The most recent deceleration in growth is the result of the inability of the system to sustain the artificial stimuli that the neoliberal policy environment facilitated. It is a problem that does not lend itself to easy resolution.
SEPTEMBER did not begin well for the Narendra Modi government. As it prepared for a makeover in the form of a Cabinet reshuffle with Elections 2019 in sight, news came that India’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth had slowed significantly to 5.7 per cent during the April-June quarter. This deceleration comes in the wake of a fall in growth rates from close to 8 per cent a year earlier to 6.1 per cent during the January-March period this year.
As expected, the government chose to attribute this trend to shortterm shocks, which will not dislodge the economy from a 7-8 per cent growth trajectory that is considered to be the magical norm under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). T.C.A. Anant, the Chief Statistician of India, whose real job is to oversee the preparation of the figures and not to explain them, declared at his press conference that the April to June deceleration was not the consequence of the botched demonetisation, but of pre-GST (Goods and Services Tax) apprehensions that had resulted in de-stocking. Wanting to clear their stocks before the new rules and rates applied, manufacturers chose to dispose of their stocks and not add to them with new production, was his claim. Since he had similarly declared when reporting the January to March deceleration that the trend cannot be attributed to demonetisation, the Chief Statistician was at least being consistent. The fact remains that a continuous deceleration in growth from 7.9 per cent in the first quarter of financial year 2016-17 to a threeyear low of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of this financial year cannot be dismissed as being the result of unwarranted short-term fears of some economic agents. What the figures do point to is a loss of dynamism in the principal commodity-producing sectors in the economy—agriculture and manufacturing.
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How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirusâ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Keralaâs measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centreâs special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their meansâan admixture of social Darwinism born of capitalâs avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishadâs survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Courtâs role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
