President Trump couldn’t have chosen a better moment to trash India for its filthy air. North India is covered in smog and air quality is alarming because farmers are back to burning stubble and politicians and policymakers have failed to tackle the annual crisis. They have no place to hide.
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A layman’s economics.
The Government and the authorities are, in the end, responsible for running the country. No escaping that. But does the country have resources to handle matters in the conventional way? Relatively India is a poor Nation. With below par output and exports, tax collections at the peak are at best just enough for a hand to mouth existence. Yes, there is mismanagement and corruption. Even when this is minimized (can they be totally eliminated? You decide) we don’t have money to spend beyond the essentials. To generate funds India needs to improve industrial output and better manage farm produce. Infrastructure too needs to be developed. In the past two decades Indian economy has been propped up with export of services – an unsustainable model.
To become a better economy India needs structural reforms – Farm, Land and labour law reforms, ease of norms for attracting investments (domestic and foreign)…and many more.
Efforts from just the Governments and establishments will not be enough to achieve this. People also will have to contribute – there will be pains; vested interests will play out. But without some bold steps, mostly seemingly unpopular, we will not each anywhere. Else, as even after 60 years of adult life, as I do, the future generations will also read the same such headlines as in this article – the difference being they will do it in a medium other than paper.
Note: When you talk of China and such economies, also consider the sufferings endured to reach there.
Doston se sach sunna meetha nahin lagta. 2. In March 2014, about the time a new government was expected in Delhi, China’s PM declared a war against pollution, similar to the one it had declared – and largely won – against poverty. In four years, cities had cut concentrations of fine particulate matter in the air by 32% on an average. India needs to speed up the transition to renewable energy, expand public transport in urban areas. 3. Air pollution is already costing India millions of lives each year, causing permanent damage to the lungs of children. Winter is peak tourist season. People, including foreign heads of government, will no longer feel happy to visit.
1.67 million lives a year.
Bolna zaroor hai!!!
It is a truth universally acknowledged that you learn a lot more from reading my comments than I do yours. Raise your game, man.
Write a book man if you think you are so scholarly. Such comments do not reflect your intellect, but certainly show that you love talking, and more than that love to read your own words. The above comment in which you pat yourself certainly is a proof of that.
Will be happy to write a book if the Editor promises to release it at a cheese and wine event in Khan Market.