Aswada(control of the palate) and Sarvatra Bhayavarjana(Fearlessness)

Gandhiji was as conscious of his dietary habits as he was about spiritual development. During his stay in London in late 1890s, he used to write articles for the Royal Vegeterian Society on the importance of proper dietary habits. Gandhi adopted a vegetarian way of life. This mode of life was borne out of his mother’s advice on the importance of vegetarianism, but also his compassion for the living creatures. In this context, he was greatly influenced by the teachings of Buddhism and Jainism. Moreover, he stressed upon the fact that man should prefer nutritious food rather than foods that merely satisfy the taste-buds. He advocated total avoidance of spicy and over-nutritious food that would be counter-productive for the very aim of utilizing the body for noble purposes.

Gandhi exhorted people to be fearless in their life. He used to call it as Sarvatra Bhayavarjana. A man should be fearless against ghosts, fearless against failures and fearless against oppression. However, being fearless does not, in any way, mean developing arrogance or inconsiderate attitude towards the less fearless.

Sharishrama (bread labour)

By Sharishrama, Gandhi meant the importance of bread labour or physical activity.Gandhi liked to say that physical labour is as important as intellectual labour in the overall personality development of an individual. In his doctrine of Nayi Talim, Gandhi stressed upon the fact that physical activity and intellectual activity complements each other and they are not to be viewed in isolation. Gandhi used to frequently quote what the holy Bible had mentioned “ Earn thy labour by the sweat of the brow”. He said that most of the life-style diseases prevalent in today’s society is a product of neglected or minimum physical activity and giving undue importance to mental labour.

Moreover, the urge not to earn more than necessary and dedication physical activity to the cause of the poor is intrinsic to the notion of sharishrama or bread labour. By earning what is deemed sufficient, the resources are distributed equitably.Also, dedicating a modicum of physical activity for social cause , the lesser abled and disabled are also benefitted, which gives meaning to the notion of overall development of the nation and society.

Economic Survey 2014-15 Part 6

23)The low ratio of Gross Value Added(GVA) to Gross Value Output(GVO) in manufacturing signifies ,on the one hand, that the sector creates substantial demand for the output of other sectors and, on the other, that Indian manufacturing needs to move up the value chain to improve its contributions to overall GVA.

24)The savings rate(gross domestic savings as a percentage of GDP) reached its historical peak in 2007-08, and then remained volatile with a general downward movement. While private corporate savings steadily declined, household savings witnessed realignment in favour of accumulation of physical assets at the cost of financial savings. The household financial savings need to be raised to keep the saving-investment gap at acceptable levels.

25)Global factors namely persistent decline in crude prices, soft global prices of tradables, particularly edible oil and even coal, helped moderate headline inflation. The tight monetary pressures helped in containing demand pressures, creating a buffer against any external shock and keeping volatility in the value of rupee under check. During the last one year, the rupee remained relatively stable vis-à-vis major global currencies, which too had sobering influence on inflation. Moderation in wage rate growth reduced demand pressures on protein-based items.

26)Two important factors resulting in lower CAD:i) lower trade deficit along with moderate growth in invisibles ii)surge in capital inflows,enabled by higher portfolio investments,FDI and ECBs.

27)For providing efficient advance-price discovery to farmers and enable them to hedge price risk, the Forward Markets Commission should be strengthened and empowered to regulate the markets more effectively(pg 18). The ASER report states that learning levels across the country, whether in public or private schools, have not improved. Clearly, the policy prescription lies in shifting the attention away from inputs to outcomes and focus on building quality education and skill development infrastructure. The Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat initiative to create a base for reading, writing and math-fluency is a good step in this direction.

Gandhi’s principle of Aparigraha(non-possession)

The principle of ‘aparigraha’, put forward by Gandhiji denotes non-possession. At the basic level, non-possession means desisting from hoarding of goods. Hoarding of goods and commodities deprive the poor of their basic needs. Secondly, aparigraha connotes reducing one’s needs and wants beyond bare minimum.Andthe lesser one wants, the better off one is, because he then is content with whatever he has with him.The ultimate stage of non-possession is no possession. In this state, there are no material possessions which lead to cultivating detachment. This attitude and way of life paves the way for spiritual liberation which is the ultimate goal of a man’s life.

Economic Survey 2014-15 Part 5

19)The striking feature is that India has moved from carbon subsidization regime to one of significant carbon taxation regime-from a negative price to a positive price on carbon emissions. i) excise duty on petrol and diesel as an implicit carbon tax-It prices other externalities like congestion costs(from using vehicles), noise and local air pollution.Also substantial revenue for social redistribution. 

However, inflation concerns are raised due to the consumers not availing benefits due to reduced international oil prices. Ii) Translating coal cess into carbon tax.But it must take into account of the implications for power prices as power affordability should be a major aim of the government.iii) India’s renewable energy program like solar program.

20)Major recommendations of FFC:i)32 % to 42 %-biggest ever increase in vertical tax devolution ii)new horizontal formula-incorporated two new variables 2011 population and forest cover and excluded the fiscal discipline variable iii)other types of transfers proposed including grants to rural and urban bodies, a performance grant along with grants for disaster relief and revenue deficit iv)no sector specific grants

21)Implications of FFC i)All states stand to gain in absolute terms ii)expected to add substantial spending capacity to states’ budgets iii)have more favourable impact on the states(only among the General Category of States) which are relatively less developed which is an indication that FFC transfers are progressive i.e. states with lower per capita Net State Domestic Product receive on average much larger transfers per capita.Note:towards greater fiscal federalism, conferring more fiscal autonomy on the states.

22)But there will be commensurate reductions in Central Assistance to States(CAS) k/as plan transfers. In the last few years, plan transfers have moved away from being Gadgil-formula based to being more discretionary in nature. Greater central discretion evidently reduced progressivity. Thus, a collateral benefit of moving from CAS to FFc transfers is that overall progressivity will improve.

Economic Survey 2014-15 part 4

16)Even the model APMC act treats the APMC as an arm of the state, and the market fee as the tax levied by the state, rather than fee charged for providing services. This is a crucial provision that acts as an impediment in creating a national common market in agricultural commodities. Though the market fee is collected just like a tax, the revenue earned by the APMCs does not go to the state exchequer and hence does not require the approval of state legislature to utilize the funds so collected. Thus APMC operations are hidden from scrutiny.

17)The model APMC act retains the mandatory requirement of the buyers having to pay APMC charges even when the produce is sold directly outside the APMC area, say, to the contract sponsors or in a market set up by private individuals even though no facility provided by the APMC is used. Though the model APMC Act provide for setting up of markets by the private sector,this provision is not adequate to create competition for APMCs even within the state, since the owner of the private market will have to collect the APMC fees, for and on behalf of the APMC, from the buyers/sellers, in addition to the fee that he wants to charge for providing trading platform and other services, such as loading, unloading, grading, weighing etc.

18)Alternative ways to create national market for agricultural commodities: It may be possible to get all the states to drop fruits and vegetables from the APMC schedule of regulated commodities, this could be followed by cereals, pulse and oilseeds, and then all remaining commodities. Liberalisation of FDI in retail for improving supply chain management. Investment by the States and the centre for setting up infra and making land available etc for alternative and special markets in the private sector. There are provisions in List III of the seventh schedule(concurrent list) in the constitution which can be used by the union to enact legislation for setting up of national common market for specified agricultural commodities by overriding the state APMC laws.

Gandhi’s principle of Asteya(non-stealing)

One of the avowed vows of Gandhi was the principle of Asteya i.e.non-stealing. Asteya was not only confined to non-stealing as a direct action. Rather, it had wider meanings according to Gandhi. The indirect and subtle ways of stealing are lying-stealing of truthfulness, cheating-stealing others’ rights, waging of war-stealing others’ territories. Gandhi said that a man’s greed and penchant for materialism is also a subtle form of stealing others' right to basic requirements. It is because a wealthy man residing in a palatial house has dispossessed  a poor man’s right to a bare minimum land for subsistence living. In due consideration of this idea, gandhiji has written in Yervada Mandir” One who follows the principle of non-stealing will bring about a progressive reduction in his wants for lavish forms of life. Much of the distressing poverty in this world is due to the breaches of the principle of non-stealing by affluent people”
(ideas borrowed from Gandhi foundation)