Events
& Issues
New Delhi, 28 May 2020
Events & Issues
Atmanirbhar Bharat
GLOBALISATION VIA
LOCAL ROUTE
By Dr S. Saraswathi
(Former Director,
ICSSR, New Delhi)
Atmanirbhar
Bharat,
meaning self-reliant India, is the goal set before us as a panacea to recover
from the manifold problems generated and spread as inevitable consequences of
the cruel COVID-19 pandemic. Self-reliance is the ability to do things and make
decisions by oneself without depending on other people’s help. It requires
independence, individualism and self- confidence, besides the ability to reach
the desired end.
Global disease has yielded many useful
lessons for reviving our shaken life and livelihoods among which the realisation
of the need for “self-reliance” and the value of “local” stands foremost. Prime
Minister Modi, in his latest address to the nation in this lockdown period,
emphatically stated: “local is not only our need; it is also our
responsibility. Current world situation has taught us that we have to make
‘local’ one’s life mantra”. He has already laid the foundation for this in
“Make in India” project commenced in 2014.
Building Atmanirbhar
Bharat is not a mere slogan, but conveys an objective to instill in the
minds of the people the capacity and willingness to manage their life without
external help. This policy is aimed at making the Indian economy competitive
and emerging as a major player in the global supply chain on the back of “Make
in India” products.
Self-reliance, though not a novel or an
imported idea, is resurrected with great vigour and official encouragement. It
was known in our panchayati raj and community development programme even in the
1960s.
Modi addressed 250,000 gram panchayat heads
through video conferencing on National Panchayat Day a month ago, where he
stressed the importance of self-reliance, which has to be built from
grassroots.
When global supply chains have been disrupted
and nations are preoccupied with fighting the life threatening virus, when restrictions
on travel and movements have barred flow of goods and resources, and when
labour supply is curtailed due to exodus of workers, all nations are facing
difficulties in manufacturing, marketing and services. They have to look
inwards to tide over the difficulties and revive their economy.
In this endeavour to awaken India’s internal
potential, the presence of over 2 lakh elected panchayat bodies is a great
boon. Development of every village will in aggregate contribute substantially
to the development of the nation. The Prime Minister has made a fervent appeal
that, “Every village has to be self-sufficient enough to provide for its own
needs. Similarly, every district has to be self-sufficient at its level; every State
has to be self-sufficient at its level and the whole country has to be
self-sufficient at its level”.
The philosophy of self-reliance is the
strategy adopted successfully in community development in villages in many
African nations. It believes in reliance on indigenous technology and local
human resources which leads to overwhelming participation in community-driven
development. In essence, it means that
local people initiate, galvanise and mobilise their own resources. When macro
economics faces hurdles, the combined power of micro economic units will have
to rise and save the situation. In India, there is no dearth of local
resources, manpower and skills.
In a country’s development, self-reliance is
“development on the basis of a country’s or region’s own resources, involving
its populations based on the potentials of its cultural values and traditions”.
In any part of the free world, at any time, self-reliant communities and people
define their own development according to their own needs, values, and
aspirations.
Self-reliant India, as envisaged today,
stands on five pillars listed by Modi as Economy, Infrastructure, System,
Vibrant Demography, and Demand and Supply Chains. Economy must work for
“quantum jump” and not just “incremental change”. The pandemic growth is
exponential creating huge losses to the economy which cannot wait for step by
step growth. Current age technological
innovations must underlie system and infrastructure. The source of energy must
be our people; and we should use the supply chain and the demand to full
extent.
Self-reliance is not a call to halt
technological revolution, but an urge to people to do things themselves using
local human capital and resources. Self-initiated efforts towards development
are needed today to lessen dependence on government. Policies that require and
provide space for people’s participation are in need. Distribution of monetary
incentives should be so designed as to promote self-help. People’s own
initiatives can work wonders.
The PM has urged citizens to turn the present
crisis into opportunity to grow local manufacturing capacities. Truly,
necessity is the mother of inventions. It is also the mother of resurgence and
re-inventions. The “local” mantra has a cultural background in India, where at
various points in our history, “local” has been our pride and identity. It has
a political past in the Swadeshi movement.
Self-Help Groups (SHG) are innovative organisational
set up in India for uplift and welfare of women. Different types of SHGs have
been formed and are in operation. Their linkage with banks is a major
micro-finance programme in India. They have earned a reputation for organising
micro enterprises and for prompt repayment of loans. In the pandemic year, even
the poorest in India has something to fall back, revive and strengthen so as to
withstand the loss of collapse of economic activities dependent on external
resources.
Economic stimulus package for Rs 20 lakh
crore (said to be about 10% of GDP) with some definite economic reforms were
announced by Modi as the road towards Atmanirbhar
Bharat. “We need to be vocal about local” is the new strategy to
concentrate on manufacturing local products with local material and expanding
it gradually to global level in quality and quantity in the manner many
multinational enterprises have grown. Even small and cottage industries have a
place in globalisation.
This concept of self-reliance is
differentiated from protectionist policies of earlier centuries associated with
mercantilism, which shielded domestic products from foreign competition by
levying high import duties. Modi emphasises once again his favourite theme of “Vasudeva Kudumbakam” (World is one
family) and his dream of helping the whole world with what India can do. The
goal is to make India a globally competitive economy. Integration with the rest
of the world and not isolation is aimed at.
Wide ranging reforms have now been unveiled
under Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package touching various sectors. Micro, small,
and medium enterprises (MSMEs), farm sector, rural industries and migrant
labour, which are the main players for self-reliant economy, are all covered in
a big way. Steps to indigenise defence production by banning import of certain
weapons while hiking foreign direct investment are the highlights in the
industry sector. A set of structural reforms across sectors cover coal,
minerals, defence, civil aviation, power, space travel, and atomic energy. Privatisation
is accepted in these sectors. Agriculture and related activities have been
declared as essential services.
Strangely, COVID-19 pandemic has revealed
that both globalisation and self-reliance are needed for a country’s sustenance
and growth. India has understood this very well and is in a better position
than many other developed nations to put it into policies and programmes so as
to survive the all-round attack of the pandemic. –INFA
(Copyright,
India News & Feature Alliance)
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