RISING PRICES / DEPLETING VALUE OF RUPEE

RISING PRICES / DEPLETING VALUE OF RUPEE
During the last many years, all items of use, common basic needs or luxury items have become very costly resulting in the fact that whereas at the time of achieving freedom from the shackles of foreign rule in the year 1947 and even many years thereafter the value of money has come down many folds. There were the times when one would approach the market place with some currency notes or even coins in his pocket and would come back with bags full of items. Even consumer durables too were reasonably cheap. Even persons with lesser monetary fortunes could easily afford expenses on education and medical needs. But now the conditions have changed for the worst, rather in multiples of hundreds. Now one has to approach the market place with hundreds of currency notes and return with only handful of items. Most consumer durables are going out of approach of the common man. Medical care and education too have become very costly. With the increase in costs of products and services, the level of monetary corruption too has reached its peak. The reasons for this state of affairs being despite lack of commitments and will to do on the part of political and bureaucratic systems is also very largely due to obnoxious increase in population resulting in the application of norms of demand and supply. The other, some main causes can also be assessed as under:-
For the last many years the Central and State governments have been following the path of DEFICIT FINANCING and showering all type of doles to many sections of the society without making proper assessment of their contributions to the governments and the society. Many such decisions are generously taken as a policy of appeasement and due to lack of strength with the governments to say “NO” to unjustified demands from the organized sectors mainly. For this coalition governments are mainly responsible. To fill the gap between earnings and expenses the governments have either to go for loans from within or outside the country or to print more currency notes. The nation knows it too well as to how after implementation of 5th and 6th Pay Commissions the prices have soared with a very high speed. In case the system really wishes to control rising prices then not only checks have to be imposed on increase in wages in public as well as private sectors both of whom seem to be competing with each other resulting in the devilish conditions prevailing as at now. To this there seems no early relief in the near future as well. Rather reductions in higher wages and facilities should be done. The employees at all levels need be paid reasonable wages to maintain themselves and their families plus some small amount for comforts. What is being paid to employees and spent on the elected persons at different levels is too much and is helping them to indulging in luxuries. This aspect needs to be looked into as this is a very big cause in pushing up prices of all commodities.
After all the general elections, especially those held for the central Parliament, the prices are seen to have risen. A good part of it may be due to expenses incurred by the governments in the conduct of election and then the government covering up by levy of more taxes. There too is the general talk that the elections as of now are a vey expensive affair for the individual candidates and political parties in the fray. The political parties do not apparently have means to earn money. So they depend on the business class, the individuals and the industry to cough out for election fund. Some contributions might be voluntary also but such cases may be rare. Some unsocial and goonda elements too are seen forcing individuals to pay in the name of election fund. In the case of businessmen and industry the general feeling is that after the election, whatsoever the political setup comes in the power, directly or indirectly permission is given to increase the prices to cover up for the contributions made to the election funds. The prices after going up once do not come down thereafter. As such, the need is to make the election process such that the contestants as well as the political parties do not have to spend big amounts for contesting elections. The point is worth consideration that the number of political parties at the national level are pegged to two only and the same very two parties should go down up to the municipal levels. Let the elections be contested between the parties rather than between the individuals. On the basis of the percentage of votes polled for the parties they may nominate their representatives who must be eligible to be nominated for such representation having fulfilled minimum eligibility conditions, well defined in advance, which may be regarding literacy, education, age group, etc. Such nominees should also be liable to be changed depending on their usefulness or otherwise and even in the case of death of any such nominated representative; the party should have the right to nominate some other person in his place. This process, if adopted, shall eliminate the need for bye elections and cause savings to that extent. It may also eliminate the need to maintain upper houses at the centre and the states. Still more important is that elections should be a one time affair after the lapse of say five or six years which should cover from the municipal level to the national level in one go. This will also help a lot in controlling expenses on elections by political parties and the government. Thus, lot of money going into the market shall be saved. The govt. may not need to tax the public to cover up the expenses resulting in control over more money going into the market and thus helping control over price rise. The political parties also can be funded from the govt. exchequer.
As of now, education is generally missing in the country. What is left is literacy. Even to attain simple degrees of up to graduation, a lot of money is required to be spent on school fees and books. Many are not able to afford even these expenses. Then for those wishing to go for specialized courses money required to be spent goes in to lacs. For such courses, many a time one has to shell a lot of money in the shape of bribes to the institutions at the time of admission itself. This bribe has been named as capitation fee by some institutions. Some other institutions might have given it some other name. This should generally be in the knowledge of the system but still there is normally no check. Then the fees and other expenses for completing such courses go in to lacs of rupees. Now, after spending so much for acquiring degrees or diplomas to be able to secure jobs for livelihood, one would also need the returns whereby expenses incurred can be compensated, resulting in many services becoming more costly. Need is to make the system of literacy cheap and affordable to the maximum extent..
During the last some years the prices of land have sky rocketed. Then the construction cost too is becoming very high. Those were the days when persons deployed for construction activities would do full 8 hours’ job honestly. Now their out put too has come down a lot resulting in still more expenses for having the buildings constructed for dwellings or commercial activities. Those spending so heavily on acquiring such accommodations shall always wish to earn more so as to cover up and repay for the buildings resulting in prices going higher. Then there are persons who have money with them, right or wrong, are purchasing lot of land and buildings to earn huge profits on their resale in future.
The suggestion as such is that ban should be imposed on trading of land and buildings. This should bring down prices of these items resulting in lowering of prices of other items too, in the process.
As we see through the electronic and print media, lots of adulterations are being done in milk and milk products. Here too the reasons generally are that demand for milk exceeds much beyond the actual supply available. The opinion is that making available pure milk and ghee to all sections and ages of the society is the basic need. If sweets and other such products are not available the life can still go on. As such, the suggestion is that so long as it is not made possible to make pure milk and ghee available to all sections of the population in required quantity, the ban as suggested above should remain applicable on preparation of sweets etc. which require milk for their preparation.
At the same time, for any function, public or private, the number of participants should be restricted to say 25 or 50 and there too food items to be served should be generally simple and not to put pressure on the market. Here too milk preparations should be banned.
Implements & machinery used for agricultural purposes have become very costly which in turn makes the prices of agricultural goods still higher. The impact has to go to the market and the ultimate consumers. Steps need to be made to keep costs of such items to lower levels and also to reduce dependability on too much of mechanization.
Due to inflation, i.e. more money in supply available, banks are generally flush with funds. The system should generally lend for the productive and trading activities. In the case of productive activities, large number of items, some even too small and mainly consumer items are being imported. So the scope to lend to the industry is reduced to that extent. The Banks, to make use of idle funds, now are busy lending for consumer items which cannot be treated as for basic needs but are used as luxuries. Financing for motor cycles and cars are such items. So very large numbers of such vehicles are now coming into the market and on road. For the manufacture of these vehicles, lots of components used are imported ones which put a drain on our foreign exchange. The consequent higher demand for petroleum and petroleum products also sucks our foreign exchange. Besides, it is also responsible for pollution all around. As such this aspect needs to be looked into immediately and financing by banks for vehicles for personal use need be banned.

With the increase in wages and other amenities to the employees at all levels and also to the elected persons the use of consumer items has increased a lot. The tendency to consume more is visible in the functioning of the governments also. This not only contributes to further rise in prices but also puts a burden on natural resources which are depleting with a very high speed and thus crime is indirectly being committed against future generations.

The MPs, MLAs and ministers in the states as well as centre are being provided unreasonably bigger accommodations which again is a drain on the availability of land and other connected resources. Therefore, the suggestion is that for all these persons multistoried flats can be built and combined security provided there it self. This will also bring down the recruitment of security personnel for such people.
Honest commitment to duties must be given preference over the unlimited rights that have been given to the “janta” as of now and productivity level of all those working in the government offices and organizations and of casual labourers needs to be brought to the level of maximum out put.
In nut shell, to have control over rising prices it is necessary to change election process, bring down number of political parties to two; have political will to do the things, have courage to say “NO” where demands are not in general interest of the present and future generations, take immediate steps to control population, curtail facilities which are being provided to the peoples’ representatives and ministers, ban trading in properties and dharnas and Bunds, take strictest acton against destroyers of oublic and private properties, control over consumerism at all levels. Let the duties dominate over the rights. Political parties too need be seriously committed towards their duties to the nation and, instead of creating hindrances in the working, should cooperate with each other so that country comes out of the rut that exists as of now.
Wish that those who are able to go through these thoughts add their own as well and put up to those who matter in the system.

Lucknow
Date: 07.05.2010
(R.D. Agarwal)
A-86, Indira Nagar,
Lucknow-226016