Big ideas, concrete steps

Congress manifesto outlines bold plan to tackle unemployment, deliver social justice

ON MARCH 30, the BJP announced the constitution of a 27- member committee to begin preparing its manifesto for the national elections starting April 19. In contrast, by March 19, the Congress party’s working committee had already approved the manifesto that had been drafted over three months. The BJP’S callous approach shows that either it does not think the manifesto is as important for its campaign as its divisive politics, or it has no new ideas for voters. An election should primarily be a contest of ideas for people’s betterment. Keeping with that ideal, the Congress party has unveiled its manifesto, prepared diligently through consultations with the public and domain experts from India and abroad.

The twin pillars of the Congress manifesto are social and economic justice. Extreme social inequity and yawning income disparity are the bane of Indian society. The nation can no longer afford to be distracted and divided through the opium of religion or the placebo of welfare in the foolish hope that these problems will disappear. The imminent and categorical imperative for the new government is to come up with bold, concrete policies and actions to rebuild and strengthen these broken pillars of Indian society.

One of the boldest new ideas in the Congress party manifesto is RTAP — right to apprenticeship. Under RTAP, every youth under the age of 25, with at least a diploma degree, can demand a formal one- year apprenticeship and the government will be obliged to provide one with either a private or public sector entity, along with an annual stipend of one lakh rupees. The government and the employer will share the expense of this stipend. There are more than a million GSTregistered establishments that have the capacity to absorb apprentices and are keen to do so. Our analysis suggests that five to ten million aspirants can be given apprenticeships every year. If RTAP is implemented, India will be the first country in the world to legislate youth apprenticeship as a right. Nearly one in two young graduates in the country today is unable to find a job. Current policies or ideas, such as unemployment allowance, urban NREGA and so on, may provide temporary relief but are not aspirational and do not pave a path for their future. RTAP offers hope, dignity, on- the- job skill training, income and employability.

The manifesto also proposes a new employee- linked incentive ( ELI) scheme, in contrast to the Modi government’s current production- linked incentive ( PLI) scheme for companies. ELI will provide tax and other incentives to firms based on the number of formal jobs they create, and not just their output. In the contemporary economic development paradigm where the balance has shifted enormously towards capital vis- avis labour, ELI will bring balance by incentivising companies to focus as much on creating jobs as generating output. This will also be a first in India, if implemented.

The other bold idea to tackle unemployment is the Congress’ promise to create nearly 15 million new jobs by doubling the share of mining to five per cent of GDP. Recognising the global opportunity in the transition to electric mobility and India’s inherent geological advantages, Congress has promised to launch a big strategic mining programme to explore and mine for critical minerals, in accordance with stringent environmental and labour safety standards using the latest mining technologies. Mining is an unskilled labour- intensive activity that takes jobs to people rather than people to jobs and can employ a large number of locals in backward and tribal areas.

Nearly a hundred years after B R Ambedkar’s crusade against caste discrimination, social injustice and inequality continue to threaten Indian society. The Congress party recognises the need for a rigorous and comprehensive approach to end this injustice. A caste census is the first and foundational step in this approach, which the Congress party has promised to undertake. This will be followed by some immediate solutions under the principle of “proportional rewards” through greater reservations for the oppressed castes beyond the 50 per cent ceiling, commensurate share of government resources, contracts and budgets. This principle of “proportional rewards” will also be extended to religious minorities and women, along with the promise of 50 per cent reservation in all central government jobs for women from 2025.

Another highlight is the emphasis on states’ justice. Recognising that India’s federal structure has been considerably weakened in the last decade, the Congress party has outlined specific ideas to restore states’ rights. The biggest bone of contention in the Union- states relationship is the distribution of tax revenues where the Modi government has been duplicitous in its massive use of cess and surcharges that it does not have to share with the states. The Congress party promises to limit such cess and surcharges to five per cent of total tax revenues. It also promises to devolve more powers to states and reject the “one nation, one policy” framework of the Modi government.

These are just some of the bold new ideas in the manifesto. It has also clearly articulated the steps the party will take to reverse the enormous damage done to the country’s institutions through various laws and amendments. The nearly 50- page document has plenty of other concrete promises and ideas to improve the lives of people across all sections and nurture a harmonious and ecologically safe society.

The Congress manifesto has put out a coherent, conscientious set of ideas to govern the nation. The task now is to take these ideas to voters and explain them — an enormous challenge especially when the party’s bank accounts are frozen, and the media is tightly controlled. With the release of the Congress manifesto, the people of India have a clear choice to make between those who believe ideas for good governance matter and those who don’t.