PaRCha - JNU - AISA material - 2013 ID-35671
.
darling, hailed for changing the old 'feel-bad' Bihar script, and ushering in an agenda of.
'development' and 'growth.' Today, the new corporate-backed superman of 'governance' is.
supposed to be Narendra Modi. But in each of these cases, these votaries of `development' are.
presiding over neoliberal policies that are the harbingers of crony capitalism, widespread.
displacement, environmental degradation and the loss of lives and livelihoods..
.
The Modi 'Development' Myth.
.
Given the sustained media blitzkrieg in his favour, let us examine some of the claims made on behalf.
of Gujarat under Modi. But as we sift the facts from the hype, we can see that Gujarat's performance.
on all criteria has not been in any way better than that of other states, and moreover, Gujarat's.
neoliberal development model has displayed all the distressing effects on people's lives and the.
economy that have been felt in the rest of the country..
.
Take the count of economic growth rate: Gujarat in the past five years was outstripped by.
Maharashtra, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Odisha. In terms of per capita income, in 2011,.
Gujarat ranked 6th among major states, and has higher per capita debt than UP or Bihar..
.
And, Gujarat's social indicators too tell the same sorry story that has marked the neoliberal.
model in the rest of India. Jobless growth has been the norm - NSSO data shows growth in.
employment for the period 1993-94 to 2004-05 was 2.69 percentage per annum, whereas for 2004-.
05 to 2009-10 it came down to zero. In 2011, Gujarat ranked 11th in the Human Development Index..
.
When it comes to crucial indicators like education and health, Gujarat has witnessed a decline in.
ranking to 9th and 10th positions respectively in a group of 19 major states. Education, health and.
nutrition indicators are dismal, especially for women and children. In the Global Hunger index,.
Gujarat is part of the bottom 5 states in India, and globally, performs worse even than countries like.
Haiti. 80% of children below 4 years and 60% of pregnant women are anaemic in Gujarat (a virtual.
anaemia epidemic that Modi laughs off as a case of 'beauty conscious girls' starving themselves!)..
.
In social sector spending as a proportion of public expenditure, Gujarat ranks a lowly 19th.
among India's 21 major states. Atul Sood, in a recent collection of essays, Poverty Amidst.
Prosperity: Essays on the Trajectory of Development in Gujarat, notes that Gujarat "witnessed not.
merely jobless growth but also the lowest share of wage income in total income, one of the highest.
use of contract workers in organized manufacturing and rising trends of casualisation of.
workforce. ".
.
What about corruption and corporate plunder? A CAG audit reveals that Modi's Government has.
done in Gujarat what Manmohan Singh's did at the Centre: extend undue benefits to corporations at.
huge costs to the public exchequer and loss of livelihoods. The 2010-11CAG report tabled in.
Gujarat assembly on 30 March 2012, has estimated bungling of more than Rs16,000 crore in.
2010-11. It had also pointed out irregularities of Rs26,672 crore in the Modi government in.
the last nine years. To take just one example, the CAG has observed that the Gujarat State.
Petroleum Corporation, supposed to be Modi's special pride and joy, has suffered huge financial.
losses due to cost overrun at KG basin block where production has not commenced even after.
spending over Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion). The CAG has observed that GSPC, with its consortium,.
submitted a bid for acquiring the KG block "without properly assessing related technical and.
financial issues." Consequently, while in 2005, Modi had announced that GSPC's KG basin block.
contained gas reserves over 20 TCF and production would begin within two years; but now the.
DGH (director general, hydro carbons) has certified that the KG basin block does not have more.
than 2 TCF gas reserves. Besides irregularities and cost overrun at KG basin project, the auditor has.
also noted that GSPC has suffered financial losses in gas trading activities on account of undue.
favours extended to Modi's most favoured industrial house, the Adani group. The CAG report.
..
PaRCha - JNU - AISA material - 2013 ID-35671
.
darling, hailed for changing the old 'feel-bad' Bihar script, and ushering in an agenda of.
'development' and 'growth.' Today, the new corporate-backed superman of 'governance' is.
supposed to be Narendra Modi. But in each of these cases, these votaries of `development' are.
presiding over neoliberal policies that are the harbingers of crony capitalism, widespread.
displacement, environmental degradation and the loss of lives and livelihoods..
.
The Modi 'Development' Myth.
.
Given the sustained media blitzkrieg in his favour, let us examine some of the claims made on behalf.
of Gujarat under Modi. But as we sift the facts from the hype, we can see that Gujarat's performance.
on all criteria has not been in any way better than that of other states, and moreover, Gujarat's.
neoliberal development model has displayed all the distressing effects on people's lives and the.
economy that have been felt in the rest of the country..
.
Take the count of economic growth rate: Gujarat in the past five years was outstripped by.
Maharashtra, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Odisha. In terms of per capita income, in 2011,.
Gujarat ranked 6th among major states, and has higher per capita debt than UP or Bihar..
.
And, Gujarat's social indicators too tell the same sorry story that has marked the neoliberal.
model in the rest of India. Jobless growth has been the norm - NSSO data shows growth in.
employment for the period 1993-94 to 2004-05 was 2.69 percentage per annum, whereas for 2004-.
05 to 2009-10 it came down to zero. In 2011, Gujarat ranked 11th in the Human Development Index..
.
When it comes to crucial indicators like education and health, Gujarat has witnessed a decline in.
ranking to 9th and 10th positions respectively in a group of 19 major states. Education, health and.
nutrition indicators are dismal, especially for women and children. In the Global Hunger index,.
Gujarat is part of the bottom 5 states in India, and globally, performs worse even than countries like.
Haiti. 80% of children below 4 years and 60% of pregnant women are anaemic in Gujarat (a virtual.
anaemia epidemic that Modi laughs off as a case of 'beauty conscious girls' starving themselves!)..
.
In social sector spending as a proportion of public expenditure, Gujarat ranks a lowly 19th.
among India's 21 major states. Atul Sood, in a recent collection of essays, Poverty Amidst.
Prosperity: Essays on the Trajectory of Development in Gujarat, notes that Gujarat "witnessed not.
merely jobless growth but also the lowest share of wage income in total income, one of the highest.
use of contract workers in organized manufacturing and rising trends of casualisation of.
workforce. ".
.
What about corruption and corporate plunder? A CAG audit reveals that Modi's Government has.
done in Gujarat what Manmohan Singh's did at the Centre: extend undue benefits to corporations at.
huge costs to the public exchequer and loss of livelihoods. The 2010-11CAG report tabled in.
Gujarat assembly on 30 March 2012, has estimated bungling of more than Rs16,000 crore in.
2010-11. It had also pointed out irregularities of Rs26,672 crore in the Modi government in.
the last nine years. To take just one example, the CAG has observed that the Gujarat State.
Petroleum Corporation, supposed to be Modi's special pride and joy, has suffered huge financial.
losses due to cost overrun at KG basin block where production has not commenced even after.
spending over Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion). The CAG has observed that GSPC, with its consortium,.
submitted a bid for acquiring the KG block "without properly assessing related technical and.
financial issues." Consequently, while in 2005, Modi had announced that GSPC's KG basin block.
contained gas reserves over 20 TCF and production would begin within two years; but now the.
DGH (director general, hydro carbons) has certified that the KG basin block does not have more.
than 2 TCF gas reserves. Besides irregularities and cost overrun at KG basin project, the auditor has.
also noted that GSPC has suffered financial losses in gas trading activities on account of undue.
favours extended to Modi's most favoured industrial house, the Adani group. The CAG report.
..