The world economy is currently going through a tough time. Even though we haven’t yet recovered from the pandemic, the economy has been showing the symptoms of revival in many major sectors even in India. However, this has been further under consideration and observation owing to various situations which are happening all around the world. The Ukraine-Russia Conflict, The Sri Lankan Crisis, and the emergence of the XE variant of Covid all are affecting the economic well beingness of every country in the world.
Sri Lanka, one of the most beautiful countries in the world is suffering one of its greatest nightmares. The economic crisis that Sri Lanka faces today is mainly because of two major reasons which are the shutting of the tourism sector during the covid period and the sudden change in the country’s policy of changing the agriculture sector from chemical farming into organic farming. The two major industries which contributed to Sri Lanka’s GDP, that is, Tourism and Tea were affected seriously due to this. Along with that, the lack of remittance from foreign countries also made the countries' situation worse. The Loans and advances the country raised in the past number of years from various countries, primarily China, also backstabbed the country during this crucial time. China who is Sri Lanka’s moneylender is now holding back the country’s recovery from the economic crisis and is also hesitant to provide any further financial assistance.
According to the latest working paper published by the International Monetary Fund, India has almost eradicated and brought down consumption inequality to its lowest levels in 40 years through Public Distribution System. According to the paper, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty remained below 1% even during the pandemic period, thanks to the in-kind subsidies especially the ration provided by the government through PDS. India’s wheat export for the April to October period during 2021-22 surpassed $ 872 million from $ 135 million for the same period in 2020-21. While many of the countries in the world witnessed a severe shortage in food grains, India not only fed its citizens through the PDS mechanism but also exported a large quantity of food grains to all most all parts of the world where there was a shortage. From food grains to medicine, medical equipment and vaccine India stood in front to help all the countries in need.
In the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict India plays a neutral role and stands for peace and continues helping the countries who needs support. The evacuation mission carried out by India during the war-like atmosphere not only brought our citizens but successfully brought citizens of our neighboring countries as well. India has provided all kinds of humanitarian and medical supplies to Ukraine in this conflict time.
The recent Sri Lankan Crisis also made us realize that we are capable to help any country that is in need. Sri Lanka is amid an unprecedented economic crisis which is slowly snowballing into a political crisis in the country. The country’s economy has been in a free fall ever since the onset of covid, which escalated to a level where the country had to temporarily suspend the external debt payment to make sure that it has enough money to meet its needs like food, electricity, fuel, gas, and medicine.
Very recently, about a few days back, reports read that India is extending the Line of Credit of about 100 million euros to Cuba to meet its food grain shortage. Once the agreement is finalized, food grains and other edible goods can be exported to that country.
All these situations and incidents, however, point to a very serious and important question. How much we can trust the various indices being published by many of the reputed organizations and institutions all around the world? How much these indices are true? Are they also promoting their personal vendettas and bias through these indices?
Indices have always played a pivotal role in helping the viewers or users to analyze the state or the overall situation of a country, nation, or the matter under study. There are several indices in the world that investigates and gives an insight into the economy as well as the social aspects of a country. However, various recent news and reports are giving one a tough time believing whether these indices are accurate and unbiased. Incidences like the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the related economic tension, the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, and the food shortage in Cuba, are all pointing to a situation where one gets confused about whether to trust these so-called indices or not.
According to the 2021 Global Hunger Index prepared by the European NGOs of Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, which measures and tracks hunger globally as well as nation wise, Cuba ranks among the first 18 countries with the lowest Hunger, and India, the country which provides food assistance and support to Cuba ranks 101st Position, which is even below that of Sri Lanka (65th Position). This report questions its authenticity when it states that there has been no difference in the stand of the country’s population who are facing hunger for the past 10 years (2012-2021) while reports during the year 2021 itself show that Cuba was and is going through the worst shortage of food since the 1990s. The country faces a severe food shortage that the citizens must wait in queue for hours together to fetch food. The situation in Sri Lanka is also similar. The high price of rice, Milk Powder, and other food grains in the country is making the country’s poor starve. Food Grains and other needed products are being exported to these countries in millions of quantities by India. But surprisingly, according to the GHI, Cuba’s hunger Index shows it to be a low hunger country than India. This must be looked further closely with reference to the working paper published by IMF which praises India, the country which stands in the 101st position in the GHI, for almost eradicating the extreme poverty in the country and maintaining the level below 1% even during the pandemic.
The Human Development Index, another most important index which is a statistic composite of Life expectancy, Education, and Income in each country to provide a measure of human development that is comparable between countries and over time, ranks both Cuba and Sri Lanka at 70th and 72nd Position in the Index, while that of India, the rank is 131st Position. A country that is going through one of the worst economic crises in its recent history and another country that is crippled with medical and food shortages remains in a high position in the index while the supplier of medicine, fuel, medical equipment, and food grains remains in the medium category.
The Global Happiness Index, another report which contains articles and rankings of national happiness, based on respondent ratings of their own lives, which the report also correlates with various quality of life factors including, business & economic, citizen engagement, communications & technology, social issues, education & families, emotions (well-being), environment & energy, food & shelter, government and politics, law & order, health, religion & ethics, transportation, and work, also reports India at 139th Position in the 144 countries list, while placing Sri Lanka at 126th position.
These are just a few examples where one can see how many variations there in the data that are being shown and the ground reality of countries under reference. The reports as one can argue may be based on past data and therefore may have missed these recent trends in these countries, but what one should understand and need to keep in mind is that no economic disaster or crisis in any country happens on a sudden. The symptoms and clues regarding these will arise even years before the crisis hits the country. If the reports cannot predict or show any instances of such a disaster happening, then how much these reports are accurate? How far one can depend on these indices to conclude about one’s national development and the progress a country has made?
It is very well visible that those countries which are ranking high in the list of all indices, whether it is GHI or HDI, or WHI, are facing severe financial, economic, or social issues within those countries. So, the question of how accurate these reports or indices are becoming relevant day by day. One, therefore, needs to understand that the indices are just numbers that may or may not be true, but it is the ground reality one should be looking into if they need to find the answers. The measures like Swatch Bharat, Make In India, Har Ghar Nal se Jal, Financial inclusion through PMJDY, Ujjwala Scheme, Bharatiya Janaushadhi Paryojana, Ayushman Bharat, etc. create an economic as well as social environment in India where even the poor and marginalized are being recognized and are being brought into the mainstream.
The PMJDY helped millions of Indians who were kept out of the banking services to start bank accounts and receive several benefits from the government without the intervention of intermediaries. The Swatch Bharat Abhiyaan and related Namami Ganga Projects ensured a clean and hygienic India, through the eradication of pollution and promotion of cleanliness. The introduction of the Jal Shakti Ministry and the launching of the Har Ghar Nal se Jal program ensured water reached every corner of the country thereby reducing the suffering of Indian women who had to walk miles and miles to fetch water to drink. With the PMAY both Urban and Rural, the government ensured proper shelter to those who are not having the same. The Sahal Bijli Har Ghar Yojna brought several houses and villages into light that was under darkness even after 70 years of Independence. Affordable health care and low-cost medicines were made available through the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat and the Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana. These all, and many other measures of the government have always made the life of the poor and marginalized better in one way or other.
Even after these crucial and strong measures if the Indices are of the opinion that our country is in a worse condition than many other countries in terms of poverty, health, and education, then there is a serious need to revise the methods of evaluation by these organizations. This is because, as far countries which are facing severe food and medicinal shortage keep on remaining at the top level and suppliers of these medicines and food to these countries remain at the bottom of the list, the indices cannot be considered as accurate, it is biased.
CMA Hrishikesh R Nampoothiri
mail id: hyadu12345@gmail.com
Mobile Number: +917560938431
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