COMMENTS ON UPA GOVERNMENT'S ANNIVERSARY

COMMENTS ON UPA GOVERNMENT'S ANNIVERSARY

The United Progressive Alliance government had miserably failed to check the skyrocketing prices of food articles and other essential commodities during the first year of its stay in power. This was because of wrong economic policies, including allowing futures (forward) trading in essential commodities.The income of 90 per cent of the country's population is getting drastically reduced because of these wrong policies of the UPA-II government, while the benefits of such policies reached only 10 per cent.Hopes were sky-high, when the Congress-led UPA returned to power with a comfortable majority.The negative list probably runs much longer according to me. One is that the economic reforms agenda has remained stalled. One had expected that with a relatively more cohesive coalition in UPA II, the economic reforms agenda would have moved faster and forward. But nothing much has happened on that score.Secondly the government's management of inflation has not been very good and despite many measures and efforts inflation continues to run very high. Thirdly, infrastructure bottlenecks continue to plague the economy. Not much has been done on the power sector.On the agriculture side and the PDS especially not much movement has taken place and of course subsidy is a common problem whether it is the oil subsidies or the food subsidies. Fertilizer subsidy, there is some movement and one hopes it will be taken to its logical conclusion the nutrient based subsidy regime.

The last one year has been truly testing. Global economic turmoil, rising naxal threat and charges of corruption have forced the government into a corner.General trader,public and farmer is unhappy with the policies & poor implementation of the programmes announced.

Hope & trust that effective governing will be on the agenda of the UPA GOVT otherwise warning antennas needs to be on for them.



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Sajjan Raj Mehta

IPP..KARNATAKA HOSIERY & GARMENT ASSOCIATION