, so that it becomes a source of energy for a dream to make India self-reliant.
Demand – the demand-supply chain is a power we should be able to fulfil it and use it to its full potential on our own.
The package that follows the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ ensure that there is a part for everyone in the development of the country including labour, liquidity, land and laws.
External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar has ensured that a self-reliant India does not mean that it should shut down itself consuming the products only the country people produce but, also to make its mark over the globe by expanding the business in the global market helping in the increase of economy hereby, directly impact in the labour the consumers.
This further and shows that there will be more employment for the unemployed and the moment with the increased demand for labour, engineers, supervisors, heads etc. Therefore, helping the middle class live a better life and giving job opportunities to the poor which eventually he will take part in the country’s development hence making India self-reliant by producing, manufacturing, selling and consuming within the country and expanding the industrial business to other places.
The Five phases of Atmanirbhar Bharat are:
- Business including MSMEs
- Poor, including migrants and farmers
- Agriculture
- New horizons of growth
- Government Reforms and Enablers
The Pandemic and The Motive of Self Reliant India
During the Covid-19 crisis and the ongoing pandemic, India needs to realise the worth of its own products and the productions within the country. This will also help the citizens of the country to regain the trust in the Indian products the quality, availability, depending on the price and also the need for and individual to contribute towards their own country’s economy.
Ban of Products and Applications
The trade between India and China is falling almost 12.4% year on year and to USD 12. As a result of lockdown, the Indian pharma industry is concerned as India is a big importer of the main raw materials APIs (Active pharmaceutical ingredients) from China. Chinese investments in Indian startups- Zomato, Swiggy, Ola, Big basket, Udaan, Policy Bazaar etc. In 2018, Alibaba invested $216million in online grocer huge amount invested in Paytm and Byzu’s, an education start-up. It is not much unfavourable to the country if the percentage of Chinese investment is lower. But if the percentage shoots up to 40% like in the case of Paytm then we should avoid its use in our country.
To ensure that India is self-reliant the government also took a further step to ban the Chinese products as well as the technological applications used in mobile phones laptops and such devices. 118 Chinese apps have been banned for allegedly engaging in activities which are damaging to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order. The government had on June 29, 2020, banned 59 Chinese-origin apps to ensure the safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace. The government emphasize on the use of products which have a product code with prefix 890 which signifies that the set product has been manufactured and finally produced in India. India should negotiate with Australia and the European Union on a trade-related aspect to encourage trade with others rather than China.
Use of Indian Raw Products
The government suggested that people must keep the raw products of India within the country and use them to make a final product on their own with their own capabilities exporting them to other countries. As India has surplus natural resources that are brilliant raw materials for countless products, they need to be utilized in the country itself rather than exporting to other countries and then buying the final goods made by them at higher costs. It will be more beneficial for the Indian industries to make the most out of their country’s resources. Moreover, India banned import from the Chinese market so minimize the Chinese business as it has been acting as a troublemaker for the country lately.
Support for Migrant and Urban Poor During Lockdown
Government of India has permitted State Government to utilize State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for setting up shelters for migrants and providing then food and water facilities. Central Government also released Rs. 11002 Crore of its contribution in advance to all States on 3rd April, to augment funds in their SDRF. Hygienically prepared three meals a day provided for the residents of Shelters for Urban Homeless(SUH) during the lockdown, that was from March 28, 2020. SHGs produced 3 crore masks and 1.20 lakh litres of sanitizers which gave additional employment opportunity to the urban poor.
Measures Taken by Reserve Band of India
Reduction of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) has resulted in liquidity enhancement of Rs. 1,37,000crores. The Reserve Bank of India (MSF), allowing the banking system to avail an additional Rs. 1,37,000 crore of liquidity at the reduced MSF rate. it eased the Working Capital Facilities in respect of all Term Loans. All the businesses (including MSMEs were provided with collateral-free automatic loans of up to Rs. 3 lakh crore.
The package, however, failed to boost the confidence and bring optimism among the corporates, as the focus of the package is more on indirect benefits than on direct benefits. The government should have planned packages that would provide cash support rather than relying more on loans. The banking sectors, especially the PSU, are already reeling under the bad loan issues and with unsecured loans, may see further deterioration in their asset quality. The collateral-free or unsecured loans announced for MSMEs may lead to higher default by the companies and lead to higher NPAs. Higher default rates will also escalate the cost burden of the government, as it may have to provide cushion to the ailing banks. The sum of government expenditure that will be incurred through the package is only 1% of India’s GDP growth.
Conclusion
All of us find ourselves stuck at home to make ourselves stay safe during the pandemic we should think more about PM Modi’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan’ as it says the country must move towards self-reliance to stand strong during and after the pandemic is over. Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is a long-term concept. In short-term it is very problematic to achieve because since 1991 all economies are integrated under LPG policy. From the above study, it is concluded that the Indian economy has huge potential to achieve self-reliance but it demands proper implementation of laws made by the government and proper allocation of funds allotted by the government. The government should give all the facilities to develop those sectors which have the potential to take innovative steps. Not only in urban, but the rural sector also has the potential capacity to develop if proper policies are made and implemented. India is not only capable of producing basic products but also have the capacity to produce highly technical products. This is not only the government’s responsibility but also consumers responsibility to consume domestically produced goods because demand is the main determinant to develop any sector.
References:
https://www.india.gov.in/spotlight/building-atmanirbhar-bharat-overcoming-covid-19
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