India is facing many challenges that are hampering its meaningful development. Which is the most grave challenge for India?
(a) Terrorism and Naxalism, or (b) Corruption, or (c) Overpopulation
Meaningful development includes poverty eradication, infrastructure development, and improving the standard of living. Meaningful development indicates that economic growth is taking place. At the same time, people have freedom of speech, as well as safety and security in their lives and property. They get justice, a better future for their children and a proper livelihood.
(a) Terrorism and Naxalism: -
- Areas affected by terrorism and Naxalism are not peaceful. Neither private industry nor government servants can work safely & effectively. It hampers the development of natural resources and the setting up of industries. Tourism in the Kashmir valley has been negligible due to the fear of terrorists. Because of frequent terrorist attacks, the youth of the valley have neither a good education nor employment.
Maoists used to run a parallel government in the affected areas, challenging the government’s writ. Another concern for the Indian government is the movement's geographic expansion. The Naxalites have been restricted to rural areas where they do not allow infrastructure development. However, they have always harboured the ambition to expand their activities into the cities as well. Mao’s slogan inspired Mazumdar, “encircle the cities from the villages”. Their objective is to seize political power through the barrel of a gun if necessary, and that power lies in the cities. Therefore, they do not permit peaceful elections and developmental activities.
The areas disturbed by terrorism and Naxalism hamper tourism because private enterprises do not construct big hotels, clubs, etc. Even taxi operators and restaurants do not do well. It causes income losses for ordinary people in the area and revenue losses for the government.
Naxalites make systematic efforts to destroy infrastructure, including railways, roads, telecommunication, energy, and power, to make their presence felt and instil fear in the minds of the local population. The destruction of public property and Govt resources imposes an extra burden on the exchequer. Thus, the Govt spends more on maintenance and rebuilding infrastructure. Consequently, meaningful development always suffers in terrorism and Naxal-affected areas.
India’s power generation is mainly based on coal, and 85% of India’s coal reserves are located in the five states where Maoists are strongest. The ill effects of Naxalite activities prevent power stations and industries from taking root there. It causes unemployment & unrest.
The Govt spending on paramilitary and intelligence increases in terrorism and Naxal-affected areas, causing a diversion of funds that could have been used for the nation's development.
India is a regional power and is expected to play the role of a custodian, ensuring good law & order in the region. However, if India cannot maintain the desired level of security and stability along some parts of its borders, neighbouring nations do not rely on it. It makes it difficult for the government to exercise its influence outside its borders and over smaller regional countries. It raises the critical question of credibility and capability. Thus, limited investment is received through FDI.
Terrorism and Naxalism are a threat to security and stability in our country. Over 6,800 people have lost their lives in more than 16,500 violent incidents during the last ten years. The CPI (Maoist) has frequently expressed solidarity with the terrorist groups in J&K and the insurgent groups in the northeast.
Corruption: -
Transparency International ranked India 93rd out of 180 countries in the corruption perception index in 2023. It is perceived that the Indian bureaucracy is less efficient, and working with India’s civil servants is a “slow and painful” process because of Corruption & red tape. About 60% of the (forced) stoppages at checkpoints and entry points by concerned authorities, such as government regulators, police, forest, sales and excise, GST, and weighing & measuring departments, would be for extorting money. The loss in productivity due to these stoppages is a significant national concern. The number of truck trips could increase by 40% if forced delays are avoided. Thus, the Government's initiative to install Fast tags on vehicles will indeed reduce corruption & stoppage time.
Corruption makes setting up industries or non-Govt organisations challenging, as environmental clearances and other permissions cannot be taken fairly. Companies with large projects lose a lot of money due to delays. Hence, they avoid states and cities where corruption is prevalent.
Inadequacies in institutional efficiency affect growth indirectly by lowering the private marginal product of capital and investment rate. A company operating in a sector perceived as highly corrupt may lose ground when it comes to fair valuation of its business, as investors bargain hard and factor in the cost of corruption at the time of the transaction.
It is seen that govt policies and resources do not reach the needy and far-flung areas. It scuttles meaningful development. For example, despite its best intentions, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) faced challenges, including corrupt officials reportedly pocketing money for fake rural employees and poor-quality infrastructure. The MGNREGA scheme improved in effectiveness after direct bank transfers began in beneficiaries' accounts. Therefore, better-governed States had to create improved financial management systems using technology-enabled banking solutions such as smart cards, social audits, and grievance redressal systems.
Judicial corruption in India is attributable to factors such as “delays in the disposal of cases, shortage of judges and complex procedures, all of which are worsened by a dominance of new laws. The upheaval stirred by Justice Karnan, or the storm created by Shanti Bhushan in 2010 by naming a list of 16 corrupt judges, highlights discrete acts of judicial corruption. Judicial corruption (in the strict sense of buying and selling judgments) is a severe menace to fundamental individual freedoms. It is also inimical to judicial independence & the constitutionally desired social order. Corruption demotivates people, leading them to stop believing in the country's progress & the fairness of the system.
Corruption in India poses serious challenges to protecting the rule of law and ensuring access to justice. For example, scandals such as the 2G spectrum scam, the 2010 Commonwealth Games scam, the Adarsh Housing Society scam, the Coal Mining Scam, the Mining Scandal in Karnataka, and the Cash for Vote scam involved very high-level government officials, including Cabinet Ministers and Chief Ministers. Scams like 2G and CWG caused massive losses to the treasury. This money could have been used for meaningful development.
The lost opportunity caused by corruption in terms of investment, growth and jobs for India is over US$50 billion annually. Therefore, if corruption levels in India were reduced to levels in developed economies such as Singapore or the US, India’s GDP growth rate would be much higher.
(c) Overpopulation: -
Unmanaged population growth has caused severe strain on infrastructure. The roads cannot keep pace with the growing number of vehicles, the municipality cannot provide water to everyone, etc. The government cannot provide basic amenities to keep pace with population growth. The ease of living and business suffers due to the large population concentrated in a small area.
The surge in population growth has led to unemployment, as industries cannot create jobs. Unemployment drives the youth to drugs and crime. In such a case, the nation has to spend not only on providing for the unemployed but also on safety and security issues.
Population growth has severely strained natural resources, including the availability of land for housing and agriculture. The direct drawbacks include insufficient housing, overcrowding, and the resulting increase in pollution. Thus, the Indian government is forced to incur higher debts to provide basic amenities. Loan payments and subsidies restrict India's overall development.
The Govt is unduly stretched to provide healthcare & immunisation to all Indians because of the rapid population growth. It causes an outbreak of many diseases like malaria and typhoid, resulting in health warnings to tourists and causing loss to the nation. The population suffers, and the country’s development takes a back seat.