“P.I.P.E.” for Atmanirbhar Bharat

“Atmanirbhar Bharat” a word which has become very common in India during the COVID-19. Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi coined this word to create a self-sufficient India. Also, the 2014 “Make In India” was promoted however that didn’t have much impact because we had the option of cheaper and faster substitutes under “Made In People’s Republic of China”.

So did the “Make In India” fail answer is yes and no both. No, we didn’t fail, a lot of global firms have set up their back-end operations and assembling unit in India. Yes, we failed because we are still not self-sufficient nor we were able to create an India as an industrial destination.

If we really want to create an Atmanirbhar Bharat then we should look into the GDP of countries like the United States of America (USA), People’s Republic of China (China), Republic of China (Taiwan) and Republic of the Philippines(Philippines). Below is the table on GDP contribution of the competitor countries and countries with a strong economy: (Source: Central Intelligence Agency – The World Factbook)

The above data shows India has huge scope to become a strong self-sufficient country in the world and Agriculture can be the dominating sector. If we are able to develop our Agriculture sector and develop the Industrial sector which will create jobs for the rural and urban sectors.

However, to become Atmanirbhar Bharat both state and central government should work towards the improvement and/or up-gradation of P.I.P.E.

P.I.P.E

Policy is something both central and/or state government should rework on and following are the areas to be reworked:

• Labour law: We require a central labor database which will manage the migration and be the single window for companies to manage labor compliance
• Mandatory Joint-Venture: If any company and/or brand which is to start a business in India will require to have an Indian company and/or individual as joint venture partner(s).
• Single Window Compliance: Central and State Government together should develop a single window for compliance backed with block-chain technology.
• Intellectual Property Rights: We require a strong Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) law to protect the IP of the company(s) and/or brand(s) from exploitation.
• Infrastructure Linked Job Creation: Local job creation should be the priority and development of the area should be the responsibility of the industry(s) under the CSR activity which should be managed by the local authority and credited NGOs.
• Transparent Approval and Settlement Process: This is something that will take time to be implemented because we will have to remove a lot of red-tape in both state and central levels.
• Funds: Simple and faster ways to raise funds in India and is also required to support the growth of the economy and job creation.

Infrastructure is a need of time and if we really want to create “Atmanirbhar Bharat” then we would require to expedite the current project(s) and/or long-pending projects. Following infrastructure projects should be expedited or initiated:

• Dry Dockyard: Dedicate dry dockyard for faster movement of goods which should act as a centralized hub and same to be connected with the state highway and industrial corridors.
• Industrial Corridor: All the industrial corridor should be linked with the dry dockyard, railway and airways network which will reduce the cost of logistics for the company(s).
• Cold Storage: All the agriculture hubs should have cold storage which should be linked to dry dockyard, airways and railways.
• Direct Farm Sales: All sales should be linked to farmers i.e. each purchase should have farmer details which can be implemented through block-chain. This will help us to know if the farmer received the right value from the buyers and same has been credited back to the farmer’s accounts.
• Electricity: Yes all the towns and villages should have at least 20 hours of uninterrupted supply of electricity which should be supported by the renewable energy network. Renewable energy can easily be generated the villages through solar, biogas and agri waste to produce electricity.

Professionalism and this is something people wouldn’t agree with me but yes we lack professionalism in our business. This is something we should learn from our neighbor China. What is “Professionalism”? According to Britannica Professionalism means the standards, practices, or motivations associated with a profession.

Education requires a major overhaul and curriculum should be developed more according to the industry and job market. Skill development and vocational education should be made part of the curriculum with mandatory projects which should be evaluated and graded.

Conclusion

If we are planning for the Atmanirbhar Bharat then each individual will have to contribute towards it and will require to change our behavior towards the local business and markets.

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