(Samajweekly)
Being needonomist, it is my humble duty to develop understanding among Indians about the concepts of self-reliance and self-sufficiency in my beloved Bharat called India in English as independent nation declared in August. We need to understand, analyse and interpret Bharat ( Bha means knowledge and ratt means seekers) as a knowledge seeker economy. We have to promote INDIA as independent, nonviolent, democracy with integrity and amity for the globalization as internationalization of Indianization with spiritual input.
The thinking of self –sufficiency in a closed economy is a frog of the well approach where there is no dependence on other nations. Self-sufficiency for an over populated economy is a distant dream as demand is more than supply. We have to increase supply or reduce demand in such an economy. Self-reliance is the objective of an open economy with international trade having favourable balance of payments.
To maintain self-respect, we need to be self-reliant which is more than self-sufficiency. After satisfying the needs of the people within the nation, we must have something to share with others is self-reliant approach. It should also be noted that a nation cannot become self-sufficient just by becoming economic power as USA and is dependent on others for some if not many things.
Self-reliance is not merely trade and employment but protecting the self-respect and self-defence. We should be committed to make our lives better and make efforts for better lives of others around in the society. The confidence of the prime minister lies in the potential of Indian youth as ‘demographic dividend’ but we have to be alert, lest it is converted into demographic disaster and calls for skills and trainings with their utilization.
To reach the last person with development as inclusive growth, we need noble economic planning and careful and useful human resources who are otherwise careless and useless. The real challenge is to convert careless to careful and useless to useful to be self-reliant.
To remove scarcities of necessities, we have to say no to the discriminations and avoid discontent by ensuring supply on demand, of course at a price and should not be free. We have to enhance the purchasing power of the people to satisfy their needs with enhanced productive capacity and distributive channels with supply chain management.
We have to abide by human values with cultural values more than economic value which needs education with educational values. We cannot be self-dependent by just walking on foot but ensure use of public transportation by the people.
We need to be realistic and real in our approach for self-reliance by ensuring freedom to the consumer to choose the best for consumption. The producers should be earning ‘subh labh’ (goodness benefit) as profit by adopting ‘trusteeship’ model of Mahatma Gandhi.
It is pertinent to mention that we have achieved self-sufficiency in food grains but still the people die because of hunger. At the same time there are deaths due to over consumption which is more than the deaths due to starvation in India. To reduce demand for food grains, we experimented fasting on Monday on the call of the then prime minister Late Lal Bahadur Sastri who gave the slogan of Jai Jawan and Jai Kisan in 1965 and deserve replication.
To achieve self-reliance, we need rural industrialization with rainbow revolution in agriculture sector. There is potential in rural economy to grow faster than the urban because of higher marginal propensity to consume there. This call for rural marketing strategy for non-essential goods and services to create demand in the economy under recession. We have to create congenial environment to work without worries and fearlessly with level-playing -field for the survival and revival of the economy.
To make India production hub, we should be diplomatic to use ‘Glocalization’ (think globally and act locally) and promote ‘Vasudhiava Kutumbakam’ by avoiding emphasis on ‘vocal for local’.
To implement Atamnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan flawlessly, we have to adopt the canons of public expenditure ‘faithfulness, wisdom and Economy’ by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
We have to adopt ‘Needonomics’ ( economics of needs) which is nonviolent, spiritual and ethical in nature and deserve attention of the prime minister and his think tank to prove Atamnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan as an insurance to the Indians .
For achieving self-reliance, we are to become street smart Indians as consumers, producers, distributors and traders. We have to understand human development as converting human-beings into human capital with street SMART & SIMPLE models developed by the writer. The street SMART includes simple, moral, action oriented, responsive and transparent attributes required in a human being. SIMPLE includes spiritual quotient (SQ) development, intuition development, mental level development, physical development; love oneself attitude development and emotional quotient (EQ) development.
The struggle of the migratory workers needs to be understood as silent ‘satyagrah’ (protest) and calls for national migration policy with life insurance and national register of their information.
There is a need of the redefined role of bureaucracy to reduce delays in implementation of Atamnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan by saying yes and approving the proposals quickly with lessons from ‘Pali-pali’ (doing things quickly) culture of South Korea and commitment of converting challenges into opportunities.
We have to avoid confusions with consistency in thoughts and actions by remaining alert, aware and awake with wisdom and rationality for everything happening in the world.
India possesses the potential of becoming world leader as ‘Vishav Guru’ with needonomics and to be the permanent member of the Security Council of the UNO without asking far as a role model. We require nonviolent life style based on needonomics which is necessary and sufficient for survival, existence and excellence even if we are weak but unique.
For becoming self-reliant, capable and strong, we require real education as proper, productive and practical (3P) use of hands; heads ad hearts (3H) for which online education is not sufficient. We can achieve morality, opulence, victory and empowerment to participate in the socio-economic development with common sense approach. We have to change our looks, actions and words to make it the LAW of the land with accountability, transparency and morality as ATM superior to bank ATM needed in my beloved Bharat.
* Former Vice Chancellor and known as ‘Needonomist’ (economist for needs) in India living in Kurukshetra.
