Prof. R. Radhakrishna, Eminent Economist

 

A Tribute to Prof. R. Radhakrishna, Chairman, Centre for Economic And Social Studies

A treasure trove in economics and econometrics – he has left a big void with his sudden demise on 28th January 2022. It is difficult to imagine he is no more. I had three interactions after his movement to Visakhapatnam following his illness. Pandemic did upset him greatly. Even in our brief interaction, he expressed his deep distress over the impact on the poor and migrant labour that the pandemic has been causing.

My first association with him was when he worked with the Agro-Economic Research Centre, Andhra University in the company of Prof. G. Parthasarathy, a great economist of the times. “Professor Radhakrishna’s life-long work on Growth, Inequality, Food Security, Poverty, and wellbeing is widely recognized as illuminating, authentic and credible.” (Ch. Hanumantha Rao, in a blurb on his book – The Essays on Indian Economy). 

During my association with Farm and Rural Science Foundation, I invited him to deliver the first J. Raghotham Reddy Memorial Lecture. He readily agreed and laid a firm foundation for further work of the FRSF. After my joining Administrative Staff College of India, my interaction with him became closer. He invited me on a few occasions to talk to the researchers of CESS on the research ideas and methodologies on credit to the poor.

When he moved to IGIDR, he associated me for a meeting to discuss the syllabus of Law And Economics Course. He involved me in a couple of Committees he chaired: Agricultural Indebtedness and AP Agriculture. He is a great leader and effective coordinator. His commitment to research and a concern for the common man, and belief in institutions that could contribute to the development of the poor, like the cooperatives, FPOs leave an imprint on the Indian economy.

When I requested him to write a Foreword to my book on India’s Economic Resurgence, he readily agreed and released it in the CESS Auditorium.

His erudition on Poverty Studies and Agriculture gave me immense benefit. My interaction with him at the Andhra University, University of Hyderabad as Vice Chancellor, as Director, CESS and IGIDR, Chairman, ICSSR, and Chairman of Indian Society of Agricultural Marketing gave the new angle in him. He is a great administrator, researcher,  a good teacher, affable person, a good conversationalist, and a great human being. I am sure the galaxy of researchers built by him would carry on his legacy. I bow to him in all humility. May his soul rest in peace.

11 Point Plan for the Union Budget 2018

An 11-Point Agenda for the Union Budget

Dr B Yerram Raju

18 January 2018  

Weighed down by internal pressures from the party to present a Budget that gets accolades from a large voter constituency in the face of General Elections 2019, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley,  has a few ready options to pep up the economy.

1. Go all out to clear the misgivings on the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill by incorporating oral assurances given in the Parliament into the proposed Bill.

2. Announce a winding up plan for the sinking PSBs instead of piling them on to those that are working efficiently.

3. Insist on all the banks to stick to banking work instead of selling third party products that carry hefty commissions as these products are invariably dumping unknown and unannounced risks on the unsuspecting users. Restart development banks to finance Infrastructure. Turn banks into growth engines.

4. Announce withdrawal of government funded programmes that failed to take off or made only a symbolic entry. Over 110 schemes launched for the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) failed to reach even 0.5% of the eligible enterprises. These resources can be earmarked to finance those schemes that showed performance. 

5. Re-engineer financial incentives to go online only with appropriate safeguards also announced. Fiscal incentives have more transparency than financial incentives. 

6. Scrap all the cess hat have no specific account of expenditure earmarked for them.

7. Appoint a committee to amend the treasury code with its rules formulated during the British Raj. This is the root cause of corruption and delays in the release of funds for government expenditure. 

8. Announce the date for incorporating the related Rules whenever the Parliament passes a particular Bill, so as to remove ambiguity and ensure compliance. Every Act must have priority do-ables for all the stakeholders as an Abstract. 

9. Introduce a modicum of agricultural tax, with a threshold of income over Rs25 lakh per annum. All the small and marginal farmers, as well as tenant farmers will be exempt as they would have not earned this much even for a five year period. The rate for them can be 10% over the Rs25 lakhs. Multiple slabs need not exist for them.

10. Manufacturing start ups should be tax exempt for five years or till their turnover crosses Rs2 crore.

11. All corporations spending a minimum of 5% on research and development or incubation centres recognised by the governments shall be exempt for such spend, treating it as Investment.

The FM would do well to make specific allocations for agriculture, education and social services that make good sense not just from the viewpoint of electoral benefits but as overall economic benefits. It is obvious that the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003 (FRBM) will be thrown overboard but for some jugglery with numbers. There are a few states like Telangana, AP and Karnataka that have introduced agricultural budgets. It will be necessary for the Union government to go in sync with the states in its ideal of cooperative federalism to ensure the outcomes.  

(The author is Adviser, Telangana Industrial Health Clinic, Government of Telangana. Views in this article are personal.) 

  

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