If you have the audacity to believe what some gushing analysts are saying, the passage of the GST Bill is as momentous as gaining independence in 1947. The euphoria will soon fade away as finance ministers of all states start the tortuous process of talks and negotiations with Union finance minister Arun Jaitley and his team of advisors and bureaucrats. Do remember: there is a chance that the implementation of the Bill could still be scuppered. If the opposition senses that the BJP is weak (could be after assembly elections in UP) and some parties start nit picking on a money bill vs a finance bill, the whole thing might collapse. In any case, most sensible analysts know that it would be at least five years before the positive effects of GST spread across the economy. The early stages in fact would see a lot of chaos.
But that's not the point of this piece. Even as applaud this important tax reform, it is worthwhile to ask why Indian farmers cannot reap the benefits of a unified pan Indian market. Despite promises made by the Narendra Modi government, Indian farmers are effectively slaves of local mandis where they have to sell their produce. It is a criminal offense for them to take their produce and sell it in another state. For those who ha e travelled in real India in trains away from Delhi, one common sight is ticket collectors and railway cops extorting bribes from farmers or traders carrying a few sacks of wheat or ride to another state.
For this India, a unified market is a cruel joke. In this age of so called globalization, why can't an Indian farmers export his produce to any country in the world? As of now, that is unthinkable. In fact, every time India faces the prospects of shortage of any agricultural products exports are either banned outright or heavy export duties imposed. This is not the only way the Indian farmer is marginalized, neglected and exploited. If you and I take a loan to buy a car, we lay an interest rate of 10 per cent at most. For a farmer buying a tractor with a loan, the interest rate is usually never less than 15 per cent. And even then, corrupt bankers and local leaders exploit farmers systematically even here. This author had travelled extensively through Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh some years ago to cover the humanitarian crisis there. One fact emerged: a farmer would be encouraged to take a tractor loan. Often he wouldn't read the fine print. A month or two of default and the bank would seize the tractor and "auction" it to recover the loan. A local "leader" would buy it at throwaway prices and the loot would be shared. Meanwhile, the farmer and his family would be ruined. Look at the cruel joke played every year on farmers in the name of paying compensation for lost crops. The amounts range from Rs 15 to Rs 150.
GST is good. But unless Indian agriculture and farmers are given the same freedom as other economic agents the economy, 50 per cent of India will continue to be legally discriminated against.
