Kudremukh park may not get tiger reserve tag
These problems can be addressed only by comprehensive, second generation, systemic reform that makes the economy an efficient, competitive market oriented one that leverages our potentialities (such as our civilizational heritage of innovative intellect), and which minimises the inefficiency, squandering and corruption in the deployment of our vast resources.
- Shobha Karandlaje, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP, said on May 18 that the Union government was not planning to give tiger reserve tag to the Kudremukh National Park (KNP) which encompasses parts of Chikkamagaluru, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts.
Kudremukh
Kudremukh also spelled Kuduremukha is a mountain range and name of a peak located in Chikkamagaluru district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small hill station cum mining town situated near the mountain, about 48 kilometres from Karkala and around 20 kilometres from Kalasa. The name Kuduremukha literally means 'horse-face' (in the Kannada language) and refers to a particular picturesque view of a side of the mountain that resembles a horse's face. It was also referred to as 'Samseparvata', historically since it was approached from Samse village. Kuduremukh is Karnataka's 3rd highest peak after Mullayangiri and Baba Budangiri. The nearest airport is Mangalore International Airport at Mangalore which is at distance of 99 kilometres.
Kudremukha - The Horse Face
Tiger Reserves of India
- There are 48 tiger reserves in India which are governed by Project Tiger which is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
- India is home to 70 percent of tigers in the world.
- In 2006, there were 1,411 tigers which increased to 1,706 in 2011 and 2,226 in 2014.
- Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve(Andhra Pradesh, Telangana) is the largest Tiger reserve in India .
- Karnataka was home to the maximum number of tigers, the census said, emerging among the biggest gainers in big cat numbers alongside Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The 11,000 sq km of the Mudumalai-Bandipur-Nagarhole complex now has the world’s largest population of a particular species of tiger, 570, the report said.
- The roar, however, seemed absent in the traditional home of the tiger, Madhya Pradesh now has 308 tigers as compared to 406 in Karnataka and 340 in Uttarakhand.
Kick-starting an economic revival
An article by Subramanian Swamy, former Professor of Economics and Union Cabinet Minister of Commerce.
Regressive markers
The regressive markers in the projected path of the economy today make it worrisome as these indicate that if not rectified soon, the Indian economy can go into a tailspin. Though these markers are a consequence of the disastrous tenure of the previous government, now nearly a year on, they cease to be a credible excuse.
Some of these markers are: the Basel III norms for banks (effective from 2018; As per RBI: the transitional period for full implementation of Basel III Capital Regulations in India is extended upto March 31, 2019, instead of as on March 31, 2018. This will also align full implementation of Basel III in India closer to the internationally agreed date of January 1, 2019) which require Rs.2,40,000 crore for capitalisation. Moreover, to retain 51 per cent of the equity of public sector banks by the government, it will need, this financial year, Rs.1,21,000 crore. The 2015-16 Budget has provided for only Rs.11,200 crore, which is not even a tenth of this. With rising non-performing assets of banks, there is a risk of a banking crash much like the 1997-98 East Asian crash.
This year, the rainfall deficit affecting 67 per cent of the single crop farmers, will cause inflationary pressures and a substantial shortfall in production, thus causing more misery to the farmer. While rainfall is in nobody’s control, the economy, even today, lacks the necessary financial cushion to absorb the liabilities arising from crop failure and farmer destitution.
The rupee is on the edge of a fall as it happened in 2012-13. This is because there has been a large-scale sell-off or dumping of shares of Indian companies purchased by foreign investors earlier last year. Some foreign direct investment (FDI) companies have also pulled out. The fall in the rupee was a little moderated three months ago, but for the wrong reason: the increased inflow of funds from the subversive, corroding, money-laundering Participatory Notes (PN) derivative. But PNs are hot money derivatives and so can be pulled out anytime to cause a further devaluation of the rupee.
All these destabilising trends have had a profound impact on the stock market. One of these is in the form of market valuations now being well below the long-term average and even below the level in 2013. Therefore, it is no surprise that the top 10 corporate entities have reached a stage where their annual profits do not cover even their yearly debt repayments.
Negative factors
While India has demonstrated impressive prowess in IT, biotechnology, automobile ancillaries and pharmaceuticals, and has also accelerated its growth rate to become the third largest nation in terms of GDP at PPP rates, nevertheless, it still has a backward, agricultural sector employing 62 per cent of the labour force and where farmers are ending their lives unable to repay their loans.
The Indian economy is also saddled with a national unemployment rate that is over 15 per cent of the adult labour force, and a prevalence of child labour arising out of nearly 50 per cent of children not making it to school beyond standard five, a deeply malfunctioning primary and secondary educational system, 300 million illiterates and 250 million people in a dire state of poverty.
Moreover, India’s educated youth is skill deficient, risk averse in attitude and largely unemployable in the cutting-edge manufacturing sector. According to Macaulay’s Minute on Education, our universities still produce clerks for government administration and not innovators of the future.
Besides these, India’s infrastructure is in a pathetic state, with frequent power breakdowns even in metropolitan cities, a dangerously unhealthy water supply system in urban areas, and a very poor road network where there are gaping holes even on the National Highways.
India’s infrastructure requires about $150 billion to make it world class, while the education system needs six per cent of GDP instead of 2.8 per cent today.
Need for reform
These problems can be addressed only by comprehensive, second generation, systemic reform that makes the economy an efficient, competitive market oriented one that leverages our potentialities (such as our civilizational heritage of innovative intellect), and which minimises the inefficiency, squandering and corruption in the deployment of our vast resources.
India has much potential today to become a booming economy; it has a demographic dividend of a young population of average age of 28 years compared to China’s 35 years, the U.S.’s 38 years, Europe’s 46 years and Japan’s 49 years.
Internationally, Indian agriculture has the lowest yield in land and livestock-based milk products whose yield can easily be raised judging by the performance in experimental agricultural plots of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and by also borrowing agricultural techniques from Israel. Indian agriculture and milk products are also internationally at a low cost of production. With proper infrastructure and packaging, India can certainly become a global player in agricultural exports.
Even though India is also gifted with a full 12 months a year of farm-friendly weather, it grows just one crop a year in over 75 per cent of arable land when it can grow three crops a year. It also has the advantage of a highly competitive, skilled labour force and low wage rates at the national level, the advantages of which have been already proved to the world by the outsourcing phenomenon. What is needed is a bold commitment of sufficient resources to harvest this potential.
An open competitive market system can find these resources as has been demonstrated in the auction of the 2G Spectrum licences if the quality of governance and accountability is improved.
A transparent policy regime, auctioning of natural resources (if it is used for commercial private enterprise), and the unearthing of the vast $1.5 trillion in black money stashed abroad will enable the government to marshal sufficient resources for a massive investment in a second generation economic reform while reducing the tax burden on people.
As an economist, the only advice I can give the Modi government is to take some steps that will raise the morale of the consumer and investor. That means income tax abolition and reducing the annual interest rate to nine per cent.
The good news is that the built-in potential in the economy is easy to tap for revival, as is the basic resilience of the Indian people to face any situation as demonstrated from past crises.
Only one year of the mandate has elapsed, so there is still time to make the necessary course correction and put India on a fast, 12 per cent growth trajectory.
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