India ‘celebrated’ an ‘achievement’ on Thursday as the nation crossed a milestone with 100 crore vaccinations in an elaborate exercise that started on January 16 last. A period of desperation starting with the onset of the Covid-19 spread at the start of year 2020 might as well be over by now — a perception based on the steady fall in daily infection numbers in state after state. The fear of a third wave of the pandemic lingers, though all indications are that India has crossed the critical phase. Chances are that the pent-up energy of the past two years could now result in a much-needed overdrive for various sectors.
A prerequisite to this is the right policy formulation by the central and state governments. On its part, the central government has launched the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, based on an announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 13. Cabinet clearance for this came on Thursday. This would encompass 16 major sectors including the railways, roads, ports, shipping, aviation, gas pipeline projects etc. For the first time, there is the promise of adoption of a “cohesive approach to a holistic growth,” rather than various departments working at cross-purposes and slowing down the momentum of various projects. This involves a huge fund of $1.5 trillion. A sector where the seven years of the Modi government made notable forays was the infra field; and this is the calling of the times apart from strengthening of the national defence initiatives.
State governments too would require catching up with the present mood of optimism. Several states are ruled by the BJP, but hardly any of these states other than Uttar Pradesh is making any significant mark. These state leaders fail to inspire and look up to Delhi and PM Modi for sustenance. This showed up in assembly polls too, with the BJP losing a big state like Maharashtra and Haryana, and the last assembly polls in Karnataka too went against the BJP. Sectors like tourism and hospitality, aviation, road and rail were all majorly hit during the two years of the pandemic spread. An uptick in all these sectors is quite likely in view of the present overall optimism about the future. This is not time for governments to sit back and lick the wounds left behind by the pandemic, but to unleash the animal spirit to regional and national economies. Big-ticket projects that would generate jobs should be rolled out as in the infra-sector. A good sign is that the global economy is also warming up after the two-year-setback.
