BOOK REVIEW
Title: NaMo. A Name. A Cult. A Visual Delight-A Fan’s
Passionate Confession
Author: Aroop Datta
Publisher: Aroop Datta, 2015
Price: Rs. 785/-
Narendra Modi : Visionary Extraordinaire
It is not every day one finds oneself reviewing an
unabashed paean of praise, even if the subject is indeed a remarkable achiever,
and our current prime minister.
One who boasts of the biggest parliamentary mandate,
and the first clear majority in thirty years.
Amongst the torrent of almost non-stop superlatives
from the author, Aroop Datta, there are highlights from the much discussed
Gujarat model. The Gujarat model is an
economic formula that is beginning to show signs of being replicated at the
centre, despite criticism from certain quarters for its top down approach.
This first point being mentioned here hasn’t yet begun
to happen in the other states, but the broad framework for a modernising of
agriculture has indeed been talked about extensively by NaMo.
With 60% or more of Indians living in rural areas,
either engaged in agriculture or in the task of providing various services to
the rural economy, this 17% odd contributor to the nation’s GDP, must be
reformed radically for optimum results.
Here is the statistic from Gujarat under the
stewardship of Narendra Modi: ‘Over 1 million hectares of land came under drip
irrigation’. This, during his 13 years at the helm, as contrasted with just
12,000 hectares in the period 1960-2001. This process, optimising the use of
water, has transformed Israel, where the technology was first used extensively,
that too in the desert. It is particularly relevant when large parts of the
country are still rain dependent.
Land brought under agriculture itself in Gujarat,
also increased from 106 lakh hectares to 145 lakh hectares. It remains to be
seen what will be done nationally now, albeit via the increasingly empowered
state administrations themselves.
Electricity supply has always been a favourite topic
for NaMo the politician, because he clearly sees it as a prime mover of
development, along with roads and other infrastructure.
Electricity provision was expanded dramatically in
the NaMo years, till the entire state of Gujarat now enjoys a very creditable
24x7, profitable, electricity supply, and on an universally paid-for basis.
At the same time, Gujarat’s solar park is Asia’s
largest. At the Centre too, Narendra Modi is working very hard, through his
dynamic Power minister Piyush Goel, to transform the fiscal health of
generation/transmission/discoms, and supply of electricity throughout the
country; just as in Gujarat.
Solar power too has now got Andhra Pradesh,
Telengana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh as well as Gujarat planning to execute
mega solar projects of more than 500 Mw capacity each. Others are likely to
join the bandwagon as the cost of solar generated electricity has fallen so
that it can be sold at below Rs.5 per unit. Nuclear power too is coming on
stream at a faster pace now.
Another major NaMo theme is the working to raise per
capita income throughout the country. He has implied on multiple occasions that
it is the key to development and prosperity, particularly when applied to
‘where a majority of global population lives’.
During Modi’s time in Gujarat as chief minister, the
state had a per capita income of Rs.89,668/-, second only to that of Maharashtra at Rs. 101,314/-. This,
with a population of 60 million people
for Gujarat, as compared to 112 million people in Maharashtra, all as per 2012
figures.
Aroop Datta has made the format of his book
reflective of the considerable ground the prime minster has covered in his 18
months in office, placing photographs on most of its coffee-table book pages,
covering NaMo’s myriad initiatives.
Other economic points that Datta makes are the sharp
fall in WPI to its lowest level in 9
years, a reduction in trade deficit, to its lowest in 17 months, and a high level
of Forex reserves at $343 .2 billion , a 47% increase for the January-April
period in 2015, compared to that of a
year before. Datta’s book was published in August 2015.
The many visits abroad made by the prime minister,
criticised predictably by the opposition, have nevertheless resulted in a
surging of FDI. According to this book, it has grown by 36% year-on-year
between April-January 2015.
It is telling that almost any commentary on Narendra
Modi is framed primarily in terms of economic progress rather than political
ideology, despite his early RSS background, and the efforts of the opposition
to brand him communal. This naturally augurs well for the country, if Modi in
turn strives to make his inclusive and
all-embracing economics work for himself and the BJP politically.
His ‘Sabka saath, Sabka vikas’ slogan is not only
emotive and evocative, a good vote catcher too, but flies in the face of more
divisive and majoritarian agendas that elements in his party and the Sangh
Parivar may espouse.
Also, in an India that is in transition from its
socialist past towards a more pragmatic market influenced future, a clash of ideologies
rather than an emphasis on Modi-style pragmatism, can be deeply
counter-productive.
More and more foreign commentators are excited about
the economic prospects of India going forward, particularly because of Modi and
his obvious sincerity of purpose. This bracketed within the context of a world
economy that has slowed considerably, is particularly attractive.
With 3.5 years available to him in this, his first
term of office, there is every hope and not a few green shoot indications that
the pace of economic reform and dynamism will accelerate to over 8% per annum
from the respectable 7.3% GDP growth expected in this fiscal.
Aroop Datta has demonstrated his complete faith in
the leadership of Narendra Modi via this adulatory contribution.
For: Sirfnews
(922 words)
November 19th, 2015
Gautam Mukherjee
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