Priority should be to prevent crimes rather than punishing the criminals

Governments both at the Centre and the States,( present as well as the past) seem to be keen on finding and punishing those who commit the crimes rather than preventing people from committing crimes. River sand is in short supply. Builders, large and small want sand. They indulge in corruption. What the government should have done is to find alternate material for sand. Research should have been undertaken to make sea sand usable in construction of buildings. Wood is required for buildings and for many other purposes. Government should offer incentives and encourage people to grow a large number of trees. Government could remove restrictions on cutting wood from owned lands and the crime of cutting trees could be prevented. Government should deploy officials for going through the advertisements in the newspapers, TV , etc which are meant for cheating people by offering impracticable  benefits. lucrative employment and employment in foreign countries etc. and prevent them from cheating people  instead of waiting for victims to make complaints. Government should organize self help groups to go round villages and towns during day time and night time to ensure that no thefts or sexual violence takes place instead of waiting for victims to complain

 

 

Employment for all

The most important issue to be tackled urgently is unemployment. Government should ensure jobs for all willing and able bodied persons. Even the old, handicapped etc should also have jobs according to their ability. Government alone cannot create adequate number of jobs. So, the government should think of extending subsidies to private sector  employers  who create a large number of jobs. The employers’ contribution in this regard should be recognized suitably by giving honorary titles and some privileges. This will act as incentive to employers  to set up employment providing establishments.

It is easier to create jobs in developing countries like India where there is scope for laying railway lines, roads, bridges, canals, telephone cables and towers, etc.

Poor performance of Bangladesh in tourism promotion

Of all the countries in South Asia, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Bangladesh is very low. If Bangladesh performs well in attracting foreign tourists, it could earn substantial amount in foreign exchange and also generate employment. The tourist arrivals in South Asia are given below

Country	2011	2012		2013	2014
Bangladesh	155000	125000	148000		125000
Bhutan	66000	105000	116000		134000
India	6309000	6578000	6968000		7679000
Maldives	931000	958000	1125000		1205000
Myanmar	816000	1059000	2044000		3081000
Nepal	736000	803000	798000		790000
Pakistan	1161000	966000	NA		na
Sri Lanka	856000	1006000	1275000		1527000

 

It is seen from the above table that Bangladesh receives the least number of international tourists, in spite of the fact that being a fairly large country it has most of the facilities which the tourists require like easy access, beaches, hills, rivers, boating, scenic beauty etc.  What needs to be done is cooperation of Bangladesh inbound tour operators with outbound tour operators of major tourists originating countries like China, United States, Germany, UK etc. as also neighboring countries like India,  Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka. Bangladesh should also seriously make Hindu temples and Buddhist monasteries as places of pilgrimage. Cooperation should also be explored with inbound tour operators of neighboring countries who could send their  foreign clients to Bangladesh for a few days.

Capital,wages,prices,taxes

If the owner/company does not invest capital, workers do not get employment and earn wages. If the workers do not work, owner/company does  not get profit. There are people who think that excess(more than reasonable) profit should be distributed among the workers. Some others think that excess profit is due to the company charging higher than the reasonable price and that prices should be reduced so that the profits of the company are reasonable and the consumers are not exploited. There is yet another view that the government should increase the tax rates or new taxes should be imposed. All the views seem to be correct.The point to be considered and decided is which action will expedite development of the country as a whole. Going by the experience, government getting more taxes is not going to help the country much as benefits of its schemes do not reach the people in full and often result in wasteful and unproductive work. As the number of consumers is too large, the price reduction can only be negligible and the consumers will not feel the benefit.As regards increase in wages/payment of bonus to workers, this will increase demand for products which may lead to higher  production and higher GDP. However, if the workers are already getting reasonable salaries, they should not get additional amount.The only option left is to allow the company to retain the excess profits, so that it can expand its existing factory or set up new factories. However, it should be made clear that new taxes are not imposed only if the profits are used for expansion of the existing factory or setting  up of a new factory, thereby generating employment, increasing production and thus  contributing to the expansion of  GDP of the country..

 

India to be a developed country

If India is to be a developed country in the world,

i.every able bodied person should be assured of employment;

ii.everyone should have enough to eat; not only cereals, but also vegetables, fruits, meat, milk, eggs, as also tea, coffee and other beverages and there should be no beggars;

iii.everyone should have sufficient clothing, spacious and comfortable houses with all the required furniture and furnishing, adequate and suitable means of transport and also all the gadgets which make life easy;

iv.literacy rate should be 100%;

v.people should enjoy leisure;

vi.people should not quarrel over petty things;

vii.arts and literature should flourish;

viii.there should be no distinction between one person and another person

ix. everyoe should likes the other

x.people should not quarrel over petty things;

xi.crime rate should be very low;

xii.its citizens should be proud of their country

xiii.there should be no secessionist demands;

xiv. there should be no communal and caste conflicts;

xv.there should be adequate social security measures;

xvi.its citizens are respected all over the world;

xvii.Indian companies should export technology as well as capital to other countries in large measure;

xviii.its volume of trade should be very high and consequenly it is in a position to influence the world trade policies;

xix.its citizens are knownfor inventions and are among the largest scientific and technological awar winners;

xx.its currency should be strong and freely convertible and should be the most sought after currency

xxi.it should be among those that decide the course of events in the world

Taxes and Welfare Measures

Some of the governments in the world not only exempt people with income up to certain limit from payment of income tax, but also extend to them several concessions and welfare measures like subsidized or even free rations, clothing, shelter, transport, medical facilities, education etc. This does not seem to be the correct path for the long term benefits of the beneficiaries or the development of the economy. Some of the considerations for this conclusion are:

(i) Every one should pay part of his income as tax to enable the government to work.The low income people can be asked to pay a smaller percentage of income –may be 5% or even 2% or 1%, instead of totally exempting them from payment. After all they are the beneficiaries of governments’welfare measures.

(ii) The people by paying the taxes will feel and be more responsible citizens

(iii) Obligation to pay income tax will induce people to work harder and longer to earn more to compensate for the tax expenses. This will lead to increase in production of goods and services

(iv) Restricting welfare measures only to those earning up to a certain level will make people not to strive to earn more for fear of foregoing the benefits. This will make people remain in poverty perpetually.

(v) The governments should look after not only the poor people but also those with good income and therefore, welfare measures should be for the entire community and not for those with low income only

(vi) Substantial number of people are poor mainly because of their or their fore fathers’ bad habits, like consumption of liquor, smoking, spending much on cosmetics, indulgence in luxuries, consumption of high cost items etc. Exempting such people from payment of taxes will mean not dissuading them to give up bad habits

(vii) Similarly it is not correct to conclude that rich people have become rich by exploiting others or at others’ expenses. Many people are rich because of their frugal habits, savings, simple life, low consumption, avoiding luxuries etc. They should not be discriminated against, by denying them governments’ welfare measures. 

Governments’ efforts should be to provide necessary skills and facilitate employment to all the people and thereby make them earn for their needs. In developing countries, it is very easy to create jobs, as there are innumerable works to be undertaken.

Study Loans or Scholarships?

Several poor brilliant students get assistance from various sources, by way of scholarships of sufficient amount for higher studies. In the university if they study well and score high marks they get employment through campus selection. Many of them receive handsome remuneration (a monthly salary of over Rs.50000/-.(fifty thousand).) If they had been given loans they would not mind repaying and could repay the same easily in a few years. Since they get assistance scholarships, they do not have to repay the amount. But why should not they not be made to take loans and to repay the same when they earn and are in a position to repay? If this is done more students could be assisted to pursue higher studies. It is time, the government, universities/colleges, charitable organizations etc. give up giving scholarships and extend study loans to more students

Similarly the government run hostels for school students and college students, instead of providing boarding and lodging free, could charge reasonable amount and treat this as extending loan to the students. They can repay the loan, when they get employment. With this amount government can run more hostels.

The above measures could make the people more responsible and dignity conscious. The government’s responsibility could be restricted to providing infrastructure while the beneficiaries should become responsible for running expenses