ECONOMIC POLICY MANIFESTO
Congress - Our Economic Policy
Economic justice is as important as political and social justice. Sound economic policies will ensure that India, a developing country, will attain the status of, first, a middle-income country and, then, a developed country.
Congress’ economic policy has evolved over the years. In 1991, the Congress ushered in the era of liberalization and steered the country toward an open, free and competitive economy with regulatory oversight. The country reaped enormous benefits in terms of wealth-creation, new businesses and entrepreneurs, a huge middle class, millions of jobs, important innovations in education and healthcare, and exports. Millions of people were lifted out of poverty. We reiterate our commitment to an open economy in which economic growth will be driven by the private sector complemented by a strong and viable public sector.
TIME FOR A RE-SET
After 33 years, the time is ripe for a re-set of economic policy. We need a Nav Sankalp Economic Policy. The cornerstone of the Nav Sankalp Economic Policy will be JOBS. To create jobs, India must become a producing economy. We must produce goods and services for ourselves and for the world. There is a huge opportunity for India to emerge as the world’s biggest producer.
We reject jobless growth and the BJP’s legacy of job-loss growth. We will address the issues of inflation; extreme poverty among a significant section of the people; hunger; nutritional deficiency among women and children; and the growing inequalities of income and wealth.
The three goals of our economic policy were, and will be, work, wealth and welfare.
WORK
Work means there will be plenty of jobs and sufficient opportunities for self-employment and starting businesses.
1. We will create thousands of jobs as outlined in the next chapter. The best creator of jobs is the private sector. In particular, the MSME sector is the creator of the largest number of jobs, especially for workers with average education and average skills.
2. We will support the private sector and every kind of enterprise — large, medium, small and micro — in their endeavour to create jobs and produce goods and services.
3. We will remove the current environment of distrust and fear, and create a healthy eco-system where private enterprises, regulatory authorities, tax authorities and government will work in a spirit of mutual cooperation and respect.
4. We will protect innovation and intellectual property rights, provide access to finances, and ensure the freedom to produce and sell anywhere in India or abroad.
5. We will support free trade and rule-based international trade and commerce.
6. We will encourage and participate in bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.
7. Regulatory oversight will be based on clearly enunciated laws and rules that will be applied fairly and without discrimination.
8. We will ensure a level playing field for all.
9. We are opposed to monopolies and oligopolies and crony capitalism.
10. We will ensure that no company or person arrogates to itself or himself the financial or material resources or the business opportunities or the concessions that ought to be available to every entrepreneur.
11. Our policy preference will be in favour of business enterprises that create a large number of jobs.
12. Full employment is our goal and we will make every effort to ensure that the large workforce is gainfully employed.
13. We will introduce reforms in industrial and labour laws to restore the balance between labour and capital to meet our twin goals of full employment and high productivity gains. The Labour Codes passed by the BJP/NDA government will be reviewed and amended.
14. We will address the issues of gender discrimination and gender inequality in workplaces and in accessing economic opportunities.
15. We will ensure that banks offer low-interest loans to Self-Help Groups.
16. Congress will undertake a comprehensive review of various charges levied by banks, stop the exploitation of customers, and rationalize the charges for bank services.
17. We will launch an urban employment programme guaranteeing work for the urban poor in reconstruction and renewal of urban infrastructure.
18. We will make a law to specify and protect the rights of gig workers and unorganised workers and enhance their social security.
19. We will propose laws to regulate the employment of domestic help and migrant workers, and ensure their basic legal rights.
20. We will reorient the tax policies towards employment and wages as well as investments and profits.
21. We will address the growing inequality of wealth and income through suitable changes in policies.
WEALTH
Wealth and wealth creation are the goals of any business.
Industrial and business policies and regulations will be designed to facilitate the production of goods and services in larger volumes and higher values. While production is important, productivity is equally important. Any impediment, legal or administrative, to larger production or higher value will be removed. We will facilitate access to finances, raw materials, technology, intellectual property, and other resources both from within India and through imports. Business enterprises will have the liberty to sell goods and services within India or through exports. All laws and rules that inhibit free and fair trade will be reviewed and changed.
India’s GDP in 1990-91 was approximately 25 lakh crore in constant prices. In 13 years, first under a Congress government and later under coalition governments, the GDP doubled and reached a value of 50 lakh crore in 2003-04. In 10 years under the UPA, the economy doubled again and the GDP was at 100 lakh crore in 2013-14. A 100 lakh crore economy was inherited by the BJP/NDA government but it wasted the golden opportunity. If the UPA had continued in office, the economy would have doubled again and stood at 200 lakh crore in 2023-24. Alas, due to the BJP’s mismanagement, the GDP will reach a level of only 173 lakh crore by the end of 2023-24 falling short of a target that was unachievable.
The Congress is committed to rapid growth and generation of wealth. We have set a target of doubling the GDP in the next 10 years.
WELFARE
Welfare of all is the goal of all work and the creation of wealth. Owing to the skewed policies of the BJP/NDA, the people of India are divided in economic terms. There is a small class of very rich, a substantial middle class, a large segment of people above the poverty line but not yet the middle class, and nearly 22 crore people who are poor.
Under a Congress government, the welfare of the poor will be the first charge on all government resources. It will be the Congress’ endeavour to ensure that the 22 crore people below the poverty line are lifted above the line in the next 10 years; that they are able to enjoy the fruits of education, healthcare, housing, drinking water, sanitation, electricity and, above all, opportunities for jobs/work; and are made strong and self-reliant to compete with others who are higher on the economic ladder.
As people move up the economic ladder, their needs are for better infrastructure and better goods and services.
Besides, we must get the Indian economy and the Indian work force ‘future-ready’. The challenges of the future include the changes in the global economy, advanced technology such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics and machine learning, and climate change. The future of our energy is Green Energy. We will mobilize the massive capital required for our green energy transition.
The Nav Sankalp Economic Policy will aim to build a fair, just and equal-opportunity economy and bring prosperity to all sections of the people. Congress will herald a new beginning, just as we did in 1991, involving all sections of the people in nation-building. The time has become to re-set and re-prioritize our roadmap for economic development in the context of the twin challenges to our economy, namely, UNEMPLOYMENT and INFLATION.
We have made specific promises in different sections of this Manifesto. By implementing these promises, we hope to achieve the paramount goal of ushering in a fair, just and equitable economy that will make India a rich country, and that will be resilient to adapt to a changing world.
Pages 27-29
https://www.inc.in/media/manifesto
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Employment to 2 Crore Persons per Annum in Micro enterprises. Innovate micro enterprise finance scheme.
Narayana Rao K.V.S.S.
Modi government failed to utilize the potential of micro enterprises for full employment even after announcing the scheme. They did not do the promotion work required to start new enterprises and support employment creation in the existing enterprises. Potential to create 2 crores jobs exists in the microsector. We need to develop first consultants who can handhold 100 firms every year and earn a fee of Rs. 5000 from each of them.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLTp7Y48PQQ
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Congress Economic Policy 4.0
Ud. 12.4.2024
Pub. 5.4.2024
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