Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

The mission is aimed towards cutting down import dependence by focussing on substitution while improving safety compliance and quality goods to gain global market share.

Five Pillars of Self-Reliant India

1. Economy, which brings in quantum jump and not incremental change
2. Infrastructure, which should become the identity of India
3. System, based on 21st century technology driven arrangements
4. Vibrant Demography, which is our source of energy for a self-reliant India
5. Demand, whereby the strength of our demand and supply chain should be utilized to full capacity.

The package, taken together with earlier announcements by the government during COVID crisis and decisions taken by RBI, is to the tune of Rs 20 lakh crore, which is equivalent to almost 10% of India’s GDP. It will provide a much-needed boost towards achieving ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

Key Points

• The package will focus on land, labour, liquidity and laws.
• It will cater to various sections including cottage industry, MSMEs, labourers, middle class, industries, among others.
• It will also focus on empowering the poor, labourers, migrants, etc., both from organized and unorganized sectors.
• Emphasis has been given on the importance of
• local manufacturing, local market and local supply chains.
• It’s time to be vocal about the local products and help these local products become global.

• The US has committed to the largest rescue package by any country in pure dollar terms of USD 2.7 trillion but as percentage of GDP it trails behind Japan.
• The US measures work out at an estimated 13 percent of GDP.
• Japan has announced a package equivalent to 21.1 percent of its GDP.
• It is followed by Sweden with a stimulus equal to 12 percent of its GDP and Australia (10.8 percent).
• Germany has announced a spending of around USD 815 billion, equal to 10.7 percent of its GDP.
• Spain and Italy have endured devastating coronavirus outbreaks, the size of stimulus packages is estimated to be 7.3 percent and 5.7 percent of GDP, respectively.
• France announced a package equal to 9.3 per cent of its GDP.
• Smaller countries like Luxembourg and Belgium have spent a fifth of their GDP on COVID-19 related stimulus measures, at 20.7 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively.

These reforms include –

• Supply chain reforms for agriculture,
• Rational tax system,
• Simple and clear laws,
• Capable human resource and
• A strong financial system.

• These reforms are expected to promote business, attract investment, and further strengthen Make in India.
• Self-reliance will prepare the country for tough competition in the global supply chain, helping it to propel towards the goal of overall growth and development.
• It will not only increase efficiency in various sectors but also ensure quality.

• The key criticism is that the government does not seem to be raising its total expenditure — at least not by the quantum required to arrest the sharp decline in GDP.
• The actions of RBI were included as part of the government’s fiscal package whereas government expenditure and RBI’s actions cannot be clubbed together.
• According to the experts, the Indian economy is likely to contract and the Gross Value Added (GVA) across sectors is likely to fall.
• India’s GVA will contract by 13% this year under the Base case scenario (The Base case scenario refers to a scenario where governments bring down their expenditure in line with their falling revenues to maintain their fiscal deficit target).
• Several economists suggest that the government should spend much more to prevent an economic contraction.
• Higher public spending will come at the cost of higher levels of fiscal deficits and higher inflation, but a growth contraction will cause even worse outcomes in the form of widespread economic ruin.
• Further, the government stimulus tries to resolve only supply-side issues. There is nothing to generate demand.
• The state governments which are at the forefront of fighting the pandemic have not been supported adequately via fund transfers.
• It is criticized by many as a re-modelling of the Make in India Campaign -- which did not produce expected results.

• Atmanirbhar Bharat resonates well with the core philosophy of ongoing Swadeshi, or being indigenous, and the PM’s announcement was perceived as the first steps for reshaping this policy in keeping with their long-pending demand.
• India would need to focus on six areas such as decentralising its policymaking; taking rural-centric decisions; keeping the poor at the core of its policies; moving away from jobless growth; formulating environment-friendly policies and also taking decisions that are rooted in swadeshi traditions.
• To become truly self-reliant efforts must be made to not replicate the global work patterns that don’t sit well with the traditional way of life and focus should be on ensuring that from raw material to the final production, the country relies only on its own resources.