Page 10 - EW April 2024_Neat

Editorial

RESET OF SINO-INDIA RELATIONS OVERDUE poor learning outcomes documented
by ASER surveys.
Therefore, the question which no-
mid all the hype and hoopla Against this backdrop, a recent re- body seems to be asking is: should a
about India having become the port of the Stockholm International country in which over a billion citizens
Aworld’s fifth largest economy Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) live desperate lives in conditions of
with a $4 trillion GDP and fastest an- revealing that India was the world’s bleak deprivation, incur such vast ex-
nual rate of 6.2 percent GDP growth, largest importer of arms, armaments penditure on defence every year? Isn’t
it’s an unpleasant, but necessary duty and defence equipment in 2023, making peace with China the easier
to strike a discordant note. makes — or should make — disturb- option in the broader national inter-
GDP should be measured accord- ing reading. According to SIPRI, in est? It’s well-documented that during
ing to the per capita metric and not the period 2018-22 India imported 11 almost 200 years of British Raj over
by way of absolute number. There’s percent of global defence equipment the subcontinent, arbitrary boundary
a certain inevitability about the GDP ahead of Saudi Arabia (9.6 percent), lines were drawn and imposed upon
of India with its population of 1.4 bil- Qatar (6.4), Australia (4.7) and China Chinese-Tibet including the Aksai
lion surpassing Britain which has 63 (4.6). In the interim Union budget Chin region.
million people, equivalent to that of 2024-25, the allocation for defence Instead of re-negotiating these
Karnataka, one of India’s 29 states. is Rs.6.2 lakh crore cf. Rs.1.20 lakh lines in a bona fide spirit of give-take,
Moreover, India’s $4 trillion (Rs.333 crore for education; Rs.90,171 crore successive governments in New Delhi
lakh crore) divided by its population for healthcare and Rs.3.5 lakh crore have adamantly insisted upon pre-
translates into per capita GDP of for rural development. serving border lines inherited from
$6,500 per annum. Even this statistic Admittedly education, healthcare the British notwithstanding several
that every adult and child in the coun- and rural development are ‘concur- millennia of Sino-India peace, har-
try directly or indirectly receives a rent’ subjects under the Constitution mony and cultural linkages in the
monthly income of $500 (Rs.42,000) with the states also obliged to incur pre-Raj era. This foolishness has up-
is misleading. The reality is that 60 expenditure under these heads. But ended post-independence India’s na-
percent of annual GDP is hogged by with the Centre setting the bar so low, tional development effort and heaped
the upper 10 percent of the citizenry total expenditure on education adds to misery on over one billion citizens. A
comprising the 430 million-strong less than 3 percent of GDP against the bona fide reset of Sino-India relations
middle class. global average of 5 percent. Hence the is overdue.

WAYS & MEANS TO FUND POLITICAL PARTIES to the previous system of permitting
corporates and businesses to trans-
parently donate up to 7.5 percent of
ull disclosure of details of the EBS, ruling that the fundamental net profit to political parties of their
Electoral Bonds Scheme (EBS) right of citizens to information about choice. But this is a route fraught with
Fby the State Bank of India and who purchased and donated electoral danger because open and transparent
Election Commission following stern bonds to which political party to as- donation to a political party is likely
admonition by the Supreme Court of certain quid pro quo, over-rode the to make donors vulnerable to vendetta
India, is proof that despite disman- right to privacy of donor-citizens. Al- when an opposition party comes to
tling of the licence-permit-quota though legally correct, this judgement power. In the circumstances, the bet-
regime in 1991, government still ex- is not in the public interest inasmuch ter option is to enact legislation which
ercises substantial control over in- as it is likely to restore the status quo permits individuals and corporates to
dustry and commerce. That’s why a ante and force citizens and corporates contribute to an Election Fund which
large number of companies and in- to generate black money to fund po- could be distributed by the Elec-
dividuals, including some of the big- litical parties. tion Commission to every registered
gest names in India Inc, purchased Recent developments such as wea- party in proportion to the percentage
electoral bonds — essentially bearer ponisation of government controlled of popular vote it received in the last
bonds which granted complete ano- economic offences investigation agen- General Election.
nymity to the purchaser and recipient cies such as the Enforcement Direc- Of course the best option is for po-
political party. Introduced in 2017 by torate, CBI, Income and GST authori- litical parties to fund themselves by
the BJP government at the Centre, the ties to target opposition parties and registering members for a modest fee
objective of EBS was to clean up dona- their actual and perceived support- — say Rs.100. Given India’s huge pop-
tions to registered political parties and ers, are proof enough that the Central ulation, that can add up to a massive
eliminate the necessity of donors gen- and state governments have sufficient amount. Moreover party membership
erating unaccounted ‘black’ money to powers to intimidate opposition par- is a vote almost assured. This was the
fund electoral expenses — a necessity ties and their supporters in business logic behind the registration (2013) of
that can’t be wished away — of politi- and industry. the Children First Party of India whose
cal parties and politicians. Therefore new pathways have to aims and objectives were self-evident.
However in a landmark judgement be found to legitimise contributions But lack of big budget promotion and
delivered on February 15, a full bench of individuals to political parties. A an apathetic middle class buried this
of the Supreme Court struck down readily available option is to revert much needed initiative.

10 EDUCATIONWORLD APRIL 2024