Chapter 2

Issues and Priorities

Reviving investment, essential for growth of jobs and income, requires a three-pronged approach that
works through improving Indias long-term growth prospects. First, the government must ensure low
inflation by putting in place a framework for monetary policy, f iscal consolidation, and food market
reforms. Second, it must put public f inances on a sustainable path through tax and expenditure reform.
Tax reform requires a GST, DTC, and more predictable tax administration. Expenditure reforms must
focus on public goods, new designs for subsidy programmes, and mechanisms for accountability. India
requires the legal and regulatory frameworks for a market economy. This requires repealing the old
legacy laws and creating state capacity to address market failures.
THE REFORM AGENDA
2.2 The def ining challenge in India today is that of generating
employment and growth. Jobs are created by f irms when f irms
invest and grow. Hence it is important to create an environment
that is conducive for f irms to invest (Fig. 2.1). The recent business
cycle downturn has seen a sharp decline in investment. Reviving
investment, is therefore, on top of the governments priorities.
2.3 Investments are made on the basis of long-term growth
prospects. The key to reviving investment in India lies in reviving
the trend growth rate of the Indian economy. Reforms are needed
on three fronts: creating a framework for sustained low and stable
inflation, setting public f inances on a sustainable path by tax and
expenditure reform, and creating the legal and regulatory
framework for a well-functioning market economy.
2.4 First, the government has to work towards a low and stable
inf lation rate through f iscal consolidation, moving towards
establishing a monetary policy framework, and creating a conducive
environment for a competitive national market for food. Initiation
of reforms on these fronts will reduce inflation uncertainty and
restore a stable business environment. Further, lower inflationary
expectations would increase domestic household f inancial savings
and make resources available for investment.
2.5 Second, public f inances need to be put on a sustainable path.
India needs a sharp f iscal correction, a new Fiscal Responsibility and
Budget Management (FRBM) Act with teeth, better accounting
practices, and improved budgetary management. Improvements on
Figure 2.1 : Private Corporate Investment
as per cent to GDP
Improving long term-growth
prospects will help revive
investment.
Source: Central Statistics Off ice (CSO)
29
30 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
30
both tax and expenditure are needed to obtain high quality f iscal
adjustment. The tax regime must be simple, predictable, and
stable. This requires a single-rate goods and services tax (GST), a
simple direct tax code (DTC), and a transformation of tax
administration.
2.6 Government expenditure reform involves three elements:
shifting subsidy programmes away from price distortions to income
support, a change in the focus of government spending towards
provision of public goods, and a systems of accountability through
a focus on outcomes.
2.7 Fiscal responsibility and tax and expenditure reform is a
medium-term agenda and likely to take two to three years to
implement. The positive effects, however, are likely to become visible
as soon as the government makes a commitment to some of these
reforms. Improvements in credit ratings, lower inflation, lower cost
of capital, and greater business conf idence that would ensue will
yield short-term benef its in response to long-term initiatives.
2.8 Third, the government faces the task of putting in place the
legal foundations of a well-functioning market economy for India.
This must be a carefully executed project as it involves legislative,
regulatory, and administrative changes. It involves building state
capacity to allow businesses to operate in a stable environment. It
involves setting up regulators with clear objectives, powers,
flexibility, and accountability.
2.9 Theoretically, there are fundamental differences between the
legal and regulatory framework of a command-and-control economy
and a market economy. In the former, economic activity is restricted
to those activities that are permitted by the state. In a market
economy, the economy thrives because the state interferes only
when there is market failure, i.e. monopoly power, asymmetric
information or externalities. As a consequence, laws permit all
activities, unless the state specif ically restricts them in the context
of market failure. The restrictions need to be part of a known and
predictable regulatory regime unlike now where a lot of
restrictions-well intentioned as they areare not part of a stable
framework.
2.10 The global eonomic downturn and structural weaknesses in
the domestic economy has had an adverse impact on investment.
Issues such as getting permissions for land use, raw materials, power,
water, and other inputs, and also issues such as obtaining long
term f inance, as the f inancial sector is still not deep and developed,
need attentions. The inflexibility of labour markets have prevented
high job creation. The interventions existing in food markets also
contribute to higher food inflation.
2.11 The liberalisation of 1991 focused on the industrial sector.
While industry was liberalised and allowed to buy from, and sell
to, anyone in the world, Indian farmers in many states, are still
required to buy and sell only in the government-designated
Agricultural Produce and Marketing Committees (APMC) to
licensed entities. Farmers are not allowed to sell their produce
directly to the consumers. A national market for food is yet to
develop.
Default setting for govern-
ment intervention in the
economy needs to change
f rom prohibited unless
permitted to permitted
unless prohibited.
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 31
31
2.12 This reform agenda has three elements: short-term stroke-
of-the-pen reforms, medium-term reforms that can be undertaken
through executive decisions or the Finance Bill, and long-term
reforms for institutional change. Long-term reforms involve the
challenging task of building capacity and institutions that provide
the foundations of a market economy. This, for example, includes
changes in the legal and regulatory environment for factor markets,
businesses, f inancial-sector regulation, capital flows, and food
markets. A well-developed thought process for reform lies in the
f ield of f inance, where the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms
Commission (FSLRC) has drafted the Indian Financial Code, which
proposes to transform the regulatory framework of Indian f inancial
markets by bringing in a modern legal and institutional framework.
Similar reform projects are required in many areas. The path to
sustainable job creation and income generation is to move on all
of the above. Improving Indias long- term growth prospects will
also feed back into the present and raise investment in the short
run.
BUSINESS CYCLE CONDITIONS
2.13 Post 2008, the economy witnessed a worsening of the
economic outlook and a downswing in the investment cycle.
Expansionary f iscal and monetary policies pulled up gross domestic
product (GDP) growth in 2010-11 and 2011-12. However, the
consequent increase in f iscal def icit and sustained high inflation
led to a reversal of the expansionary stance of macroeconomic policy.
In May 2013, the external environment worsened, leading to a
sudden rupee depreciation and an interest rate hike in the f irst
half of 2012-13.
Growth and Employment
2.14 In recent years, the Indian economy has suffered from
a decline in business cycle conditions. The peak of the
business cycle was 2006-07. GDP growth slowed down in 2013-14
to 4.7 per cent as per provisional estimates (Figure 2.2). In
2006-07, India witnessed growth of 22.51 per cent in exports,
supported by strong economic conditions worldwide. In 2012-13,
exports declined by 1.82 per cent. Export growth has picked up to
4.1 per cent in 2013-14 (Table 2.1).
Growth rate 2006-07 2012-13 2013-14
GDP growth Real 9.57 4.47 4.74
GFCF Real 13.82 0.78 -0.11
GFCF of private Real 17.94 -3.2 N.A.
corporate sector
Exports Dollars 22.51 -1.82 4.31
Inf lation Change in CPI (IW) 6.70 10.44 9.7
Sources: Central Statistics Off ice (CSO), Directorate General of
Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), and Labour
Bureau.
Notes: GDP is gross domestic product; GFCF is gross f ixed capital
formation, CPI (IW) is consumer price index for industrial
workers.
Table 2.1 : Business cycle indicators
Figure 2.2 : Annual year-on-year growth
rate of GDP at constant prices
Source: Central Statistics Off ice (CSO)
32 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
32
Gross fixed capital formation
2.15 Gross f ixed capital formation (GFCF) of the private corporate
sector (at constant prices) declined sharply: from growth of
17.94 per cent in 2006-07 to a decline of 3.2 per cent in 2012-13.
Diff iculties in obtaining clearances and raw material supplies and
of f inancing brought numerous investment projects to a halt.
Demand conditions were also hampered by global conditions. GFCF
(at constant prices) grew by 13.82 per cent in 2006-07 but only
0.78 per cent in 2012-13, and declined by 0.11 per cent in 2013-14
(Figure 2.3). An incipient recovery after 2008 stalled in 2013.
Inflation
2.16 Unlike other emerging markets (EMs) that also witnessed a
slowdown in the post-crisis years, in India the slowdown in growth
and investment was accompanied by elevated levels of consumer
price inflation (Figure 2.4). The possibility of stagflation raises
serious challenges for macroeconomic policy.
Figure 2.5 : Growth rate of bank credit
2.17 Inflation in India began rising after 2005-06 with rapid credit
growth (Figure 2.5) arising from diff iculties in sterilising foreign
exchange intervention. Though policy interest rates were raised,
liquidity continued to rise, and consequently the overall stance of
monetary policy remained easy.
2.18 With the benef it of hindsight, it appears that the f iscal and
monetary stimulus provided by the government in 2011-12 proved
to be excessive and fostered high inf lation. Post-crisis f iscal
stimulus raised aggregate economic activities above their long-term
trends since the f irst quarter of 2010 and led to higher inflation.
This outweighed the negative effect on exports from declining
global demand and real exchange rate appreciation. The net effect
of the stimulus was high enough to sustain a positive output gap
till the beginning of 2012.
Investment
2.19 During the high growth years of 2004-07, a large number of
projects had been initiated, assisted by high credit growth.
Investment activity started facing diff iculties in the global crisis.
These were exacerbated by domestic factors.
Source: Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Source: CSO
Figure 2.3 : Growth Rate of Gross Fixed
Capital Formation at Constant Prices
Source: Labour Bureau
Figure 2.4 : Year-on-year CPI inflation
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 33
33
2.20 The crisis reduced export demand and increased uncertainty.
The lack of price stability in India exacerbated uncertainty.
Investment requires planning and it became more diff icult to
envision future values for growth, prices, and interest rates. As
demand slowed down, some existing projects became unviable.
Diff ictulties in contracting and providing clearances on time and
the lack of a framework to shut down, sell off, or withdraw from
projects created further diff iculties.
2.21 Many large projects were unable to get timely clearances
related to environment, forest, and land acquisition or raw materials
required for completion. This resulted in a number of projects
getting stalled (Figures 2.6 and 2.7). Many f irms had over-leveraged
themselves during the pre-crisis boom in bank credit. When
conditions changed, they faced balance sheet distress. These f irms
were unable to close projects, settle claims, and repay loans. This
led to cost escalations, further leading to diff iculties in loan
repayments for companies and bad assets for banks. These problems
have to a certain extent been addressed by the Cabinet Committee
on Investment (CCI) which was set up by the hovernment in
January, 2013 with the Prime Minister as Chairman.
External environment
2.22 The cost of borrowing in domestic markets suffered a sudden
increase after 15 July 2013. After the onset of the great recession in
the period after the global f inancial crisis, advanced economies
introduced unconventional monetary policy tools. The US Federal
Reserve, for example, announced asset purchases, popularly known
as quantitative easing (QE), to ease monetary policy which had hit
the zero lower bound. In May 2013, the US indicated that tapering
of these unconventional methods would begin. This led to a sharp
outflow of capital from emerging markets and a pressure on their
exchange rates to depreciate. Like other EM currencies, the rupee
also witnessed pressure to depreciate (Figure 2.8).
Figure 2.6 : Infrastructure projects,
rate of completion
Figure 2.7 : Value of implementation
projects that are stalled
Figure 2.8 : Emerging market
currencies in 2013-14
2.23 Some EMs including India, Brazil, and Turkey responded to
this depreciation with an interest rate hike (Figure 2.9). The cost
of capital remained high for most of the year as the uncertainty in
global markets encouraged central banks to keep the stance of
monetary policy tight.
Source: CMIE Capex database.
Source: CMIE Capex database.
Source : Thomson Reuters Database
34 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
34
THE INVESTMENT DOWNTURN
2.24 Adverse global conditions were undoubtedly one reasons for
the slowdown in business cycle conditions in India. However, it
would be untrue to say that domestic factors such as inflation
uncertainty, tight liqudity conditions and diff iculties in contracting
and f inancing infrastructure projects did not contribute to the
macro-economic outcomes witnessed from 2006-07 to 2012-13.
Inflation uncertainty
2.25 Under low and predictable inflation, households and f irms
can make plans about the future, face reduced risk, and undertake
investments. The inf lation uncertainty of recent years has been
characterized by a surge in inflation and inflation volatility. High
and unstable inflation has made it diff icult to make projections
about future prof its from investment projects. In particular, it has
an adverse effect on risk-taking by infrastructure f irms, since these
projects involve cash flows over multiple decades into the future.
When consumer price index (CPI) inflation accelerated from
February 2006 onwards, there was a corresponding increase in
inflation volatility. This is depicted in Figure 2.10, which shows
the rolling one-year volatility of year-on-year CPI inflation. This,
in turn, made it harder to anticipate future inflation and make
plans about the future.
2.26 Additionally, f iscal problems (Figure 2.11) exacerbated the cost
of borrowing by the private sector. The large f iscal def icit
(Figure 2.11) also spilled over to the current account. In June-August
2013, countries with high f iscal def icit and high current account
def icit (CAD) faced the largest pressure on their exchange rates.
The taper and the sudden depreciation added to the uncertain
business environment.
Fall in business confidence
2.27 There has been increasing concern about the diff iculties
faced by f irms operating in India. In a purely economic sense it is
easy to explain the actions of a government that restricts f irms in
certain ways in order to address market failures. However, the
Indian landscape features numerous government interventions that
are not connected to market failures. Therefore, there is immediate
need to simplify processes including those relating to tax policy
and administration.
Figure 2.9 : Emerging economy interest
rates in 2013-14
Source: Thomson Reuters Database
Source: CSO
Figure 2.10 : Inflation Volatility
Figure 2.11 : Central government f iscal
def icit as per cent of GDP
Source: CSO
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 35
35
2.28 The Doing Business Report 2014 prepared by the World Bank
shows that India ranks 134 out of 189 countries in 2014 (Table 2.2).
Global f irms have a choice about where to invest, which is based
on the ease of doing business there. In much the same way, many
large Indian f irms undertake foreign direct investment (FDI)
outside the country and choose where they wish to invest. In an
examination of 3102 large f irms in India, 373 of these have done
outbound FDI that is above 1 per cent of their total assets. The
f irms that have done outbound FDI account for 15.8 per cent of
the total assets of the 3102 f irms.
2.29 Although, India has raised concerns about the methodology
used in the compilation of the World Banks Doing Business Report,
a sustained programme of reform is required on most aspects of
the interface between f irms and the state. The immediate objective
must be to match the average value of EMs on the Doing Business
score.
Financial System
2.30 The investment downturn has been exacerbated by
diff iculties in the availability and cost of f inance. Data shows
that the f irst claim upon the savings of households is physical
assets such as gold and real estate. The second claim upon the
residual f inancial savings is resource pre-emption that is done
to fund the f iscal def icit (Table 2.3). In recent years, with a
decline in the savings rate and an enlarged f iscal def icit, the
external capital from outside the f irm, available to the private
sector has declined.
2.31 During the credit boom, bank credit growth was over 30 per
cent. The diff iculties experienced in the infrastructure sectors and
of natural resources have made it diff icult for some of these f irms to
repay their loans. High credit expansion for infrastructure has
resulted in asset-liability mismatches for banks. Table 2.4 shows the
rising share of infrastructure credit in total bank credit. In recent
times, banks are approaching exposure limits to borrowers and
infrastructure sectors. Further, the asset quality of banks has
deteriorated with the gross non-performing assets (NPA) to gross
advances ratio rising.
Year Infrastructure credit as
share of bank credit (%)
2004 4.43
2005 7.18
2006 7.49
2007 7.42
2008 8.68
2009 9.73
2010 11.71
2011 13.36
2012 13.42
2013 13.87
Source: RBI.
Table 2.4 : Infrastructure Credit as
Share of Bank Credit
Table 2.2 : Rank in the world on
Doing Business
India Brazil South South Turkey
Korea Africa
Ease of doing business 134 116 7 41 69
Starting a business 179 123 34 64 93
Dealing with construction 182 130 18 26 148
permits
Getting electricity 111 14 2 150 49
Registering property 92 107 75 99 50
Getting credit 28 109 13 28 86
Protecting investors 34 80 52 10 34
Paying taxes 158 159 25 24 71
Trading across borders 132 124 3 106 86
Enforcing contracts 186 121 2 80 38
Resolving Insolvency 121 135 15 82 130
Source: World Bank, Doing Business Report 2014.
As per cent of GDPmp
Household f inancial savings 7.1
Government borrowing 7
Source: CSO.
Note: GDPmp is GDP at market prices.
Table 2.3 : Household Financial Savings
and Total Government Borrowing as
Per Cent of GDP
36 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
36
Infrastructure
2.32 The f irst wave of investment in infrastructure and natural
resources, which began in 2002, has run into numerous problems,
reflecting inter alia the complexities of PPP contracting and the
limited capacity in the system.
2.33 Allegations of corruption, and interventions by investigating
authorities and courts, have interrupted many projects and adversely
affected f irms. Problems of land acquisition and environmental
regulation have led to stalled projects. The weakness in integrated
planning has led to diff iculties such as ports that lack railway
lines or power plants that lack coal supplies.
2.34 Infrastructure projects are best f inanced through corporate
bonds. However, other than issuance by large f inancial institutions,
the corporate bond market in India has been largely missing. In
the absence of a vibrant corporate bond market, infrastructure
projects have resorted to borrowing from banks and in foreign
currency. In the Indian experience, the leverage has often been
mechanically set using rules such as 70:30 for debt: equity. In a
sound f inancial system, the leverage of a project should be
determined by f inancial f irms based on an assessment of the risks
faced by the project.
2.35 There is a distinction between developing new infrastructure
assets, and operating them. Over the years, we may expect large-
scale assets in the hands of operating companies, while infrastructure
developers with small balance sheets pursue new projects each year.
This maturation has not yet worked out. Operating companies,
which are low-risk utilities, have not emerged in the required
numbers. The modest balance sheets of developers have been loaded
with ever larger assets.
2.36 Over-leveraged f irms have made mistakes in bidding based
on over-exuberant traff ic projections and on the expectation of
being able to renegotiate contracts should problems arise. The
renegotiation process has sometimes faced allegations of
misconduct and interventions by the courts.
2.37 These problems have come together to result in a large
number of stalled projects, a balance sheet crisis for many
infrastructure and natural resources f irms, and diff iculties for banks
which have lent to them. Subsequently, the pace of investment in
infrastructure and natural resources has declined. The f irst wave
of infrastructure investment in India has been grounded in an
array of design flaws that now need to be addressed.
HOW LONG-RUN ISSUES MATTER FOR THE SHORT TERM
2.38 In the conventional wisdom, there is a tension between the
expedient pursuit of short-term objectives and the need to nurture
the foundations of sustained long-term growth. With the
emergence of a modern market-based economy, however, nurturing
long-term growth influences the short term through four channels:
expected GDP growth, valuation in the stock market, behaviour of
households, and foreign capital flows.
2.39 The f irst channel runs through the expectations of GDP
growth in the eyes of private f irms, both foreign and domestic.
When there is an expectation that India will have high GDP growth
Greater policy stability, higher
long-term growth and a legal
and regulatory f ramework
that strengthens a market
economy will help revive
investment.
The present model of
inf rastructure contracting
and f inancing needs to be
rexamined.
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 37
37
in the long term, these f irms increase their investment in India,
which boosts short-term growth. Of particular importance here
are long-term projections for sustained traff ic growth, which
influence the viability of infrastructure projects.
2.40 The second channel runs through the stock market. The
stock market forms expectations about dividend growth in the
coming decade and builds this into the present stock price. When
there is an expectation of high GDP growth in the long term,
stock prices go up. This increases the gap between market value
and replacement cost, which fuels investment. This boosts short-
term growth.
2.41 The third channel runs through the behaviour of households.
When there is an expectation of high GDP growth in the long
term, households become more conf ident about their income in
the future, and respond by saving less, including through borrowing
more. This fuels demand in the economy and boosts short-term
growth. The rise of mechanisms through which the formal f inancial
system is able to give loans to individuals has increased the
magnitudes involved. In addition, conf idence about low inflation
will reduce the attraction of physical assets for households.
2.42 The fourth channel runs through the behaviour of foreign
investors. The outstanding fact about international portfolio
formation is home bias, where global investors place too little
money in EMs like India. When there is an expectation that India
will have high GDP growth in the long term, this creates
incentives for global f inancial f irms to build organisational capital
in connection with India. Increased capital flows into India boost
short-term growth.
2.43 These channels are stronger in India today when compared
with India of the past and also when compared with many other
countries. The share of private gross capital formation in GDP,
which is a key parameter that changes in response to long-term
considerations, is much larger when compared with past values
and with many other countries. Household savings are much larger
when compared with past values and with many other countries.
2.44 This encourages focus of policymakers upon the initiatives
that will make a difference to long-term GDP growth in India. In
addition, focus on making it easier to do business and providing a
stable policy environment will make investment attractive. The
market economy is likely to respond to these initiatives with
enhanced investment, enhanced consumer demand, and enhanced
capital flows, which can revive investment and yield high GDP
growth in the short run.
INFLATION
2.45 For effectively containing inflation requires putting in place
a monetary policy framework def ining a nominal anchor, as well
as deregulating food markets to curb food inflation.
Monetary policy
2.46 Data shows that inflation is becoming entrenched in the
Indian economy. Inflationary expectations are high and sporadic
increases in prices of food items spill over to non-food prices.
38 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
38
Despite a business cycle downswing and underutilised capacity,
inflation has persisted. A three-pronged strategy is required to
tackle this stagflation.
2.47 Monetary policy is central to inflation in the long run.
Intuitively, if the amount of money in the economy were doubled,
prices would roughly double. Natural shocks, changes in technology,
and consumer preferences generate relative price changes, but do
not explain aggregate inf lation which is a macroeconomic
phenomenon.
2.48 Since 2010, there has been an upsurge in food inflation which
has spilled over to non-food and general inflation. The spillover
reflects inter alia the lack of proper monetary policy arrangements.
There is need for a formal monetary policy framework through
which the Reserve Bank of India is given clarity of objective (a CPI
inflation target) and operational autonomy in pursuit of that target.
This strategy has been used by numerous advanced and emerging
markets and has delivered results in terms of low and stable
inflation. This, in turn, has created a favourable environment for
investment and employment growth. A low and stable inflation
rate helps maintain the value of the currency, both domestically
and externally.
2.49 In some countries, the transition away from the exchange
rate to inflation as a nominal anchor has been a diff icult one.
However, in India, this transition is likely to be easier. Figure 2.12
shows the history of rupee-dollar volatility. There have already been
two structural breaks in this volatility, in May 2003 and in March
2007. Rupee-dollar volatility has gone up from 1.84 per cent to 3.87
per cent to 8.65 per cent.
Figure 2.12 : Volatility in the Rupee-Dollar
2.50 The average volatility of the rupee-dollar exchange rate at
8.65 per cent is close to the volatility of market-determined exchange
rates in EMs. Hence the economy has experienced the bulk of the
adjustment to exchange rate flexibility and the stage is set for
shifting focus away from the US dollar and anchoring the value of
the rupee to the price of the household consumption basket.
Food inflation
2.51 There are many complex problems with food markets that
need to be addressed. Cereal markets have resource misallocation
due to government interference in every aspect of input and output
Source : RBI and authors calculations.
Spillovers from food to non-
food inflation can be reduced
by putting in place a formal
monetary policy framework.
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 39
39
markets. Rising prosperity has created heightened demand for food,
particularly superior goods such as fruits, vegetables, and proteins
that are consumed by people when they become richer. At present
the supply response to these shifts in demand is inadequate owing
to rigid constraints and anti-competitive practices. As a
consequence, a substantial change in prices is required to elicit a
unit change in supply.
SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC FINANCE
2.52 Putting public f inances on a sustainable path has three
elements: better accounting practices and budgetary management
and a new FRBM Act which has consequences if it is not met;
rationalisation and simplif ication of direct and indirect taxes; and
expenditure reform.
Fiscal responsibility
2.53 The f iscal situation of the central government is worse than
it appears, given the acceleration of inflation from 2006 to 2014.
These inflation shocks effectively reduced the value of outstanding
debt. This has harmed the interests of households but has reduced
the debt burden of the government. These inflation shocks are
unlikely to recur in the future.
2.54 Fresh thinking on a responsible f iscal policy framework is
required. This should feed into a new FRBM Act. The modif ied
Act needs take into account business cycles and to have penalties
that are strong enough so that it cannot be ignored.
Financial repression
2.55 In recent years, the problems of f inancing private investment
have become more acute. High inflation and low real interest rates
have deterred f inancial savings. As Figure 2.13 shows, household
f inancial savings fell from 9.9 per cent of GDP in 2010-11 to 7.09
per cent of GDP in 2012-13. Alongside this, the centre and states
(put together) borrowed 7.1 per cent from the domestic market.
This resource pre-emption has put constraints upon external
f inancing for the private sector. Addressing this will require a
threepronged strategy: reducing the f iscal def icit, reducing
f inancial repression (so as to reduce resource pre-emption and give
households a fairer deal), and reducing inflation.
2.56 When it comes to public debt, India is forcing f inancial
f irms to lend to the government such as through the statutory
liquidity ratio for banks and investment guidelines for other
f inancial f irms. This method of capturing resources is known as
f inancial repression. It leads to lower returns for households who
are customers of f inancial f irms. It generates incentives for
households to avoid holding assets with Indian f inancial f irms,
thus encouraging purchases of gold, real estate, and overseas assets.
The government must move away from f inancial repression and
set up a professional Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA)
that sells government bonds to voluntary bidders.
Tax reform
2.57 In a non-market economy, in addition to laws, taxes and
subsides are used for encouraging or discouraging activities that
Figure 2.13 : Household f inancial savings
as a per cent to GDP
A new FRBM Act with teeth
is needed.
Source: Economic Outlook Database CMIE
40 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
40
the central planner considers good for the economy. The result is
multiple rates and exemptions. Industrial policy, where the
government picks winners, has generally failed in most countries.
Ultimately, distorted price signals cause resource misallocation and
slow down productivity growth. Most market economies have
moved away from complex tax systems towards simple and rational
systems.
2.58 Indias complex tax system suffers from problems in both
structures and administration. The tax regime is used to do
industrial policy where the state gives exemptions and rebates to
certain economic activity. Uneven and high tax rates and uneven
tax treatment of similar economic activities have induced
distortions in the behaviour of f irms and households. In addition,
the manner of functioning of tax administration is imposing legal
risk and substantial compliance costs upon households and f irms.
2.59 Tax reform in India can improve the ease of doing business
and promote eff iciency and productivity growth. The tax/GDP ratio
of the government must be obtained through a burden-sharing
mechanism where low rates apply on a broad swathe of the
population, through effective enforcement mechanisms. Taxes
clarif ied as bad in public f inance theory like cesses, surcharges,
transaction taxes, and taxes imposed for ease of collection such as
the dividend distribution tax, need to eventually go. Reducing tax-
related distortions can increase eff iciency and fuel GDP growth.
GST
2.60 There is consensus that the GST will be a major milestone
for indirect tax reform in India. Replacing all existing indirect taxes
by the GST will create a national market, eliminate cascading taxes,
and align taxation of imports and exports correctly. This will
improve the competitiveness of production and export from India.
2.61 The implementation of a Central GST (CenGST) could be
the f irst step towards the GST. Once the CenGST is implemented,
and the information technology system for CenGST has worked,
estimation risk will be lower and it will be easier for the centre
and states to move to the GST.
DTC
2.62 Just as the GST is a transformation of indirect taxes, the
DTC is required as a clean modern replacement for the existing
income tax law. As with the GST, the key objective must be a
simplif ication with a clean conceptual core, and the removal of a
large number of special cesses and exemptions that favour special
interest groups. The tax system must move away from industrial
policy, with incentives for one activity or another, towards a simple
framework.
2.63 As with the GST, the DTC will yield gains by removing
distortions of individual and corporate decision making, reducing
compliance cost and litigation, and improving tax collections.
Taxation of f irms
2.64 Firms are ultimately owned by individual shareholders. When
individuals are taxed, the taxation of f irms acts as double taxation.
From the viewpoint of shareholders, the post-tax returns on
A CenGST could be the f irst
step towards a full GST.
Removing exemptions will
help simplify the tax regime.
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 41
41
investment in a f irm are shaped by two levels of taxation: the
corporation tax rate and the dividend distribution tax.
2.65 A considerable body of work has demonstrated two problems
with the taxation of f irms. First, domestic and international f irms
are likely to invest in countries with lower tax rates. Second, high
taxation of f irms hinders the process of capital formation and
ultimately results in reduced wages. The wages of workers reflect
their productivity and deepening capital stock of f irms increases
the productivity of workers.
2.66 India stands out, among the EMs, with a high rate of total
taxation of corporations. It would be desirable to track the median
value for EMs. This would ensure that India is a competitive
destination for investments of global and Indian f irms.
Tax administration
2.67 The Doing Business Report 2014 ranks India at 158 out of 189
countries under the head paying taxes. Expert Committees have
identif ied problems with the taxation system, including
retrospective amendment of laws, frequent amendments, especially
after the executive is unable to establish a tax claim in courts, and
issues with arbitrary tax claims, especially in transfer pricing. This
is coupled with long pendency of disputes and a taxation regime
that is unfriendly to foreign investors.
Expenditure reform
2.68 Expenditure reform is required for government to achieve
desired outcomes with minimum cost. This requires a change in
the budgeting process and accounting practices, subsidy reform, a
focus on public goods, and mechanisms for feedback and
accountability.
Budgeting process
2.69 At present in India, a government department gets
resources through two mechanisms: the budget process run by the
Ministry of Finance and the budget process run by the Planning
Commission. This leads to sub-optimal resource allocation as well
as diffused accountability.
2.70 A more effective budget process would be conducted in the
language of outcomes, targets, and the cost of achieving alternative
targets. The focus of a sound budget process would be upon
outcomes as seen by citizens and measured by independent bodies,
and not the internal activities of departments of government.
Budgetary allocations should be associated with concrete targets
for outcomes and departments held accountable for achieving these
targets.
2.71 The creation of feedback loops towards enhanced performance
requires four elements. The f irst is the unif ication of budget
making at the Ministry of Finance. The second is the design of a
report card about the work of every ministry, and the preparation
of the report card by independent organizations, based on technical
knowledge. The third is a formal budget process that works with
budget constraints, outcomes, and targets. The fourth is a set of
consequences that arises when a department fails to achieve its
Expenditure reform must
create feedback loops for
accountability.
42 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
42
targets. This would provide feedback loops of pulling back
resources and modif ied allocation for expenditure that fails to
deliver results.
2.72 There has been much criticism of the Indian cash-based
accounting process. Greater clarity, and better decisions, would be
achieved by moving towards an appropriately modif ied accrual-
based system, where the income and expenditure for the year is
measured as that which is attributed to the activities of the year.
As an example, if a fertiliser subsidy were operating in a year, the
cost of that subsidy would be counted in that year regardless of
when the actual payment of the subsidy took place.
Subsidies
2.73 Not all the money put into subsidy schemes reaches the
poor. Programmes such as food subsidy have huge overhead costs
(Figure 2.14). In other cases, such as the fertiliser subsidy, the
expenditures generate a distorted resource allocation that hampers
productivity (Box 2.1).
2.74 Subsidy programmes are particularly problematic when they
hamper changes in prices and the consequent shifts in resource
allocation which must take place. When the price of diesel rises,
in the medium term, the economy shifts away from diesel. But
this adaptation is blocked if the price of diesel is not actually
raised. When the purchase price for cereals is raised, cereal
production becomes more attractive, even though consumers might
want more non-cereals.
2.75 It is increasingly feasible to identify households below the
poverty line and give them cash. The new technologies of biometric
identif ication, and payments through mobile phones, have created
a range of new possibilities for the design of programmes. These
would lead to a reduction in poverty at a lower cost when compared
with the present subsidy programmes.
Box 2.1 : Resource misallocation: Fertilizer subsidy
Urea is highly subsidised. Farmers pay approximately ` 5360 per tonne, and the government pays ` 11,760 per
tonne. Subsidy for other fertilizers has been capped since 2010 under the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS)
regime.
The correct proportions in which Nitrogen (N), Phosporus (P), and Pottasium (K) should be used are 4:2:1.
These are the proportions in which these nutrients are used by plants. The skewed subsidy scheme has given
farmers a distorted notion that urea, the main provider of N, is cheap while the other two elements are
expensive. As a consequence, fertilizer use in India is taking place in the ratio 8.2:3.2:1.
For each unit of K, instead of 4 units of N which are required, 8.2 units of N are being put into the soil. The
incremental output of the excessive 4.2 units of N is zero or somewhat negative.
This purchase of urea, beyond what is required, works out to roughly 50 lakh metric tonnes (MTs). Farmers
and the government are wastefully spending Rs 2680 and Rs 5860 crore respectively for this. These costs are
ultimately paid by the consumers as higher food prices and higher taxes, in return for a zero or negative
impact upon agricultural output.
The distorted policy has also led to stagnation of private investment in the sector, especially in urea, and
increased reliance on imports. The fertilizer subsidy hurts everyone: farmers, f irms, taxpayers, and consumers.
Cash transfers to poor house-
holds, instead of procurement
and distribution of cereals,
offer savings on the subsidy
bill.
Source: Various Budget Documents
Figure 2.14 : Food, fuel, and fertilizer
Subsidies as a share of GDP
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 43
43
2.76 Rational analysis of subsidy programmes would be assisted if
the accounting systems of government, and budget documents,
classif ied all government expendtiures into public goods and
subsidies. This would make it possible to obtain a full picture of
subsidies and enable a more rational budget process. Shifting from
the plan/ non-plan distinction to the subsidy/ public-goods
distinction would improve clarity of thought. This is consistent
with the July 2011 report of the Planning Commissions High Level
Expert Committee on Eff icient Managment of Public
Expenditure.
Education
2.77 There has been remarkable expansion of expenditure on
elementary education in recent years. Combining central and state
spending, this has gone up from ` 62,063 crore in 2006-07 to
` 147,750 crore in 2011-12. As Figure 2.15 shows, this translates into
a substantial expansion from ` 5202 per child in 2007-08 to
` 11,418 per child in 2011-12.
2.78 Parents face the choice of sending their children to public
schools or to private schools. Public schools require no payments
for tuition, uniform, midday meals, and books. In contrast, when a
child is sent to a private school, these expenses are borne by the
household.
2.79 The choices of parents are then a natural mechanism to
obtain feedback about the performance of the government-run
elementary education system. Figure 2.16 shows the fraction of
children enrolled in public versus private schools in rural India.
Public schools are free and the government spends more than
` 1000 per child per month to run them. However, between the
period 2007-08 and 2011-12 where expenditure per child in public
schools was increased by 119.5 per cent, a growing fraction of
households chose to exit from public schools. This raises concerns
about the effectiveness with which public spending on elementary
education translates into learning outcomes of children.
2.80 Figure 2.17 compares the learning outcomes of public and
private schools in rural India. Private schools in rural India work
ineff iciently: only 59 per cent of children in the IIIrd standard are
able to read a Ist standard text. This may reflect the low resources
per child available to private schools. Government schools fare worse.
In 2006, this measure stood at a bit under 50 per cent. In recent
years, while the spending per child in government schools has
risen sharply, the learning outcome has declined to 32.4 per cent.
2.81 This evidence indicates that the design of government
programmes in elementary education needs revisiting. Expenditure
grew by 138 per cent between 2006-07 and 2011-12, but alongside
this intensif ication of spending through the existing programme
design.
2.82 This example of elementary education illustrates inadequate
feedback loops: failures on outcomes did not feed back fully to
resourcing, management changes, and fundamental redesign of
public programmes.
Source: Analysis of Budgeted Expenditure
on Education, various reports & DISE,
various reports
Figure 2.15 : Per child expenditure
incurred by the government
Source: ASER, various reports.
Figure 2.16 : Rural children studying in
different types of schools
Source: ASER, various reports.
Figure 2.17 : Rural children in Std III
who can read Std I-level text
44 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
44
Health
2.83 Indias health policy has focused on primary health centers
and hospitals. The numbers of hospital beds, doctors, and nurses
per 1000 persons have often been treated less as inputs and more
as measures of success of the health policy. Health outcomes such
as a reduction in cases of diahorrea, malaria, child and infant
mortality can be addressed far more effectively with the same
budgetary resources by addressing the lack of public goods in health.
There is a need to focus the limited budgetary resources on public
goods.
2.84 The most powerful interventions for improved health may
lie in the area of water and sanitation (Table 2.5). Epidemiological
interventions such as vaccination programmes, and control of
diseases, have the characteristics of public goods. Preventing
stagnant water controls malaria. No one but the government has
the incentive to undertake such expenditure. The government must
focus f irst on these interventions. This calls for a fundamental and
strategic shift in thinking about public spending on health.
Infrastructure
2.85 The role of government in infrastructure can be usefully
divided into planning, contracting, and regulating.
Planning is the decision to build an element of infrastructure.
This inevitably requires inter-relationships between
multiple elements: e.g. where there is a port, there will be a
requirement for railway lines and roads.
Contracting is the task of giving out the contract to a private
producer for building an element of infrastructure.
Once an asset is working, the question of regulating arises,
as there is the market failure arising from monopoly power.
2.86 We may envisage the planning function being performed in
government, the contracting function being placed in a specialized
organization like the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI),
and the regulation function being placed in an independent
regulator.
2.87 Transportation planning requires an integrated view of all
aspects of transportation. Energy planning requires an integrated
view of all aspects of energy. There is a legitimate role for political
considerations in the planning process. As an example, political
authorities may decide that it is important to build transportation
infrastructure in backward states, or in states with greater law and
order problems, even when their economic viability is lower.
2.88 Once a decision has been made to build a port or a
highway, the contracting function involves the specialised skill
of engaging with the complexities of PPP contracts. Many of
the diff iculties of the last decade in the f ield of infrastructure
lie in inadequate state capacity for procuring and contracting
complex PPP projects. Separation of this function would require
establishing an independent organization with specialised
expertise in contracting.
Category 2005 2012
Access to sanitation
Rural 18.70 24.75
Urban 56.84 60.20
Access to water
Rural 82.20 90.71
Urban 94.15 96.67
Source: World Development Indicators.
Table 2.5 : Per cent of population with
access to water and sanitation facilities
The role of government in
infrastructure can be usefully
divided into planning,
contracting, and regulating.
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 45
45
2.89 Once an asset is working, there is need for an arms-length
independent regulator. Integral to a level playing f ield, in the eyes
of the regulator, is the corporatization of government infrastructure
assets, so that the regulator sees a landscape with multiple f irms
and can treat them in an ownership-neutral way.
2.90 Further, it may be useful to decompose the risks of an
infrastructure project into the early stage and the steady state. The
early stage risk is political risk, construction risk, regulatory risk,
and the traff ic risk of the f irst year of tolling. These are substantial
risks.
2.91 Once an asset is working, and once the tolling revenues
from the f irst year are known, the risks decline sharply. The risks
faced from that point onwards consist of regulatory risk and traff ic
growth risk.
2.92 So far, India has emphasised large contracts that combine
all these risks. It is expected that consortiums of developers and
operators will come together to bid in these large contracts.
However, the risk-bearing capacity of the private sector is limited,
particularly when it comes to risks induced by the political system
including political risk, construction risk, and regulatory risk.
2.93 An alternative strategy of contracting is required where PPPs
are not sucessful. An asset could stay on the public balance sheet
at f irst. The f irst contract given out would be an engineering
contract to build the asset, where the construction company is
protected from political and regulatory risk. The government and
the construction company would work together to overcome
construction risk. The payment for the asset would be made on
budget.
2.94 The second contract given out would be to a private f irm to
toll the asset for one year and produce data about present levels of
toll revenue.
2.95 This could set the stage for a long-term, say 20-year, contract
combining tolling and maintenance. A new cadre of dedicated
operating companies, i.e. utilities, would emerge who would
perform this role. These projects would be able to absorb a high
level of long-term bond-market f inancing, and thus yield low tolls.
These f irms would generate cash flows for the government which
would offset the original expenditure for constructing the asset.
2.96 This approach could induce a separation between construc-
tion f irms, who have an expertise in building new assets, and
operations f irms, who have an expertise in running existing assets.
Natural resources
2.97 In the f ield of natural resources where there is global trading,
appropriate incentives for exploration and extraction in India are
obtained when there is pricing parity with the world price
excluding transport costs or taxes. If f irms obtain a lower revenue
per unit of mineral extracted in India, there will be under-
investment in exploration and extraction.
2.98 Auction-based procurement or f ixed-price procurement has
run into many diff iculties. These can be avoided by using a
percentage revenue share for the government, through which the
The early stage of an infras-
tructure project has political
risk, construction risk,
regulatory risk and, traff ic
risk.
46 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
46
government becomes a partner in sharing the risks of exploration,
extraction, and world price fluctuations, alongside the private f irms.
2.99 There is a strong case for removing pricing distortions seen
by consumers such as administered pricing for coal. These f ixed
prices are dulling the market response of reduced consumption in
response to higher prices and reducing the flexibility of the market
economy. Vouchers for the poor, through which a certain f ixed
rupee payment is made to the household and the household pays
market price, are one way forward. One elegant scheme through
which many of these problems can be solved at once is a payment
out of the revenue share to state governments, who would use this
money to run voucher programmes for the poor.
FOUNDATIONS OF A MARKET ECONOMY
2.100 India can increase its long-term trend growth by unleashing
the entrepreneurial spirit of millions across the country by
strengthening the economic freedom of the people. The biggest
challenge today is improving state capacity suitable for a market-
based economy. A long-term, careful and systematic effort is required
for undertaking institutional change.
Addressing market failures
2.101 Under central planning, all decisions about what to produce
and how to produce were made by the government. In the 1960s
and 1970s a series of laws were enacted that increased the role of
the government in the functioning of both product and factor
markets. From the late 1970s there has been some progress in
reducing this. Today, the situation is one of an awkward
juxtaposition of over-intervention in some respects and inadequate
state participation in others.
2.102 The key insight on the role of the government in a market
economy is the idea of a market failure, i.e. a situation in which
the unrestricted actions of private persons result in a suboptimal
outcome. There are three categories of market failures: monopoly
power, externalities, and asymmetric information. The concept
of a market failure gives a f ramework for guiding state
intervention. Before a state intervention is initiated, it is
important to demonstrate that there is a market failure. It should
be shown that an intervention will solve the market failure.
Further, the costs to society of government intervention should
be outweighed by the benef its.
The challenge of State capacity
2.103 The f irst generation of reforms in India was focused on
deregulation: to dismantle central planning and put an end to
inappropriate interventions by the government. As an example,
many f inancial regulators in India tend to get involved in the
detailed working of products and processes of f inancial f irms. This
kind of state intervention is easy to dismantle using stroke-of-the-
pen reforms such as repealing a regulation or repealing a law or
closing down a government organisation.
There is need to re-examine
all laws that empower the
government to interfere in
markets.
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 47
47
2.104 While the agenda of removing inappropriate government
interventions is far from complete, it is important to also focus on
the second generation of reforms. This is the positive agenda of
constructing state structures that address market failures. Only
the state can ensure provision of public goods such as defence,
police, and judiciary. Only the state can address monopolies,
externalities, and asymmetric information. In an environment of
technologically sophisticated and internationalised f irms, it requires
considerable sophistication on the part of government to precisely
address market failures.
2.105 This requires state capacity. India needs greater expertise
f or establ ishing intel l igent, eff icient, cost-minimising
government organisations that successfully address market
failures while avoiding the perils of central planning. A body
of knowledge is now needed in India on how to construct laws,
agency architecture, organisation structure, process manuals, and
human resources through which an effective state appropriate
for the present can be obtained. The present ways, of
constructing and running public systems, are not useful in
thinking about the new requirements.
Objectives, powers, flexibility, accountability
2.106 In thinking about public administration every government
organisation is the agent, and the people of India, represented by
Parliament, are the principal. In every principal-agent relationship,
in order to achieve performance, the objective of the agent must
be well understood, outcomes must be measured, and measurement
must have consequences. Vaguely posed objectives lead to loss of
accountability. Once a clear objective has been def ined, laws should
give the agency the minimum possible coercive power through
which the objective can be achieved. If expansive powers are given,
there is greater risk of abuse of power.
2.107 The extent to which the stated objectives have been achieved
needs to be statistically measured with an emphasis on outcomes.
The awarding of the report card and the measurement of outcomes
must be done by an independent body. As an example, the outcome
in education is the knowledge of children. The Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Programme for
International Student Assessment (PISA) is an internationally
comparable measure of the science and mathematics knowledge of
15-year old children of the country: this can provide a report card
that shows the performance of the state apparatus leading up to
10th standard education.
2.108 This approach will generate accountability. The leadership
of every government organization can work better when there is
clarity of purpose, when minimum powers have been given, and
when there is measurement of the outcome. When there are ample
accountability mechanisms, there is a case for greater operational
autonomy, through which the leadership of the organization can
reshape the organization in favour of delivering results.
Laws need to clearly def ine
the objectives of regulation
and give limited powers to
regulators to meet those
objectives.
48 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
48
Ease of doing business
2.109 In recent years, f irms operating in India have faced an array
of problems in the interface between f irms and the government.
This includes health-safety-environment regulation, regulation of
companies, the working of the legal system, and problems of tax
policy and tax administration.
2.110 Long delays are costly. Senior management time allocated
to managing the relationship with government is time that could
have been allocated for productivity improvements. The cost of
doing business in India has generated increased incentives for
Indian and global f irms to favour investment elsewhere in the
world. It has made it diff icult for small businesses to be set up and
prosper without harassment from the state.
2.111 A comprehensive transformation of all aspects of the
interface between f irms and the state is now required. This involves
focusing the state on addressing market failures and strong
accountability mechanisms through which public bodies deliver
world class eff iciency.
Reforming factor markets
2.112 The removal of industrial and import licensing in 1991 was
among the f irst steps towards reform of product markets in India.
Markets for manufactured products (though not agricultural
products) were liberalised, giving f irms the ability to produce, buy,
and sell inputs and outputs. Price controls, such as those on steel
and cement, were removed.
2.113 Factor markets such as those for labour, land, and capital,
however, remained largely unreformed. This has proved to be a
constraint for growth and employment generation. India has the
potential of becoming a global hub in labour-intensive
manufacturing. However, labour laws have hindered the creation
of large-scale manufacturing in India. Clear land titles, acquiring
land, and changing land use face various diff iculties. This needs
reform at all levels of government. Similarly Mumbai has the
potential of becoming an international f inancial centre matching
London, New York, and Singapore. However, this possibility has
been blocked by weaknesses in f inancial regulation in India. Factor
market reform needs to be an immediate priority for the
government.
The Financial System
The Draft Indian Financial Code
2.114 The Indian f inancial system is increasingly out of touch
with the requirements of the economy today and the even greater
requirements of the economy in the future. Most changes in the
framework of f inancial regulation in India have been made in
response to the need of the hour. This has meant piecemeal changes
to the various laws that give powers to regulators to regulate
f inance.
2.115 Over the last decade, a consensus has emerged about the
direction of reforms through a series of expert committees, which
have drawn on hundreds of independent experts and a body of
The Draft Indian Financial
Code puts consumer pro-
tection at the heart of all
f inancial-sector regulation.
Making it easier and less
costly to do business must
be a top priority.
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 49
49
research on the failings of Indian f inance. However, many of the
changes proposed are incompatible with the basic structure of
existing laws. The FSLRC was set up to review and redraft the
laws so that Indian f inance can be reformed to prepare India for
growing into a modern economy, without having to constantly
amend existing laws to incorporate each new step for the f inancial
system.
2.116 The task for the Commission, which submitted its report in
April 2013, was to question the fundamental arrangements between
regulators, the government, the regulated, and the consumer for
whose protection regulation is ultimately being done. The FSLRC
proposed a new draft law: the Indian Financial Code. This law puts
consumer protection at the heart of all f inancial regulation. In order
to protect the consumer without putting a burden on the taxpayer,
regulators do micro-prudential regulation and reduce the risk of
failure of f inancial f irms. They protect policy holders and prevent
unsuitable products from being sold through regulations about
consumer protection and through redressal forums. When f inancial
f irms fail, shareholders should bear the full brunt of the failure, but
consequences for consumers and the economy should be blocked
using a resolution corporation. Through systemic risk regulation,
the regulators and the government prevent a large-scale disruption
of f inancial services. This adds up to a rational approach to
interventions by f inancial agencies in the f inancial system, as
opposed to the existing approach of command and control.
2.117 A major theme of many of the recommendations of previous
committee reports in India has been the impediments placed by
f inancial agencies against progress. This issue has been addressed
by the FSLRC by giving regulators clear objectives and enumerated
powers. The regulator in this scenario needs to demonstrate that
the regulation is required to meet the objectives assigned to him,
and it lies within his powers, and that a cost-benef it analysis of
the regulation shows that the additional cost, monetary or
otherwise, of complying with this regulation is going to bring
clear benef its to the economy.
2.118 The Indian Financial Code is on the legislative agenda.
Existing f inancial regulators have committed themselves to
complying with the Handbook on adoption of governance
enhancing and non-legislative elements of the draft Indian Financial
Code, through which some features of the draft Code are utilised
for improving the working of existing agencies. This legislative
and non-legislative work is now the centrepiece of f inancial reforms
in India.
Capital controls
2.119 An integral feature of the maturation of the Indian economy
has been the internationalisation of f irms. Firms are much more
connected into the world economy through exports, outbound FDI,
imports of goods and services, foreign equity capital, foreign debt
capital, and use of overseas derivatives markets.
2.120 Cross-border activities are regulated as per capital controls
based on the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999.
All activities on the capital account fall under Section 6 of FEMA
Capital controls under FEMA
do not support a rapidly
globalizing economy.
50 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
50
in which they are prohibited unless explicitly permitted. This is in
contrast to Section 5 that covers the current account which is the
mirror image of this philosophy and allows all transactions unless
explicitly prohibited. Over the last 15 years, thousands of pages of
subordinate legislation have arisen surrounding capital flows. This
large mass of law is characterised by complexity, bureaucratic
overhead, violations of the rule of law, and legal risk. The ground
realities of this area are far removed from the good governance
that India aspires for. There is a need to drastically simplify cross-
border activities as an element of reducing the cost of doing
business in India. Numerous EMs are doing better than India on
this.
2.121 For example, a single window for FDI can be effectively
created if all rule making under FEMA rests within a department
of the Government of India, and all transactions are permitted
other than those in explicit negative list.
Food
2.122 One area which has been left behind in Indias liberalisation
and competition agenda is food. In the f ield of services and
industry, Indian producers have achieved substantial freedom of
action, and compete all over India and the world. In the f ield of
food, Indian producers face substantial restrictions. The government
does not permit a producer to sell freely to a neighbour or
neighbouring district. A complex regulatory system is in place.
2.123 The most comprehensive central planning system is in the
market for cereals. The state controls input prices such as those of
fertilizer, water, and electricity, which distorts input choices. The
state sets output prices and supplants private trade with an
administrative machinery that undertakes procurement. It supplants
the private sector in the f ield of storage through godowns of the
FCI. It supplants the private trade in distribution, attempting to
deliver cereals all across the country through the PDS. This central
planning system harms the country in three ways. The visible cost
is the direct cost of operations and delivery. In addition, there is
the hidden cost of leakages, ineff iciency, and illegality that flourish
alongside the public system. The most important cost, however, is
the ineff icient utilisation of resources and structure of production
that follows from the choices of the central planner. This was
necessary for a long period of time because of inadequate
development in the agriculture sector. The time has perhaps come
to remove many of these ineff iciencies by introducing a more
competitive framework.
2.124 In recent decades, rising incomes in India generated a shift
away from staples like wheat and rice towards superior goods like
vegetables, fruits, eggs, milk, and meat. In a market economy,
resources would get reallocated reflecting this shift in purchasing
patterns. A modest shift in relative prices, e.g. the ratio of the
price of spinach to the price of wheat, should generate a shift in
the resource allocation away from wheat towards spinach. The
rigidities of the command-and-control economy have impeded this
process. As a consequence, a large shift in relative prices is required
to generate the required supply response. This has resulted in high
food inflation.
Central Planning permeates
every aspect of the food
economy.
The welf are of both
consumers and farmers lies
in f reeing up agricultural
markets in the same way that
economic freedom was given
to other producers.
Market-based economies
often provide income
support, food stamps, and
cash transfers to f armers
and producers for protecting
them but without distorting
market signals.
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 51
51
2.125 Other interventions by the government are also problematic.
The f irst is the maze of restrictions on transactions and storage.
This includes state-level APMC laws, the Essential Commodities
Act, and the administrative measures at local and state levels that
distort the decision to grow and the decision to store.
2.126 Another problem concerns international trade. In industry
and services, Indian producers have thrived owing to international
economic integration. Producers have benef ited from vast
enhancement of potential market size. Specialisation has come
about: India imports capital-intensive computer hardware and
exports labour-intensive computer software. The rolling back of
autarkic policies has been the central source of Indias growth
acceleration from 1979 onwards.
2.127 India has a unique opportunity to achieve prosperity through
agricultural production. The weather permits multiple crops around
the year. While there are other locations in the world that excel at
mechanised production of cereals on large tracts of land, large
parts of high value agriculture are highly labour intensive. India
can be a producer and exporter in all these areas. This can result
in high incomes for all participants in the production process.
A livelihood in agriculture does not have to be a promise of
poverty.
Liberalising Agriculture
2.128 State APMC laws are a major hurdle to modernisation of the
food economy. They have artif icially created cartels of buyers who
possess market power. The proposed Model APMC Act 2003 is an
inadequate solution, as APMCs remain a non-level playing f ield.
In addition, some state governments have introduced barriers to trade
within the country through taxation and technical requirements.
The Essential Commodities Act 1955, an enabling Act which gives
powers of intervention to state governments is incompatible
with an integrated competitive national market for food.
2.129 Parliament has the power to legislate a national market
under the Constitution, which gives it the ability to legislate the
freedom to buy and sell, for farmers and traders, across state lines.
This law can override state APMC laws and restrictions that have
been placed on the farmers right to sell food within and outside
the state. Under such a law, APMCs would become one among
many trading venues in a competitive market. Further, under the
Constitution, Parliament can legislate the creation of a Commission
that monitors the country for anti-competitive practices. To create
a national market the central government needs to use powers
under the Union List and the Concurrent List of the Seventh
Schedule of the Constitution to end the monopoly powers of the
APMCs and replace other punitive and coercive state laws affecting
the food market.
2.130 Alongside the removal of conventional interventions in the
food economy, there is a need to place a priority upon the three
national-level public goods in the f ield of food: production of
knowledge, f inancial regulation of futures trading, and information
interventions that address the market failure in warehousing.
The key to investment and
productivity growth on the
f arm is liberalization of
agriculture.
52 ECONOMIC SURVEY 2013-14
52
2.131 There are three groups of public goods in the f ield of food.
The f irst consists of scientif ic research and extension. Knowledge
is non-rival and non-excludable; the private sector has inadequate
incentives to produce knowledge. Hence there is a role for
intelligent public funding for multiple competing research
programmes at universities globally and for public-sector extension
programmes to communicate current research knowledge to
producers across the country.
2.132 The second lies in the f ield of commodity futures trading.
The standard market failures of organised f inancial trading are
found in commodity futures trading. Commodity futures trading is
essential for a modern food sector as it generates forecasts about
future prices that shape sowing and storage decisions across the
country.
2.133 The third lies in the f ield of warehousing. The market
failure in the f ield of warehousing consists of asymmetric
information between the producer and the user of warehousing
services about the level of care that will be exercised in safe storage.
Information-based initiatives can help reduce this asymmetric
information. The Warehouse Development and Regulatory
Authority (WDRA) has begun a work programme on creating
public goods of information systems about the performance of
warehouses across the country. This addresses the cause of the
market failure in warehousing.
Institutionalizing institutional change
2.134 Indias journey to prosperity is primarily about utilising
labour and capital better, i.e. in improving productivity. While the
productivity of f irms is the consequence of decisions by managers
of f irms, these actions are strongly shaped by government policies,
laws, and regulations. In the last 20 years, many major initiatives
have induced productivity growth, including rationalisation of tax
policy, removal of trade barriers, shrinking of the licence raj, floating
of the exchange rate, and establishment of an equity market.
2.135 This chapter has sketched the agenda for change in
numerous areas, with an emphasis on the problems of state capacity:
the modif ications to laws, agency architecture, organisation
structures, process manuals, and human resources through which
state effectiveness can be obtained.
2.136 In the past, reforms have taken place in a sporadic and
episodic manner, ref lecting crises and divergent responses of
individuals to policy problems. A key objective for policy should be
to institutionalise the process of institutional change, so that a
continuous process of improvement of institutions takes place at
all times regardless of whether there is a short-term crisis and
regardless of the persons making decisions.
2.137 Drawing on international experience, this process could be
assisted by the establishment of a Productivity Commission, which
would be an advisory expert body. This would establish metrics
and contract out the production of report cards about areas where
outcomes are desired. It would review laws, regulations, organisation
structures, and process designs with the objective of improving
A continuous process of
improvement of institutions
must be created.
Farmers must have the same
economic freedom, to buy
and sell their produce, as do
other producers.
ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 53
53
productivity. This should be a statutory body, which is obliged to
undertake these reviews and release f indings into the public
domain, while having no executive powers.
2.138 Many advanced economies have institutionalised the process
of bringing about institutional change through these kinds of
mechanisms. However, these are generally slow-growing countries
that achieve one doubling every 20 to 25 years. In contrast, Indian
GDP doubles every 10 years or less. As a consequence, an even
greater pace of institutional change is required in India for
government structures to keep up with the needs of the economy.
The design of the Productivity Commission needs to be
commensurately modif ied, reflecting the need for comprehensive
redesign of the government every decade in India.
CONCLUSION
2.139 The ultimate goal of economic policy is to create a sustained
renaissance of high growth in which hundreds of millions of
good quality jobs are created. Good quality jobs are created by
high productivity f irms, so this agenda is critically about how f irms
are created, how f irms grow, and how f irms achieve high
productivity.
2.140 Labour laws create strong incentives for f irms to avoid
hiring a large number of low skill workers. An array of problems
holds back the entry and maturation of new f irms. This protects
existing businesses, even if ineff icient, and limits entry and
competition. It is imperative to use Indias unique demographic
moment wisely and unleash the second generation of reforms.
2.141 The pursuit of long-term initiatives will feed back into the
economy in the short term, with a rise in consumption and
investment. In India today, there is a coincidence between the
priorities for the long term and the priorities for the short term.
At the same time, the deeper impact of these policy initiatives will
kick in with a lag. When there is an open array of opportunities
for individuals and f irms, it will take some time for economic
agents to understand the new landscape and how they should
optimally act in it. Firms will require time and commitment in
order to build up organizational capital. Hence we may envision a
f ive year period within which the reforms are put in place,
followed by a period within which the economy has fully absorbed
the new environment and achieved a higher trend growth rate.