Raghuram Rajan's past conduct as RBI Governor is questionable

Former RBI Governor, Raghuram Rajan inflicted serious damage to Indian economy due to his flawed monetary policies. Rajan's prescriptions to contain inflation hampered growth in the MSME sector. 

For example, raising repo rates, to counter inflation, subjugated demand for business loans, which deteriorated the investment climate. Simultaneously, Rajan had reduced the interest rates on domestic saving schemes (such as FD, NSC etc) that led to erosion of incomes of retired personnel and low-income households.

Lower interest on savings dis-incentivised households to invest in saving schemes, which dried up availability of funds for businesses, as savings are a major source of domestic loans. 

Few business enterprises used interest arbitrage to earn profits. For example, they availed loans from foreign banks at lower rates and then lent money to domestic players at prevailing interest rates in the market. Therefore Rajan's monetary policy benefited foreign lenders and diminished the financial flexibility of local businesses. 

Despite Rajan's global exposure and previous work experience, his knowledge and application as an economist is below average. He has been propped by a cartel which plans to control the flow of finances across the world. 

Dr Swamy had already warned about Rajan as a servant of foreign masters who want to wreck Indian economy. His recent tweet also corroborates that Raghuram Rajan is just a poster boy who lacks originality and his statements will fail to garner any traction in US. The tweet is given below:

Assessing Rajan's past conduct is essential to make a judgement about his seriousness to deliver for the country.  So let's delve deeper and under the facts behind Dr Swamy's remarks on Rajan: 

Rajan is a green card holder

Nothing wrong if someone holds a green card, however, continuing to renew American citizenship while holding a high post in government of India is unacceptable. Renewing American citizenship means that Rajan's heart still lies America and as a result, he will not be able to do justice to India.

Rajan wanted to introduce Islamic banking

As an RBI Governor, Rajan was fanatically in favour of Islamic banking and was keen to set up dedicated Islamic banks across India. However, his proposal was scuttled due to Dr Swamy's timely intervention. 

Hushed up ED's probe into Aircel-Maxis Scam

As an RBI Governor, Rajan tried his best to hush up ED's investigations in the Aircel-Maxis scam. The agencies were trying to establish money trail of Karti Chidambaram's firms in Singapore. Rather than cooperating with ED, Rajan alerted Chidambaram about ED's movements. This single act of Rajan motivated Chidambaram to attempt tampering of evidence. 

Leaked sensitive information to private individuals via personal e-mail address

During his tenure, Raghuram Rajan has also shared some sensitive information on Indian economy through his personal e-mail address. This is totally unbecoming of the post of RBI Governor, rather it is treachery against a country that gave respect and  honor to Rajan. 

Rajan is a member of Group of 30

Raghuram Rajan is a member of a US based group known as "Group of 30" (www. group30.org) whose main objective is to maintain US dominance over world economy. Therefore, Rajan's concern over Indian economic matters is a farce.

Despite the above evidences, Rajan continues to enjoy goodwill among media friendly channels and leaders of the past regime. His recent rants are meant to gain attention in order to fulfill a pre-defined agenda. 

References:

Unpublished letter of Swamy to Rajan accusing him of trying to hush-up ED’s probe of Aircel Maxis scam 

Swamy – Six reasons on why Rajan’s term should not be renewed

Dr Swamy's life is an open book, cynics are playing politics

Dr Swamy is one of the most highly scrutinized politicians of modern India. Being an anti-corruption crusader and Hindutva warrior, curiosity about his life is natural, however, curiosity shall not transform into cynicism due to over-analysis.

Dr Swamy's forthright views on different matters have always tormented his adversaries within and outside BJP. Since his opponents don't have anything concrete to target him, they run malicious social media campaigns to dent his public image. However, public also has a responsibility to not indulge in trivial allegations based on rumors. One must have the ability to understand subtle differences and not end up as victims of propaganda.

In a world of fluctuating political perceptions, hired spin artists twist Dr Swamy's honest views and past associations to suit the agenda of their paymasters. For instance, Dr Swamy's friendship with Rajiv Gandhi has been twisted multiple times to show him as a Congress man, which is a blatant lie deliberately spread to poison naive minds. 

Even during Chandrashekhar's time, Dr Swamy was first offered PMship by Rajiv Gandhi which he refused because he knew the pitfalls of accepting such an offer. Former PM PVN Rao had also invited Dr Swamy to join Congress, however, he politely declined, stating that Congress is a family holding party and PVN Rao was a tenant. 

Despite several attempts, Dr Swamy avoided joining  Congress due to some serious reservations he had about the party.

On the contrary, many BJP leaders are close relatives of Congress leaders, which gives an impression of a fixed match. Some of the examples are given below:

• Ex-FM, late Arun Jaitley was the son-in-law of Late Congress leader Girdhari Lal Dogra from J&K. 
• BJP's law minister, Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad and Mr Rajiv Shukla are close relatives.
• Current FM Nirmala Sitharaman's in-laws have a strong Congress background. Her husband, Parakala Prabhakar, has switched many parties from Congress to BJP and then from BJP to TeluguDesam Party.

Apparently, having relatives from other side of the political spectrum isn't a barrier for someone to become a Cabinet Minister in BJP government. Therefore, constant targeting of Dr Swamy, merely due to his friendship with Rajeev Gandhi, is due to the insecurity of selfish political leaders. Ironically, the emotionally charged followers of political parties stay silent on these high profile connections and avoid to discuss them in public domain.   

MSME sector requires radical policy measures for tangible recovery

Indian MSME sector accounts for 30% of India's GDP and 40% of India's exports. It is a major source of employment in the informal economy of the country. MSME sector was struggling with multiple challenges before Covid-19 crisis, however, the current pandemic only amplified the issues in this sector. 

Current state of MSME sector is primarily due to flawed monetary and fiscal policies of the past and present governments. It all started with import of so-called foreign educated Indian origin economists like Raghuram Rajan, who mindlessly applied western economic theories in Indian context. 

During his tenure as RBI governor, Rajan had adopted self-defeating monetary measures that triggered stress in the MSME sector. For example, increasing interest rates for business loans while reducing the interest rates on saving schemes like Fixed deposits. This single step adversely impacted the earning capacity of small income households which form the core of MSME sector. 

Majority of MSME enterprises are small-scale business entities that are managed by sole proprietors. Monthly earnings of these enterprises are dependent on the level of economic activities during a month. Covid-19 induced lockdown resulted in a complete halt of their business operations. This has put considerable strain on the financial resources of such enterprises.

Lockdown undeniably deepened the stress among MSMEs, which led to the emergence of following issues:

• Limited opportunities for revenue generation
• Higher overheads in the form of factory rent, wages of permanent employees & maintenance of machinery
• Higher cost of procuring funds from formal or informal channels of funding
• Delay in payments on receivables from large companies

The above issues have created a significant liquidity crunch in the MSME sector. Stimulus packages in the form of loan melas & credit guarantees have existed earlier and don't seem to fetch the desired results. Resolution of these issues require out-of-box thinking in government's fiscal and monetary policy measures.

So far, government measures seem subjective that have failed to address the gap between policy and implementation. Such negligence could result in shutdown of business operations of small enterprises. 

Since a large segment of MSME workforce is part of the informal sector, a lot of workers faced the brunt of job losses during lock-down. As the small enterprises were grappling with a changing environment, they were forced to prune their workforce. One more setback to an ailing MSME sector will increase unemployment levels and push a large percentage of unorganized workforce below poverty line. 

Whats the solution?

According to BJP leader Dr Subramanian Swamy, MSME sector can be revived by adopting following measures:

• Lowering interest rates on business loans, which will improve domestic investment levels. 
• Print new currency notes and distribute cash among low-income households through direct cash transfers. 
• This will provide relief to low income groups and also help to stimulate consumer spending. 
• Withdraw GST compliance for one year and abolish income tax to improve sentiment. 

Rescuing MSME sector will help to arrest contraction in demand and restore positive growth in the economy. The government needs to move away from protectionist measures in a challenging business environment, else Indian economy may witness an extended period of low demand.

________________________________________

Note: 

The above article is inspired by the ideas and suggestions of current BJP leader and eminent economist, Dr Subramanian Swamy. It has also used secondary resources for the purpose of collecting and presenting information.   

A 41 year old Professor/Politician who independently got Kailash Mansarovar opened for Hindus

After the 1962 war, India-China relationship had hit rock bottom and it remained that way for a period of 15 years. In 1977, Janata Party's victory in LS elections led to improvement in diplomatic relations with China. Dr Swamy's deep knowledge and understanding about China helped PM Morarji Desai to improve these relations.  

During the same time, Dr Swamy began to develop a strong yearning to visit 'Kailash Mansarovar' which is the ultimate abode of Lord Shiva and Parvati. However, visiting the most revered holy site for Hindus seemed non-viable because of the following reasons: 

• Kailash Mansarovar was in China (Tibet), which is a Communist country 
• As the terrain was tough, infrastructure development on  the site was a challenge

May be Mahaperiyava's proximity had ignited a hidden goal of Dr Swamy's life, which was to get Kailash Mansarovar opened for Hindu devotees. Consequently, Dr Swamy began to explore the possibility of reopening the Holy site. He discussed the matter with other Janata Party leaders, however, faced stiff opposition from them. Many felt that China will not entertain such a demand because it has a Communist government, which doesn't believe in the concept of God. Moreover, such initiative could further deteriorate India's relations with China.

In process, three years passed and Janata government fell due to the split within Janata party. Fresh elections were announced and Congress made a resounding comeback in 1980 general elections. Even during Congress rule, Dr Swamy raised this issue with government officials and met the same resistance. 

Finally, Dr Swamy sought guidance from the 'Great Seer of Kanchi', who not only encouraged but blessed Dr Swamy to talk to Chinese for opening the holy site for Hindus. In 1981, during a personal visit to China, Dr Swamy had one-to-one engagement with Chinese leader Deng Xiao Ping. In a meeting that lasted for 100 minutes, Dr Swamy managed to convince Chinese leadership to open Kailash Mansarovar for Hindu pilgrims. 

Imagine a 41 year old young Professor/Politician negotiating with China's leadership in his personal capacity and then convincing it to agree to his demands. However, the Deng Xiaoping had laid down two conditions for the opening of Kailash Mansarovar route:

• Dr Swamy will lead the first delegation of 20 Hindu pilgrims visiting the holy site.
• Kailash Mansarovar will not be open for Christians and Muslims

Both the conditions were later agreed upon by Congress government basis Dr Swamy's feedback. As a result, Kailash Mansarovar route opened due to single handed efforts of Dr Swamy, who also led the first batch of Hindus to pay respects at the abode of Lord Shiva and Parvati in Sepetember, 1981. 

Reopening of Kailash Mansarovar broke ice between India & China and helped both the countries to improve relations.

Disinformation Campaigns against Dr Swamy are the biggest stumbling blocks in India's progress

For six years Dr Swamy has been consistently maligned for a crime that he never committed. Despite Dr Swamy's contributions, he has suffered due to the disinformation campaigns of vested interests. Through social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter, false narratives are created to fool people about Dr Swamy. 

One such example of 'false narrative' was the toppling of Vajpayee government in 1999. It is true that Dr Swamy had a political alliance with Jayalalithaa during that time, however, blaming Dr Swamy for the fall of government is exaggeration. In reality, ex-Congress MP, Giridhar Gamang had voted against BJP in the 'No Confidence Motion'; It was Gamang's vote that brought down Vajpayee government. Even though Gamang's membership was under suspension, yet under some dubious reasons, Congress managed to caste his vote against BJP. 

Therefore, singling out Dr Swamy for such a collective act is unfair. For a long time, this single episode has been blown out of proportion to play down Dr Swamy's contributions for Hindutva and anti-corruption. The sole aim is to keep Dr Swamy away from any important portfolio (particularly MoF). Because assigning him a good portfolio means strong action against corruption, which will result in cleansing of 70 years mess in the system.

Vested interests have constantly fed and programmed BJP leadership to think that giving responsibility to Dr Swamy will cause problems to high command. These forces have not only spread, but nurtured such rumours in the minds of BJP leadership. Of course, the senior leaders have fallen for the trap owing to their own weaknesses.

One must not forget that Dr Swamy worked as 'Minister of Law and Justice' during Chandrashekhar's tenure as PM. He was also assigned a Cabinet rank position during PVN Rao's tenure. Therefore, ideas such as 'Dr Swamy not being a team player' are highly misplaced and deliberately fed.

While these vested forces have succeeded to keep Dr Swamy at bay, it is the general public which loses out on quality leadership. Given the extent of Dr Swamy's contributions, his elevation within the party ranks is essential for nation's development. His exclusion is not his loss but country's loss. 

Has he started losing his mental faculties, Dr Swamy on Sharad Pawar

Ram Temple movement is not just a 30 year old fight, it is a 500 year old struggle of Hindus. Many Hindus, including Sadhus and sants, have sacrificed their lives for the Ram Temple cause. After such a long struggle, Hindus are now about to restore their pride and honour by correcting the past wrongs.

It is true that our country is grappling with multiple challenges such as Covid-19, Economy etc., however using these issues to demoralise Ram Mandir cause is a reflection of a crooked mind. Mr Pawar's recent remarks on Ram Temple are insensitive and condemnable. Perhaps his continuous secular bias has caused irreparable damage to his reasoning abilities.  

BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subramanian Swamy slammed the leader by terming his comments as "ridiculous". Has he started losing his mental faculties, Dr Swamy added.

Ram Temple construction and fighting Covid-19 are mutually exclusive events and therefore, simultaneous action on both the events is possible. With more than 3 lakh Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra is the worst affected state in India due to the pandemic. Pawar's secular views hasn't helped Maharashtra to come out of the Covid-19 crisis, so it would be better if he refrains from airing them.

Bollywood is a fatal attraction for Budding Talents

'All that Glitters is not Gold' -- A famous saying is apt for the glamour world whose outer layer shines whereas the inner layer is hollow. Young and bright minds enamored by the outer shine of Bollywood, get sucked into its hollowness. Their desire to achieve money, name and fame overpowers the negatives of the film industry.

Nepotism is the ideal word for Bollywood, where fifty year old Uncles, portraying as college students, are seen romancing with young heroines. They lack looks, acting skills and voice modulation, yet manage to get movies after movies. Meaningful cinema, where genuine talent could be spotted, is a thing of past.

The Directors & Producers are overdependent on the star power of a 'HERO' to achieve commercial success. Presentation of movie, grandeur of sets and get up of artists take precedence over scripts, dialogues, messaging and plot. Most Bollywood movies lack content and a strong story line. 

The directors copy ideas, transform them into a nicely-packaged waste and then present the final movie as an original artistic work. These shameless plagiarists then travel around the world boasting about the commercial success of their films. To please their funding masters, the producers place anti-India content, which is presented in a subtle manner to the audience.

Bollywood, therefore, is a propaganda machine, a DEN of sleaze, sex rackets, drugs & nepotism. It lacks originality and character in film-making and has become a platform to propagate anti-India agendas. It is nothing but a dumpyard for illicit wealth of goons, terrorists and underworld dons. These criminal minds care two hoots about talented artists. Established players receive funding from questionable sources. 

The lacklustre 'Starkids' are given preference over bright and talented actors. Talent is secondary but surname is mandatory. The so-called stakeholders of Bollywood have placed unethical BARRIERS for the entry of bright young talents. Creativity can fly a kite!!

This film industry stinks of selfishness, greed, duplicity and exploitation. The unexpected deaths of Divya Bharti, Sri Devi and now Sushant Singh Rajput (CBI enquiry can unravel the mystery surrounding Sushant Singh Rajput's death) are indicative of a much wider and deeper malaise within Bollywood. 

It would do a world of good if the entire Bollywood undergoes a cleansing process through impartial investigations by agencies.