Day 29 – Q 1.Ensuring robust economic growth while reducing income inequality is one of the most pressing challenges for policymakers in India. Do you concur? Give your views. What measures can be taken to meet this objective? Suggest.
1. Ensuring robust economic growth while reducing income inequality is one of the most pressing challenges for policymakers in India. Do you concur? Give your views. What measures can be taken to meet this objective? Suggest.
आय असमानता को कम करते हुए मजबूत आर्थिक विकास सुनिश्चित करना भारत में नीति निर्माताओं के लिए सबसे अधिक चुनौतीपूर्ण है। क्या आप सहमत हैं? अपने विचार दें। इस उद्देश्य को पूरा करने के लिए क्या उपाय किए जा सकते हैं? सुझाव दें।
Introduction:
Growing income inequality has become a major problem. As per recent Oxfam report, India’s top 1% of the population now holds 73% of the wealth while 67 crore citizens, comprising the country’s poorest half, saw their wealth rise by just 1%.
Body:
Ensuring robust economic growth and addressing Income inequality is the need of hour, if it is undermined then it could lead to many challenges:
- Undermines Democracy.
- Promotes Corruption.
- Crony Capitalism.
- Public policy: Could pose challenge to public policy making.
- Social unrest: It can trigger social unrest like Civil war.
- Increase in Crime.
- Rise of Fundamentalism.
Why there is income inequality:
- Lack of Skills: Recently Narayan Murthy had said that around 80% of young college graduates lacked relevant market skills.
- Gender Discrimination.
- Employment generation.
- Informalization of work force/Casualization of labor.
- Unequal Regional development: Concentration of growth and development in Western part and southern parts of Country.
- Neo-liberalism: Privatization of Economy.
Measures:
- Promote inclusive growth.
- Gender equality.
- Labor intensive sector.
- Imposing higher Tax on Super rich.
- Stringent Tax mechanism to evade Tax evasions.
- Skill Development.
- Market relevant Education.
- Increasing Pay ratio.
Government has taken certain measures to address these issues with initiatives like:
- Make in India.
- Start-up India and Stand up-India.
- National Skill Development programs.
- Deen Dayal Upadhyay Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
- Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Program.
- MEIS and SEIS schemes.
- New National Manufacturing policy.
Note: 1-2 lines explanation is required for all points.
Conclusion:
Government has taken measures to address this and even at global level Post-Washington consensus seeks to address this issue. But unless the corporate sector also takes initiative to contribute the success will be limited.
Best Answer: Ankur.
