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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Raj Thackeray seeks ‘accountability’

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for “austerity” triggered a blistering political broadside from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, who accused the Centre of hypocrisy, economic mismanagement, reckless political extravagance and attempting to shift the burden of its failures onto ordinary citizens. In a scathing statement, Raj questioned the moral authority of the PM to preach sacrifices to the country while the ruling establishment indulges in lavish political...

Raj Thackeray seeks ‘accountability’

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for “austerity” triggered a blistering political broadside from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, who accused the Centre of hypocrisy, economic mismanagement, reckless political extravagance and attempting to shift the burden of its failures onto ordinary citizens. In a scathing statement, Raj questioned the moral authority of the PM to preach sacrifices to the country while the ruling establishment indulges in lavish political roadshows, massive convoys, flower-shower spectacles, expensive election campaigns across the country and high-profile foreign trips. On the PM’s recent multi-pronged appeal asking Indians to slash gold purchases and fuel consumption, avoid foreign travel, adopt electric vehicles or adopt Work From Home, Raj said the government was willy-nilly readying the country for an impending economic crisis but refusing to accept the blame for creating it. “Will you acknowledge that a mistake was made by you, apologise for it, and pledge that henceforth, neither you nor anyone else will engage in such conduct? Why should the public be made to carry the financial load for your blunders?” demanded Raj sharply. Sudden Warnings The MNS chief argued that high crude oil prices cannot be blamed for the present economic distress, as there were many precedents in the recent past when global crude rates hovered in the $90-$100 / barrel range. He listed the scenario witnessed during the 2008 recession, the Arab Spring (2011-2012), again in 2013-2014, and finally when the OPEC cut production (2022-2023) to buttress his contentions. However, in those crises, neither ex-PM Manmohan Singh nor Modi himself issued such austerity appeals, and wondered “why such warnings were suddenly being sounded now” for the country. He demanded answers over the high fuel prices in India owing to taxes, and alleged that even when crude oil prices had plummeted to $ 60-$ 65, petrol and diesel were sold at exorbitant rates to Indians. “Lakhs of crores of rupees were collected from people - where did that money go? What happened to it?” Raj asked bluntly, in what is viewed as his fiercest attack on the government till date. Dual Face Targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘dual standards’, Raj accused it of ridiculing ‘Revdi culture’ publicly while simultaneously doling out massive freebies during Assembly elections in West Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra to lure voters. “The ‘Ladki Bahin’ before the Maharashtra 2024 Assembly elections has brought the state economy on the verge of collapse. Rather than truly empowering women, they were given meagre sums of money which was again clawed back through high inflation. If the state and national economies are in such a dire condition, will the PM now firmly declare a ban on all such politically motivated freebies,” asked Raj. He slammed the BJP for wasting enormous quantities of fuel during the recent poll campaigns in four states to ferry crowds for mega-rallies, but citizens are now being advised to sacrifice their fuel consumption. Hike in Offing Raj said with WFH and EV appeals, if the government was mentally preparing the people for another steep hike in fuel prices, the masses would anyway be compelled to reduce consumption as they can no longer afford it. He said it is time to admit that while the Indian economy is outwardly robust, inwardly fragile, the government should not exploit the Iran-Israel-US war as a convenient scapegoat to divert attention. “In your tenure, the Indian Rupee (INR) was devalued significantly, why? In the past 10 years, three different RBI Governors have quit, what was the reason, tell the nation. Ex-RBI Governor and then PM Manmohan Singh, himself a renowned economist, held serious discussions with financial experts and heeded them. We have heard all your ‘Mann Ki Baat’, now you should listen to the genuine economic masters and the masses,” Raj exhorted. Calling upon the PM to convene a Parliament special session to inform the country on the real state of the economy and concrete measures to tackle the challenges, Raj reminded the government that “we are not your enemies, but asking questions is our duty.” NCP (SP) gallops to austerity A political protest by the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) against the government’s austerity drive, became something of a traffic-stopper in Thane. Discarding air-conditioned SUVs or sedans, NCP (SP) General Secretary Dr Jitendra Awhad came astride a snow-white horse, while some other party leaders trailed on a horse-drawn ‘tanga’ and a ‘bail-gadi’ (bullock cart), raising anti-government slogans. “This is what we will come to soon… The economic crises will worsen in the coming days. We may be forced to gallop to Mantralaya or other places on horses and in carts. The government’s reverse development model will take us 2000-years back,” warned Dr. Awhad, as the afternoon traffic halted and hundreds crowded for a glimpse of the mini-procession. Patting his mount, he predicted a massive hike in fuel prices and other essentials, commuting on beasts of burden, or worse. Even if people shifted to animal transport, he wondered how they would feed their four-legged creatures with minimal resources. A party worker carried a placard proclaiming: “Next Budget: One Horse Per Family Scheme”, as some pedestrians wondered if the authorities would introduce exclusive ‘bullock cart or horse-tanga lanes” on the roads, or whether FASTag would be compulsory for these creatures. Pawar demands all-party meet Amid a nationwide furore over the Centre’s austerity appeals and concerns over global economic stability, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the country’s economy and evolving international challenges. Pawar said that the PM’s recent announcements - made in view of the ‘unstable and warlike situation’ in the Middle East - could have ‘far-reaching consequences’ on the Indian economy and has already triggered anxiety among ordinary citizens, industry stakeholders and investors alike. “The sudden nature of these announcements has created an atmosphere of unease among the common people, the industry-business sector as well as investors. This situation is certainly a cause for concern,” Pawar said. The NCP (SP) supremo’s appeal came against the backdrop of rising tensions owing to the Middle-East war, fears of escalating crude oil prices, the volatility in global markets coupled with Modi’s call urging citizens' restraint by embracing austerity measures. The PM’s wide-ranging appeal includes reducing fuel consumption, slashing gold purchases for a year, avoiding foreign travel, opting for electric vehicles and adopting Work From Home – triggering a nation-wide debate since the past two days. The NCP (SP) supremo emphasised that the gravity of the prevailing international situation called for a more ‘consultative and inclusive approach’ from the Bharatiya Janata Party government to build a consensus on economic and policy responses. “Given the current international situation, the central government must prioritize greater sensitivity and broad consultations. Considering the seriousness of this issue, the PM should take the lead to call an all-party meeting as involving leaders from all political parties in the decision-making process on matters of national interest is extremely essential for the welfare of the country,” urged Pawar. Besides the political consultations, the ex-union minister exhorted the PM for urgent engagement with economists, industrialists and domain experts to thoroughly review and assess the potential fallout of international developments on India’s economy. Such a comprehensive discussion on future economic policies was crucially required to reassure the public and restore investor confidence. “Building confidence and stability among the people of the country should be the government’s topmost priority in the current circumstances. This is our firm stand,” Pawar asserted.

Indian Shipbuilding A Must Win Marathon

Shipbuilding

With a coastline of 7500 KM, it is hard to imagine, that for the first 20 years (1947-1967) India had no ‘shipping ministry’. In 1967 a Shipping ministry “coupled” with ROAD transport was established. Since then, this ministry has been on a name changing ride, not once, not twice but six times. In 2009 the “ROAD Transport and Highways” was de-coupled and ‘Shipping’ ministry was formed. Turning point came in 2015 with a clear maritime vision for 2030 and 2047. Ministry was re-christened, aptly to Ministry of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” in 2020.


Why is Shipbuilding important for a country?

a. A Shipyard becomes an opportunity hub and like a queen bee requires the support of an industrial colony to manufacture machinery and equipment.

b. National Shipyards support fleet renewal needs of the Navy.

c. Contributes to national GDP, increases inflow of FOREX.


Korea shipbuilding is 8% of GDP. Japan’s automobile industry is 2.9% of GDP. India’s shipbuilding a meagre 0.000578% of GDP. In context, India’s pharmaceutical industry, ranked third largest in the world is 1.72% of India’s GDP.


International Shipbuilding Market

The market is estimated to reach around USD 200 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.84%. While India is at bottom with 0.07% of world share, behind Philippines 1.5% and Vietnam 1%, however on the positive side, India has done well in taking care of its defence needs, with 37 of 39 Naval ships being built in India yards. Rear Admiral S Shrikhande researching on maritime as a Fellow at Wollongong University, Australia, says “Shipbuilding in India needs both, serious incentivisation and dogged determination and not harping on being a big ship breaking country. That Garden Reach shipyard has a $54 million order for merchant ships from a German owner, is a good sign.”


Were Shipyards of 20th century in Flight mode?

Prominent shipyards in India were built in the colonial period. Mazagon Dock 1774, Garden reach 1884, Hindustan shipyard 1941 to cater to British navy and merchant fleet needs. Cochin shipyard 1972, Adani Katupalli 2013, Reliance Naval and Engineering, Rajula Gujarat 1997 and others have limited capacity, hence a lot more work to do. Capt. Subhangshu Dutt (Singapore) a mariner and now a shipowner, says “GOI should hold hands in any collaboration till the marriage with the foreign entity is reasonably stable. He also suggests that “new shipbuilding sites should be given to existing successful shipyards since they have decades of experience and talent. Consortium of 3 or more parties may also be good idea”.


Shipbuilding GOLD

As per SPLASH report the demand for LCO2 carriers could reach 2,500 ships by 2050. As per other estimates, 40% of global fleet of ships could have wind propulsion by 2050. A surge in such vessels is due to an unparallel waves of decarbonization in the shipping industry. Demand for ships with ‘carbon neutral’ badges, such as Dual fuel, Wind assisted, Nuclear fuel ships, Hydrogen powered ships, Liquified CO2 (LCO2) carrier, is outstripping supply. A must in the ‘bucket list’ of every Shipyard. Pinning down a standard ROI in shipbuilding is not easy, but experts suggest it could range from 4% to 15% for the high demand ‘carbon neutral’ ships. While an LNG new build vessel could cost US$ 250 million upwards.


International collaboration

On China’s shipbuilding success story, Manoj Pandalanghat (Singapore) a mariner and ship owner believes that “China has around 50 active Shipyards. Each have a few large dry docks. In each dock two or more large vessels are built simultaneously. Thus, a single yard is able to roll out 2/3 vessels/month, 36 vessels/year and 50 shipyards roll out 1800 vessels/year”.


China could be a jaldi-5, but India needs a sturdy Mount Fiji. Besides technology, Japanese bring the most important hand baggage of soft-skills and culture, essential for success from keel laying to delivery. Maruti’s is a standing example.


Food for thought for New Delhi

a. Expertise: Hire Naval Architects and shipbuilding experts with current international experience.

b. Government assistance: Land, Financial support, subsidies and timebound clearances.

c. Monitoring: PMO should monitor the first 5 to 10 years till Shipbuilding takes-off on this long-haul flight to destination 2047.


India’s Shipbuilding is expected to grow to $237 billion by year 2047. On a back of the envelope calculations this works out to about 4% of India’s 2047 projected GDP of $ 5 trillion. While cars are driven on roads, however the Ministry of roads and transport has little to do with “Automobile manufacturing”. On a similar note, ‘Shipbuilding’ as an industry has little to do with Ports, Shipping and Waterways, thus it may be worthwhile to consider a separate ‘Ship-building’ wing in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways headed by a dynamic cabinet rank minister. Since 2047 targets are stiff and an uphill task, so in all probabilities, the officials in Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways are likely to push beneath the carpet, delays and failures of Shipbuilding with sweet success stories of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” and if this does happen then India will not only miss the Shipbuilding bus of 21st century but a lot more from a national security and strategic perspective.


(The author is a Shipping and Marine consultant. Member Singapore Shipping Association and empaneled with IMO as a specialist consultant. Views personal.)

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