Import Trade restrictions and Make in India-Atmanirbhar!

 Import Trade wall or barriers are not new to India. The country had very steep walls in terms of Tariffs, licensing ,quotas etc. all in the name of safeguarding the domestic industry. When the country gained independence, many of the industries were either nascent or anemic and in order to restore their health, Central Govt had no option but to erect some import restrictions so that local industries in the economy are nurtured. This grooming of domestic industry with level playing field took a new turn in the late 1960s and 1970s with widespread nationalisation of private enterprises, ushering in an era of erratic socialism all in the name of protecting the citizens from private profiteering.

This concept led to erecting walls within the country between the commanding heights of Govt. undertakings and the Private enterprises. The private sector was neglected and was left to fend for itself and scaling up an enterprise became a uphill challenge for private sector. Inorder to protect them from imports from manufacturing bases around the world with deep pockets several safeguard duties and tariff walls were made stiff .

But all this had a negative side effects as the local industry became flabby, lethargic,self seeking, ignoring Tech.upgradation, without stiff market competition on Quality , Cost and Delivery.All this was done with the good intention of making India self restraint through import substitution. But the unintended consequences of this led to high cost of manufacuring and poor quality product.This situation was reversed when GOI started reducing tariffs and import restrictions through some pragmatic steps inviting foreign direct investments in the early 1990s.

By the time we missed the bus and Chinese who started this in 1980s had a clear headstart over us. Our two steps forward and one step backward strategy in all these matters of import policy were designed by bureaucrats with the hidden intent of rent seeking politicians, businessmen and babus behind it.

Only after the advent of Japanese, US ,German and South korean companies started their manufacturing bases in India , Quality, Cost and Delivery gained attention and became the guiding lodetones of enterprises keeping them lean and mean. This tough market competition has helped India in achieving the pinnacle of success in Auto sector especially in becoming World's top two wheeler manufacturing base.

That said , now there is lot of discussion on Govt's announcement of Trade tariffs for imports from China and licesing and ban on import of defence equipments,  high end TVs etc. The heated debate of back to the moribund policy of import restrictions in the name of Make in India- Atmanirbhar Bharat is indeed a good one.  

Does this mean back to the future?

But there can be an argument in terms of supporting this policy of  import restrictions.

When fledgling industry is sought to be setup like in high end tech products, these specific products may require some sort of support or sops for a initial few years. When foreign direct investment is invited for huge sunrise industries, such import walls will be helpful but all but temporarily. If there is a sunset clause introduced for all these tariff or sops or subsidies, it should be welcome. Govt. should make it a point to insert a sunset clause for all these import walls except in very few strategic sectors which may not exceed five on the whole.Govt should not give an impression that it is interested in augmenting its tax revenue through these high import duties.

India has given a great fillip to Make in India- Atmanirbhar in some of the industries like Auto, Smartphones etc which has generated huge employment opportunities in the country. Inorder to give a temporary boost to this policy, Govt has done the right thing by introducing few Tariff walls in order to promote the above stated policy  and these Tariff barriers should neither be seen as a way of revenue rising, nor as a permanent fixture to protect the domestic industry.

Hammer and Dance strategy- both with Corona and China!!

Initially, when COVID 19 started spreading in India, PM Modi announced a war on Covid 19 and every single citizen abided by his exhortation.

Many newspapers and media personnel screamed Modi is going hammer and tongs at Covid 19 virus in order to scorch it totally.

But after a few lockdowns, both PM and the common man understood with humility that Covid demands hammer and dance strategy to deal with it.

So we are now reconciled to the fact that we must learn to live with Covid 19 at peace instead of waging a losing war. Adapting to its speed and spread, the common man is now equipped with mask, social distancing etc. to tackle it and dance with it.

Govt adopts the hammer and the common man adopts dancing with it.

Hopefully, this will become a considered foreign policy also with China, the birthplace of Covid19. Hammer at LAC and then dance with it in commercial and trade space!!Also, dance with China to wean it off Pakistan!!

Calendar, vaccination ,algebra etc. and India's contribution acknowledged ?

Antikythera mechanism and modern computer.

Many scientists who have worked on studying Greek's antikythera mechanism which was found in a shipwreck in early twentieth century, to be precise 1901, is considered as the world's first analogue computer..

This was used to predict the astronomical events, transits, eclipses and other planetary positions well ahead of their occurences and used for astrological purposes even decades in advance.

There are some confusions as to whether it used Greek astronomy, Egypt astronomy or Rhodes' astronomy where Archimedes lived. The twelve months given in that machine carry the Greek names but has equivalent Egyptian names also. The research on this first computer has not yet concluded, even though the machine itself has disintegrated over a period of time from the time it was discovered under the sea.

But in India from time immemorial , astronomy has been studied by great sages and used for astrological purposes. The Hindu priest class developed an almanac listing all the planetary positions including eclipses etc. with great accuracy and their effects on human lives as part of Jyotisha i.e Astrology.

I have with great amusement found that the Gregorian calendar(1582 ACE) correspond with the seven days given in ancient hindu astronomical texts and some of the  12 months are taken in their Sanskrit names. Sunday in India correspond to  Bhanuvara, Monday is Somavara etc. Thirugnanasambandar of 8th century ACE, in his Kolarupathikam also mentions the same order Sun, Moon, Mars etc. which has been imported into the Gregorian calendar order of weekdays.(link)This link's gives an idea of how week days have evolved scientifically/methodically in India.

The months of September (Sapthama), October(Astama), November (Navama), December (Dasama) were originally the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th months and when Julius Caesar and Augustus added their names , these months became 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th months in Gregorian calendar.

As an Indian even though I know that these month names are Sanskrit, many western scholars say that these are Latin names and some say both Latin and Sanskrit are from a common Proto Indo-European group and the jury is still out.

The time system used today based on 60 minutes for an hour is also from India. Indian time system is always based on 60s. A day is divided into 60 ghatis and one ghati has 60 vinadis/vighatis and one vighati has 60 liptas etc. Even India has a system of cycle of 60 years at the longer end. There may be more to look at multiples of 60 to understand the time cycle methods used in India.

There are many such words like Geometry is Jamiti in Sanskrit, Tigonometry is Trikonamiti in S, smart is samarth in S etc. to name a few.

One small additional info with regard to Vaccination for small pox. Today I read from a book link "Pharmacology: Drug Actions and Reactions, Seventh Edition by R.R. Levine, C.T. Walsh, Rochelle D. Schwartz-Bloom" clearly says in Page 3 that Dhanwantri in his writings clearly mentions about vaccination for small pox.

In their analysis "Smallpox and Vaccinia-Donald A. Henderson and Bernard Moss" (Chapter 6) it is clearly mentioned that vaccination for smallpox was developed by Indians before 1000 AD and this went from India to China, Arabia etc.link

From the book of another British physician Dr. Ainslie on Small-Pox and Inoculation in Eastern Countries (pages 66-67)link , I am giving his exact quote verbatim "To substantiate the fact that the inoculation of the " cow-pox was known in remote times to the Vaidyas, it is only necessary " to refer to the Sacteya Grantha, attributed to Dhanwantari, and there " fore undoubtedly an ancient composition. In one part of the work, after " describing nine several kinds of small-pox, of which three (one alabi, " being the confluent) are declared incurable, the author proceeds to lay " down the rules for the practice of inoculation. From this part the following " two excerpts are made; of the first of which the original is given in the " English character, and with it a literal translation: of the second the original is not given, but merely the translation.

Excerpt First, from the Sacteya Grantha. " D'henu stanya ma' suchiva naranancha, ma suchica, " Tajjalam bahu mulachcha sastrantena gnhitavan, " Bahu mule cha sastrani ract'otpatti cariini cha, " Tajjalam racta militam sphotaca jwara sambhavah." Translation of the above. " Take the fluid of the cow-pox on the udder of a cow, or on the arm " between the shoulder and the elbow of a human subject, on the point of " a lancet, and lance with it the arms between the shoulder and elbow " until the blood appears; then mixing the fluid with the blood, the fever " of the small-pox will be produced.". Excerpt Second, the Sanscrit Text being omitted. " The small-pox produced from the udder of a cow will be of the same " gentle nature as the original disease, not attended by fever nor requiring " medicine. The diet may be according to the pleasure of the patient, " who may be inoculated once only, or two, three, four, five, or six " times. The pock, when perfect, should be of a good colour, filled with " a clear liquid, and surrounded with a circle of red. There will then be " no fear of the small-pox so long as life endures. When inoculated from " the udder of a cowr, some will have a slight fever for one day, or two " or three days, and with this there will sometimes be a slight degree of " cold fit; the fever will also be attended by a round swelling in the arm " pit and the other symptoms of the small-pox, but all of a very mild " nature. There will be no danger, and the whole will disappear. (Signed) " Calvi Virambam." " Madras, January 2d, 1819."

Many Chinese doctors in 19th and 20th century have also mentioned that this procedure might have gone from India to China, to Arabia and to Europe. But not all western scholars still do not believe or subscribe to this view.Many of them still say that either this could have gone from China or from Arabia to India and not the other way around!!

Finally one word about Al-Khwarizmi of Persia(from whose name the word " Algorithm" is derived),who has been credited as the founder of Algebra. What he started writing was" kitab al-jam' wa'l-tafriq al-ḥisāb al-hindī ('Addition and subtraction in Indian arithmetic')", actually learning it from India and he acknowledged it, but Western world is still not convinced ,even after Brahmagupta's phenomenal work became known.

Has Ramanujam's contribution to modern maths and even to Banking(?)(ATM machines) been fully acknowledged. Experts can inform me about this.

Only Voltaire clearly said "  I am convinced that everything has come down to us from the banks of the Ganges, – astronomy, astrology, metempsychosis, etc... It is very important to note that some 2,500 years ago at the least Pythagoras went from Samos to the Ganges to learn geometry...But he would certainly not have undertaken such a strange journey had the reputation of the Indians' science not been long established in Europe."

Let me rest my case!

Land is not manufactured anymore! Can we turn this on its head.

"Buy land, they're not making it anymore"-Mark Twain

Govt. is in the process of identifying land parcels for attracting industries moving out of China for want of safe haven. If big land parcels can be earmarked for setting up Industrial parks and industrial clusters, it will give a huge fillip for Make in India campaign.

As PM said India has the Intent, it paves way for Inclusion,  provides Infrastructure. attracts Investment and enables  Innovation. But what is stopping it from leap frogging. It is redtapism in land acquisition ,lackadaisical Court procedures and the greed of politicians that put paid to ambitions of growth in Make in India. Even smaller countries like Vietnam, Indonesia are able to attract industries moving out of China in a big way but the sleeping giant like India falters.

Despite improving the ranking in Ease of Doing Business has the economy really energised itself to become an aspiring industrial giant. There are green shoots here and there , but one swallow does not make a summer. We know of several projects that are languishing due to land acquisition hurdles like Chennai MRTS last leg of just 500 meters upto St Thomas Mount for more than a decade. Who pays for the time, cost over runs. Nothing is free in economics and only the poor taxpayer foots the additional bill and he gets empty rhetoric but gets no infra facility for decades.

Some out of the box solutions for land parcels will have to be found out. We know that land is not manufactured anymore.Is it really? Can we not flatten some of the mounds, hillocks around our cities and build industrial parks.

For example near Chennai airport there are few hillocks and if they are removed or flattened reasonably, many industries can be located. If these rocks removed from such hillocks are deposited near our Coastline can we build small islands to locate some industries over there?

Can we start manufacturing lands as part of Make in India initiative?