Viewed together, the National Agriculture Market, the Gramoday se Bharat Uday Abhiyan and the Sagarmala project will broaden the scope of the Indian economy and anchor it in farming villages instead of industrial centres
Three schemes that have been in the news recently — the National Agriculture Market, the Gramoday se Bharat Uday Abhiyan, and the Sagarmala programme — will broaden the Indian economy, and shift the urban, industry-based system to a rural, farmer-based, coast-driven economy. The aim is to widen the scope of economic activity and cover a larger number of people than what ‘Manmohanomics’ could.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to ensure timely implementation these schemes, as many initiatives in the past lost steam after being formally launched. Undoubtedly, there has been a change in the style of governance after the Modi Government came to power, and this will help India sustain the growth momentum.
A related development that went unnoticed, however, was an order from the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to all State Governments to remove all speed breakers from national highways so as to ensure smooth travel and save lives. Speed bumps have led to a loss of about 4,726 lives with enormous man-hours wasted, misery for many families and delayed journeys. This move will speed up road movement, minimise losses, and add to faster economic growth.
The launch of the e-NAM platform and the Gramoday se Bharat Uday campaign are both major policy initiatives. The former will ensure marketability of farm produce by taking down State borders and the latter will empower all farmers by strengthening the villages. The Government has finally paid heed to the pleas of farmers who had been ignored by the industries.
For farmers, e-NAM promises more options for sale of products. It increases access to markets through warehouse-based sales and obviates the need to transport produce to the mandis. For local traders, e-NAM provides an opportunity to access a larger national market for secondary trading. Bulk buyers and exporters are likely to benefit as they will be able to directly participate in trading at the local mandis through this platform. This scheme will also reduce their intermediation costs.
However, this will happen only when e-NAM becomes fully operational. Initially, farmers will be able to sell their produce through the mandis within the State. But gradually, this scheme will be extended across the country by 2017. Once this happens, the farmers will have access to wholesale markets across the country.
The eventual goal of a ‘one-nation-one-market’ for agricultural and horticultural produce may soon become a reality. However, some hurdles, like the dismantling of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee Act, remains. This Act regulates the farm market in many States. Though some States have agreed to amend or do away with the APMC Act, a lot more needs to be done.
As for the Gramoday se Bharat Uday scheme, it will energise the rural economy. It will not only supplement the farm sector but also ensure that overall economic activities are geared up to meet national development imperatives.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has already embarked on a mission to develop model village clusters for integrated development in many States. The Government is likely to follow the RRS’s model to make villages self-sustaining economic units.
This programme is the result of the realisation that 50 cities and 50 individuals doing good business cannot turn the fortunes of India. Modi wants to combine the Mahatma’s gram swaraj concept and BR Ambedkar’s social harmony ideals. Start-up India, Stand Up India, Skill India and similar programmes aim to create young entrepreneurs in rural India. The Gramoday se Bharat Uday scheme aims to ensure substantial development to strengthen the foundation of villages.
This brings us to the Sagarmala project which aims to double port capacity by 2025. One of the targets of the project is to link the ports and inland waterways. This will create new water-highways for the development of the hinterland. It will also facilitate faster movement of farm produce and rural goods as well as integrate special economic zones, smart cities, industrial and logistics parks with the national economy. Ultimately, it will also ensure sustainable development.
Conceived by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the project has been revived by Modi. The Sagarmala project can save up to Rs35,000 crore through optimal use of multi-modal transport as port capacity increases to 3,000 million tonnes by 2025 from 1,555 million tonnes now. It is expected to boost exports to $10 billion.
Modi has made a good beginning and has raised the rural economy’s aspirations. But he has to ensure that the changes are implemented. Political sustainability is key.