India remains a poor nation – and over 60 per cent of its people need to be fed directly from government funds. A reassertion of this pathetic scenario came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself as he campaigned for the BJP in the poll-bound states. His offer was that the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) started in 2020, through the Covid-hit years and providing five kilo free foodgrains to the poor that was to end next month, would be extended by five more years. This is over and above the subsidized foodgrain scheme launched for this segment of the population by the UPA-II government in 2013. On the positive side, these governmental initiatives are proof that our governments care a wee bit for the underlings. The poor can rest assured that they need not starve.
In the past, western nations flushed with funds had demonstrated a commitment to such social security and welfare steps. The landmark decision by the UPA II a few months before the 2014 polls, made at the initiative of Sonia Gandhi to provide rice and wheat at highly subsidized prices under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), is written in golden letters. Since 2018, the BJD government in Odisha is giving five kilo free rice per person per month at Rs 1 per kg to the poor over and above the benefits from the NFSA. The AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu had come up with a lot of freebies for the poor. Governments in the southern states have been providing several freebies/kits to the poor. Considering the sad plight of the poor, such steps must be appreciated. This, even as the ulterior motive of these politicians is to win the votes of the poor. Evident here is a subtle combination of selfish interests and public interest.
A proverb from ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tsu has this to say: “If you give a hungry man a fish, you feed him for a day; but if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” When we transport its meaning to the present times, the advice to rulers is to provide the people with opportunities for work, rather than feeding them, as this would simultaneously turn the nation too more productive and eventually wealthy. Governments must help create more work opportunities in rural areas (farms) and jobs through fast-paced industrialization in urban areas. India has done a commendable job in turning barren lands into farms through the spread of irrigation facilities. The manufacturing sector, however, remains under-performing. The corruption and lingering Licence Raj are dissuading potential entrepreneurs from starting or profitably running such ventures. PM Modi failed to change such scenarios for the better.
