Vol: 29 | No. 3 | March 2021| R20 www.opinionexpress.in A MONTHLY NEWS MAGAZINE COVER STORY REFORMS 2.0 Covid19 and push for reforms in Agriculture sector has put tremendous stress on the governance, PM Modi’s economic reform can withstand the pressure? Thank You BIPL %DODML,QIUD3URMHFWV/LPLWHG www.balaji.co.in www.dighiport.in editorial RNI UPENG01809 Volume 29, No 3 India2.0 Reforms EDITOR Prashant Tewari s a COVID-19 induced slowdown marks the Modi 2.0 second ASSOCiate Editor term, there is a desperate need to get the economy back on track. Dr Rahul Misra The country urgently needs a revival of the spirit, ultimately it is POLitiCAL Editor A Prakhar Misra a question of over 1 billion population. BUREAU CHIEF Next generation reforms include opening most of the railways to Anshuman Dogra (DELHI), Diwakar Shetty foreign direct investment (FDI), allowing more private sector partici- (MUMBAI), Sidhartha Sharma (KOLKATA), pation in coal production and FDI in construction projects, extending Lakshmi Devi (BANGALORE ) DIvyash Bajpai (USA), KAPIL DUDAKIA (UNITED KINGDOM) the validity of industrial licenses, removing the last 20 remaining pro- Rajiv Agnihotri (MAURITIUS), Romil Raj tected sectors under the small-scale industries list, and deregulating Bhagat (DUBAI), Herman Silochan (CANADA), diesel pricing. Dr Shiv Kumar (AUS/NZ), Nithya Ramesh (Fashion & Entertainment ) Reforms noticeably slowed as the term progressed PRINCIPLE CORRESpondent but the government managed to institute two key re- Shakila Makandar forms by its mid-term– the goods and services tax CONTENT partner (GST) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code The Pioneer Pratham Pravakta (IBC). By contrast, two year into the Modi’s second LegaL AdviSORS term, only two reforms namely 25 percent corpo- Vishnu Sharma Adv rate tax cut and controversial food Bills 2020 were Vijai Krishna Adv pushed by the government. AdvertiSEMENT / MARKETING DireCTOR The compulsion to remain in power has refocused the government’s Diwakar Shetty Gopal Chopra political energies on socio-political issues like ending the temporary ADMINIStrative DIRECTOR special status of Kashmir, doing away with triple talaq, fast-tracking Amit Pandey citizenship for regional minorities through Bal Mukund Gaur the Citizenship Amendment Bill, and start- Corporate COMMUNICation / PR Sanjay Mendiratta Socio-political ing the Ram Mandir construction. Socio-po- M M Upadhaya issues are popular litical issues are popular but detract energy GraphiCS & DESign from taking steps to revive the economy. Writeword Commuications (Studio 8) but detract energy Reforms that can spur economic activity, Photographer boost confidence, and put people back to Ratan Shukla from taking jobs are the real game-changers. OVERSeaS MARKETING OEMCL Ltd (Mauritius), OEHCL ltd (DUBAI) steps to revive The need for reforms, although ever- AdvertiSEMENT / CIRCULation: present, becomes even more critical in a Delhi / NCR - Hemant Sharma: D 239 the economy. COVID-19 induced slow down. The govern- Defence Colony New Delhi 110024 INDIA Tel – 011 49060350 Reforms that can ment recently announced a slew of reforms Mumbai - Vijay Kalantri – Advisor: New spur economic that were akin to budget announcements, ExcelsIor BUILDING, 6tH Floor, A.K. NAYAK though implementation timelines are un- MARG, Fort, MUMBAI - 400001 (INDIA). clear. Phone: 91 - 22 - 22019265 / 22019160 activity, boost FAX : 91-22- 22019764 / 22019760 confidence, and Big-ticket and high impact reforms are The magazine is published and printed by Rajiv required. Lifting foreign equity restrictions Agnihotri for Opinion Express Communications put people back to in protected sectors and giving more au- & Entertainments Pvt Ltd, from Kumpu Graphic tonomy to major ports can provide a quick Press 2 Ashok Nagar, Lucknow & printed at Kumpu jobs are the real Graphic Press 2 Ashok Nagar, Lucknow – 226001 bump in growth. Other reforms related to Tele : 91-522-4060880 & game-changers. judicial reform, securing timely business li- Nikhil Offset An ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified Company 223, DSIDC Complex, Okhla Industrial Area Phase censes/clearances, and making land acqui- - I, New Delhi - 110020 Tele : 91-26812316, sition easier are long-awaited and can boost business and investor sen- 26810097, 26810458, FAX:91 45792362 E-Mail : timent amidst a slowdown. Some reforms that made sense pre-COVID [email protected], [email protected] Registered Office: OPINION EXPRESS HOUSE are even more relevant today, like creating a paperless court system, 24-A Clyde Road, Lucknow-226001 (India) pushing e governance, reducing fiscal deficit, reduce oil import and Phone: 91-522-4060880 Fax: 91-522-2208242 promote clean energy sources to make the country self-reliant. Naren- # 24x7 mobility +91 9984437000 email: [email protected] dra Modi is blessed with majority government and his strong leader- All disputes are subject to be under jurisdiction of ship will allow him to take extraordinary long pending reforms. courts in Delhi. All content published may be subject to copyright, seek written permission to re-produce. Opinion —Prashant Tewari , Express is trade mark brand of Opinion Express Editor-in-Chief Communications & Entertainment Private Limited. OPINIon EXPRESS MARCH 2021 3 A Monthly News Magazine MARCH 2021 COVER STORY THUMBS UP TO REFORMS! P 6-12 It is existential crisis for Creativity Congress is a key for 13 48 innovative World Bank rankings are cinema – Ravi K 16 deceptive Chandran Royally political purge in 18 riyadh PThe 50 “FLAWLESS” star to debut in Bollywood Living happy and 21 joyous life Meaning and scope 24 of debt India and brazil – home 33 within a home 4 MARCH 2021 OPINIon EXPRESS Tesla Model 3 India launch and price lon Musk is on a mission and In- completely different from any conven- charge and the long range model deliv- dia is part of it. In short with the tional car. The styling follows the ap- ers 500 km. Of course it is dripping with EModel 3, Tesla plans to spread its proach of its bigger sibling- the Model all kinds of tech and features including wings and gain more customers and en- S, its clean and unfussy with a short the autopilot feature. try into more markets. Elon Musk says rear, swoopy coupe like roofline and a For India, the question is charging he plans to build half a million of the clean front. as currently the superchargers which new Model 3 cars every year. The Model It is distinctive but the interior is charge the Tesla in 30 mins are not 3 then is the most important car Tesla shockingly simple yet also effective. It there in India and it would be too early has ever made and in India we will see is clean along with a 15.4-inch screen to expect them by 2019 also thus you it by end of next year or early 2019. In being the centrepiece plus there is no have to use conventional charging but India the Model 3 will initially come in start/stop button on the car or even even then with one charge your regular CBU form which means with duty add- door handles! You can start the car by day to day use would be met.So yes Te- ed the price would be Rs 40 lakh and the Tesla app on a mobile phone or the sla is finally coming and Model 3 would that is on par with its rivals such as the valet key. The Model 3 is quick too with be the car however the date has been BMW 3 Series and Audi A4. a 0-100 km/h time of less than 6 sec- pushed back owing to huge demand for The Model 3 though as expect is onds and delivers 350 km on a single its main markets. OPINIon EXPRESS MARCH 2021 5 Cover story THUMBS UP TO REFORMS! An upgrade in India’s rating by Moody’s is an open endorsement to Modi’s reforms and proves India’s global mettle By Swapan Dasgupta he Moody’s upgrade of India has, quite predictably, drawn sharply partisan responses. This is not sur- prising in view of the mini-election Tseason. The results, when they are finally an- nounced on December 18, may not suggest a close fight. However, in the midst of an elec- tion campaign all elections appear to be very bitterly contested, as they undoubtedly are, despite what the final outcome reveals. The Congress, now experiencing a social media resurgence of sorts, has, for example, seen the modifications of GST as the Naren- dra Modi’s panicky response to its aggres- sive onslaught. Congress supporters genu- inely believe that the cumulative effect of demonetisation and GST has alienated vast sections of the population who were earlier committed BJP voters. There is a belief that the modifications in the GST regime have come too late and this alienation, coupled with caste discontent in Gujarat could result in a spectacular electoral upset in the home State of the Prime Minister and the BJP president. 6 MARCH 2021 OPINIon EXPRESS OPINIon EXPRESS MARCH 2021 7 On its part, the BJP has not been sitting idle. The first anniversary of demonetisation was used by the party to mount an aggressive campaign that tried to paint the opponents of the No- vember 8, 2016 announcement as pa- trons of corruption. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley circulated an article that richly documented the colossal financial gains from demonetisation. It is important to note that the BJP commemorated the first anniversary of demonetisation as “Anti-Black Money Day” — an indication of the extent to which the Modi Government has put the ethical transformation of India at the centre of its political strategy. As the architect of this creative disruption, Modi appears to have calculated that the wider regeneration of India has to be both economic and moral. At one level, the GST, which had been on the drawing board of different Governments, was focused on the need to create a seamless, pan-Indian market.