Some food for thought
"If I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it
squarely, I will free myself from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of
life - and only then will I be free to become myself."
—Martin Heidegger (German Philosopher, 1889-1976)
Word for the day
Habiliment (n)
Characteristic trappings or dress
First random thought this morning
The Supreme Court of India is in overdrive these days.
Destroying many archaic structures and creating new pathways. After reading
down section 377 of IPC (decriminalizing same sex relationships), it has struck
down Section 497 of IPC (decriminalizing adultery) completely. In the interim,
SC upheld that the Right to Privacy is integral to the Right to Life, and hence
effectively scuttled the State's attempts to invasion in our private lives.
Aadhar Act verdict is a landmark in that sense. Allowing live streaming of SC
proceedings in select cases is also a major milestone. Hopefully we shall see
another remarkable judgment on Ayodhya dispute.
The government did a Shah Bano with the verdict on SC/ST Act. It
is reportedly considering a legislation to undermine the Aadhar Act judgment
also. It is inappropriate and unacceptable.
To the contrary, it's high time that the government takes a cue
from the SC's line of thinking and initiates a comprehensive review of IPC and
synchronizes it with the modern times.
Various laws should be suitably amended to provide for a
"Dignified Life" to all citizens of the country. Do whatever it may
take to ensure that.
Chart of the Day
Leaving a trail of simmering issues and ashes
Adhocism is the key word in policy
making these days. Without a robust conceptual framework, the governance and
administration has been reduced to mere fire fighting. Short of resources and
constricted by poor vision, they are leaving a long trail of simmering issues
and ashes, as they set out to fight a new fire every morning.
With
most couples needing to work and many singles forced to stay alone for work,
refrigerator and washing machine are commonly acknowledged as nothing but
essential accessories, just like mobile phone.
It's not even two months when the government cut GST on air
conditioners and washing machines materially. I took this as an recognition by
the government of ground realities.
Suddenly comes a rude shock. Custom duties are hiked, inter
alia, on air conditioners, and domestic washing machines.
Worst, it's not only the import of white goods, the government
might have hit the investments made in "Make in India", by hiking the
duty on AC compressors.
Given the insignificant amount of potential revenue and forex
savings through this hike, the only inference I could draw is that somewhere it
is a mindset problem. Apparently, the bureaucrats sitting in North Block at
Raisina Hills are still not able to reconcile with the ground realities.
The political establishment is torn between the necessity to
keep the middle class in good humor, while addressing the concerns of the
people at bottom of the pyramid and protecting the interest of India Inc.
Obviously they are not successful in pleasing anyone.
By committing to complete normalization of the policy by 2019,
US Federal Reserve has further queered the pitch for our policy makers. A
stronger USD consequent to higher US rates, will certainly impact capital flows
to emerging markets, including India. Higher crude prices shall also keep the
current account position persistently under pressure.
The imported inflation, at a time the domestic prices are also
looking to rise due to rain caused supply disruptions and rise in logistics
cost, shall add to the complexities being faced by the Monetary Policy
Committee of RBI.
Conceptually, if MPC adheres to its mandate of price stability,
it shall be looking at raising rates rather aggressively at its review meeting
early next week, to stem INR depreciation, augment foreign flows and curtail
domestic consumption demand.
This may result in collateral damage in the form of growth
slowdown, renewed cycle of financial slippages, and increasing fiscal pressure
as cost of government borrowing rises. This all is happening when the incumbent
government is going to face the toughest test of its popularity in BJP's home
turfs (MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh) in next couple of months.
The question is what the government should be doing under the
circumstances! The answer in opinion lies in politics and not in economics. For
example, if I were PM today, I would not be scared to go to my people today. I
would admit shortcomings in the DeMo exercise and thank them for bearing the
pain. I would strongly commend their contribution in terms of voluntarily
surrendering LPG subsidy, and committing to better tax compliance. I will seek
their cooperation in managing the current account by minimizing the fuel
consumption for 3months. Request them to travel only if necessary, use car pool
& public transport and deferring their foreign travel programs to next
summer. Most important, for once I will focus on delivery and refrain from
making tall promises that cannot be delivered in next 6months.
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