The second frightening problem that needs immediate attention is the poor state of Indian Heath care system. The appalling Health care conditions prevalent in government hospitals are published in newspapers frequently and yet no reforms to correct the wrongdoing raises pertinent questions about the concern for the well being of masses to the government to which you lead Mr PM. How the deplorable conditions of Health care , the abysmal state it is in, which is evidenced in the recurring deaths on numerous epidemics outbreak or spat between patients and doctors don’t find any mention in your public address ? Health experts have repeatedly warned that the unprecedented growth in private Hospitals , indicates rapid commercialization of public health and that it has caused quality treatment to go beyond the reach of ordinary people. There are countless reports on how these commercially-run hospitals, clinics and pathological laboratories are thriving in urban areas in the backdrop of obsolete public Health care system.
It seems there is no monitoring by the government for checking the activities at private hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centers and the general population who are at the mercy of these corporate hospitals are left to fend for themselves . Regulatory bodies are either incapable of monitoring the existing private hospitals, for exploitation of patients, or not interested, in exorbitant expenses incurred by helpless patients and their families.
Another sector where your kind attention is warranted is the ever increasing taxation on middle class. While no body will object to the need to increase tax paying net, more people should pay their taxes as computed and GST will go a long way in addressing this under tax economy problem but my simple question is unabated levying of surcharge on one pretext or another. Why do an individual has to pay to bank for withdrawal or otherwise, in PSU banks? Is it not extortion or fleecing customers through different tactics ? As the majority shareholder why didn’t government not refraining bank management from pursuing such questionable policy? Or has the government implicitly supporting this hegemony of PSU banks to loot public ?
While “Ujjwala” scheme is praiseworthy and people from all walks of life have wholeheartedly supported your initiative by shunning their subsidy on gas cylinder and thus benevolently supporting noble initiative , still one question disturbs me how incentivizing farmers to not pay their farm loans will help country in long run when government has little means to support downtrodden due to paucity of funds ? Why socialist decisions to garner votes aren’t parted with ? Why out of box solutions aren’t found while increasing population in rural areas leading to declining agricultural income and thus subsequent debt traps isn’t debated and solutions deliberated?
We all are aware that some parts of our country lies in rain shadow locations and receive scanty rainfall. We need to learn modern practices of farming drip irrigation, more emphasis on connecting rivers ,check dams etc. to overcome this menace of drought and support our agriculture sector. We need to dwell on efficient management of resources to supplement our loopholes in logistics for complete overhaul of agriculture sector not knee jerk reactions of farm loan waver as it is temporary and ineffective. Pushing the can down the road is in nobody’s interest least of all farmers.
While big bang economic reforms were the need of the hour and PM stood firm to guide country out of disillusionment the need now is to usher revolution in social sector. The dismal 131 rank hogged by India in Human Development Index(UNDP) speaks for itself and doesn’t bodes well for us. There is need to increase spending on education and Heath care along with accountability fixed, from current 6% on Education and roughly 1% on Health of GDP.
In all its endeavor to fight the sagging economy or supporting underprivileged your government is overburdening the middle class with taxes . Government shouldn’t take middle class for granted , while reforms supporting industry and concessions and liberal subsidy for lower strata is visible , but government has shown its indifference to the middle class so far which needs respite from ever increasing tax burden . In the endeavor to project as messiah of poor, it is the salaried class which is being hammered unrelentingly by government . A prudent and pragmatic approach is the need of the hour and complacency towards any section of society should be thwarted .
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