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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Fadnavis writes off Rs 48,000 crore

Mumbai: In a clear indication that the Maharashtra government is leaving no stone unturned to keep the state’s agrarian base happy, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has unleashed yet another massive populist measure. Hot on the heels of relaxing the eligibility criteria to ensure a blanket farm loan waiver, the Chief Minister announced a sweeping Rs 48,000 crore waiver on the pending electricity bills of farmers across the state. Addressing a ‘Krutadnyata Sohala’ (gratitude ceremony)...

Fadnavis writes off Rs 48,000 crore

Mumbai: In a clear indication that the Maharashtra government is leaving no stone unturned to keep the state’s agrarian base happy, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has unleashed yet another massive populist measure. Hot on the heels of relaxing the eligibility criteria to ensure a blanket farm loan waiver, the Chief Minister announced a sweeping Rs 48,000 crore waiver on the pending electricity bills of farmers across the state. Addressing a ‘Krutadnyata Sohala’ (gratitude ceremony) organized by the BJP Kisan Morcha at Mumbai’s Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan on Wednesday, Fadnavis declared that farmers using agricultural pumps of up to 7.5 horsepower will see their historical electricity dues completely wiped out. The announcement was met with the traditional sounding of the Tutari and thunderous applause from hundreds of farmers who had gathered from every corner of the state. The Chief Minister framed the mega-sop as a necessary step to “wipe the farmers’ slate clean,” enabling them to write a new chapter of prosperity. Calculated Pitch The timing and scale of the announcement underscore a government that is boldly embracing populist economics to solidify its political footprint in rural Maharashtra. While Fadnavis maintained that these decisions were taken purely in the interest of the farmers—pointing out that the original loan waiver was announced when no elections were in sight—the political undertones were unmistakable. Taking a sharp dig at the opposition, the Chief Minister accused rival parties of running “political shops” in the name of farmer agitations without understanding the government’s genuine intent. Asserting his grassroots connection, Fadnavis proudly claimed, “I do not make decisions sitting in my house. I am a farmer myself, a man of the soil.” He openly defended the government’s recent move to strip away the stringent conditions attached to the blanket farm loan waiver, signaling that his administration will not hesitate to clear bureaucratic hurdles if it means putting money directly into the hands of the rural voter. Balancing Sops Even as he rained freebies, the Chief Minister attempted to balance the populist optics with a dose of economic pragmatism. He acknowledged that handing out repeated loan waivers is a symptom of deep-rooted agrarian distress, not a permanent cure. Pointing to the Rs 95,000 crore in aid currently being pumped into the agricultural sector by the state and central governments, Fadnavis outlined his administration’s shift toward an investment-driven agricultural model. He championed the success of schemes like ‘Jalyukt Shivar’ and ‘Magel Tyala Shettale’ (farm ponds on demand), claiming these initiatives have already empowered farmers to harvest multiple crops a year. Addressing the core issue of farming costs, he noted that the government already subsidises power to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore annually. By coupling this with a push for solar pumps and solar agricultural feeders, he promised that 100 percent of the state’s farmers would receive uninterrupted daytime electricity by the end of the year. Infra Dream Looking beyond immediate financial relief, the Chief Minister laid out a grandiose vision to permanently drought-proof Maharashtra’s most vulnerable regions. A staggering Rs 6 lakh crore infrastructure pipeline is being planned to ensure the next generation never witnesses a drought. Fadnavis detailed ambitious river-linking projects, including the Wainganga-Nalganga link, to divert excess floodwaters to parched regions. The state plans to construct 24 new dams and raise the height of 16 existing ones to ensure not a single district in Vidarbha faces water scarcity. Furthermore, massive engineering feats are on the drawing board to divert 200 TMC of floodwater from Western Maharashtra to Marathwada, and lift 275 TMC of wasted water from the Ulhas basin to quench the thirst of North Maharashtra and Marathwada. By marrying immediate, massive debt relief with long-term infrastructure promises, the Fadnavis administration is aggressively cementing its pro-farmer narrative. As the Yashwantrao Chavan auditorium echoed with whistles and cheers, it became highly evident that the government’s strategy of pairing mega populist waivers with big-ticket rural dreams is striking a powerful chord with the state’s agrarian voters.

Your Brand Is Losing Business

Right now, somewhere in this city, a highly accomplished professional is losing a room — and has no idea it is happening. Not because he lacks knowledge. Not because he lacks credibility. But because nobody has ever told him the truth: that the way he communicates is quietly costing him business, trust, and opportunity — one conversation at a time.


I know this because I sat across from exactly such a person not long ago. Decades of experience. Multiple leadership roles. A genuine desire to give back, to guide, to create impact in a new chapter of his career. When he spoke, you could feel the depth. And yet, within minutes of any conversation, something would shift. The other person would grow quiet. Questions would stop. Follow-up calls would not come.


He could not understand it. I could see it immediately.


"His problem was not what he knew. It was that he could not stop sharing all of it at once."


This is what I call the knowledge trap — and it catches the best people. High-achievers, founders, senior professionals who have spent decades accumulating expertise. In conversation, they give everything. Every insight, every example, every caveat. The intention is generosity. The impact is overwhelm. The listener does not leave inspired — they leave exhausted. And they do not come back.


Think about the last high-stakes conversation you had — a pitch, a partnership discussion, a client meeting. Did you walk away certain it went well, only to hear nothing for days? Did you find yourself wondering what went wrong when everything felt right to you in the room? That silence is not coincidence. More often than not, it is a personal brand problem wearing the disguise of a business problem.


When we began working together, I did not start with his online presence — even though it badly needed attention. I did not start with his positioning or his profile. I started where every personal brand must start: the inside. Specifically, his communication — the gap between what he intended to convey and what the other person was actually able to receive.


He resisted at first. Like most accomplished people, he found it difficult to accept that the very habits that had built his career were now working against him. But when I showed him the framework — and more importantly, when he tested it in a real conversation and felt the room respond differently — something clicked. He called me shortly after and said: "For the first time, I felt in control of the room — instead of just being in it."


"The goal is never to empty yourself into a room. The goal is to make the room want to come back for more."


That is the exact moment a personal brand begins to work for you. Not when you know more than everyone else. But when people feel understood by you — and sense there is more where that came from. Once that foundation was solid, everything else followed. His online presence — scattered, confusing, unconvincing — was rebuilt around a clear and authentic narrative. Inbound enquiries, which had been absent, began arriving. He stopped chasing conversations and started attracting them.


Here is the question I want to leave you with — answer it honestly: when you walk out of a room, do people feel energised by the exchange, or quietly relieved it is over? If you hesitated even for a second, that hesitation is your answer. And it is costing you more than you realise — in deals not closed, partnerships not formed, and opportunities that quietly chose someone else.


Your personal brand is not your logo or your LinkedIn headline. It is the impression you leave in every room, online and offline, before you have said a word and long after you have left. Building it right — from the inside out — is the highest-return investment a founder or business owner can make today.


The founders who invest in their personal brand stop chasing business — and start attracting it.


I offer a free 30-minute Founder Brand Audit — a focused, no-fluff conversation where we identify exactly where your personal brand is working against you and what one shift can change. I take on a maximum of four of these calls each week. If this article made you stop and think, that is reason enough to book yours before this week's slots close.



(The writer is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries. Views personal.)

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