A marathon exercise initiated by the ministry of corporate affairs [MCA] early this year which got consummated on September 15, 2018 on KYC [know your customer] norms for company directors has thrown up results that tell a lot about the existence of a monstrous ghost economy and the manner in which the present dispensation led by Modi is endeavoring to stem the rot. The exercise reveals that a total of 5000,000 DINs [director identification number] were issued by the authorities. On records, these were the number of directors serving on the companies. Out of these, only 3300,000 were ‘active directors’ implying that the balance 1700,000 were inactive or ‘defunct’. Put in simple terms, an inactive/defunct director is a person who...
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Category: Fiscal deficit/subsidies
NDA OVER UPA: NUMBERS WILL SPEAK
In terms of economic growth, the NDA has a distinct edge over UPA. This reality cannot be camouflaged by sheer window-dressing of numbers In 2015, the Narendra Modi Government switched over to generate data on growth in GDP at factor cost using 2011-12 as the base year (instead of the extant practice of base year 2004-05). Under this methodology, growth for the first four years of its stint was 7.4 per cent for 2014-15; 8.2 per cent for 2015-16; 7.1 per cent for 2016-17; 6.7 per cent for 2017-18. Meanwhile, a committee on Real Sector Statistics under Sudipto Mundle, set up by the National Statistical Commission (NSC), has come out with data for the past period (new series) using the new base...
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Economic growth – NDA has distinct edge over UPA
The report of a committee under Dr Sudipto Mundle – set up by the National Statistical Commission [NSC] under the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation [MoSPI] – whose task was primarily to generate back-series data on growth in GDP at factor cost using the new base year 2011-12 has sent the grand old national party [read: Congress] into a jubilation mode. The cause for the outburst is GDP growth in double digit [10.08% to be precise] projected by the committee for the year 2006-07. That happened to be the third year under the first tenure of then UPA – government led by Dr Manmohan Singh. For a party having got jolts elections-after-elections, there is hardly any reason to cheer....
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Union govt must stop using RBI as ‘milch cow’
The Union government has invariably rode piggy back on profit-making public sector undertakings (PSUs) and public sector banks (PSBs) to boost its non-tax revenue (using a variety of means such as high dividend/special dividend, divestment of its stake at premium, etc) for the purpose of keeping the fiscal deficit within the set target. However, little is known about a subtle role that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plays in helping the central government in its fiscal consolidation drive. It does so by transferring huge surpluses to the centre year after year. During the last three years — 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 — it transferred Rs 65,900 crore, Rs 40,600 crore and Rs 58,000 crore, respectively. Unlike a PSU/PSB, the RBI...
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Reining in subsidies – controls must go
If, there is any political dispensation that has carried out administrative reforms in the true sense of the term, it is the present NDA – government led by Narendra Modi. He has delivered governance whose hallmark is ‘transparency’ and ‘honesty’. These traits have glided him towards a policy driven state, maximum focus on e-governance, minimizing use of discretion and elimination of physical interface. The results are there for all to see in terms of efficient delivery of services and reaching financial assistance and subsidies in full to the beneficiaries by leveraging technology especially direct benefit transfer [DBT]. This has also saved tens of thousands crore every year. That money is being re-deployed for building roads, highways, rails, ports, hospitals, schools...
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POLL SOPS DERAIL FISCAL CONSOLIDATION
The Government must shun the practice of giving sops through loan-waivers or the country will plunge into a fiscal disaster, inviting miseries for the poor In elections-after-elections, it has become normal for political parties to promise farm loan-waiver in order to swing votes to their favour. Last year, in Uttar Pradesh, loan waiver to small and marginal farmers promised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government was a major factor in catapulting it to power in the State. It cost the State exchequer around Rs 36,000 crore. In Punjab, the Congress won the election on the promise of waiving all outstanding loans to the farmers. Recently, in Karnataka, the coalition Government led by the Janata Dal (Secular) leader, HD Kumaraswamy,...
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Stop using RBI as a ‘milch cow’
The union government has invariably rode piggy back on profit making public sector undertakings [PSUs] and public sector banks [PSBs] to boost its non-tax revenue [using a variety of means such as high dividend/special dividend, divestment of its stake at premium etc] for the purpose of keeping fiscal deficit [excess of total revenue over total expenditure] within the set target. However, little is known about a subtle role that Reserve Bank of India [RBI] – India’s central bank – plays in helping central government in its fiscal consolidation drive. It does so by transferring huge surpluses to the centre year-after-year. During the last three years viz. 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, it transferred Rs 65,900 crore, Rs 40,600 crore and Rs 58,000 crore...
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Poll sops derail fiscal consolidation
In elections-after-elections to state assemblies, it has become normal practice for political parties of all hues to promise waiver of farm loans in a bid to swing votes in their favor. They even succeed in forming government. Last year, in Uttar Pradesh [UP], loan waiver to all small and marginal farmers promised by BJP was a major factor in catapulting it to power in the state. But, it cost the state exchequer around Rs 36,000 crores. In Punjab, Congress won elections on the promise of waiving all outstanding farmers bleeding the state by thousands of crore. Recently, in Karnataka, the coalition government led by JD [Secular] leader, HD Kumaraswamy has announced a loan waiver [albeit partial] costing the state about...
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Unemployment allowance – a disastrous idea
For some time now, the principal opposition party viz. Congress has run an overzealous propaganda campaign to create an impression that four years of Modi – rule has failed to generate jobs. In doing so, it has blatantly ignored all round development work being carried out by the present dispensation in all spheres of economic activity – at a much greater space than under the previous regime – which inevitably leads to massive job creation. At present, India does not have an institutionalized system of collecting comprehensive and real time data on jobs. The only systemic data compilation is by National Sample Survey Organization [NSSO]/Labor Bureau which does its survey only once in 5 years and covering only 8 core...
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Don’t kill Aadhaar at the altar of privacy
The Comptroller and Auditor General [CAG] has exposed diversion of subsidized food meant for poor households under the National Food Security Act [NFSA] in Delhi – using fraudulent means such as fake ration cards, fake mobile numbers etc – causing loss of over Rs 7000 crore to the exchequer. This is one among several such scams resulting in massive leakage from Rs 145,000 crore being the food subsidy spent by the union government annually. Likewise, there are monumental leakages from other welfare schemes such as fertilizer subsidy, LPG subsidy, MGNREGA [Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act], education subsidy, pension, power subsidy etc. In other areas such as real estate, a handful of persons appropriate public land in prime locations...
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