Public Sector
Modi’s Monetisation Mantra Is a Blow Worse... - Dipankar Bhattacharya https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=390254576028372&id=111747030545796&sfnsn=wiwspwa
With assets, the government will naturally also shed jobs. Less government jobs will mean loss of reservations for the socially deprived and loss of job and income security for all who will now have to look for jobs in private companies. There will be bigger blows to wider sections of people. Prices will go up with little regulation by the government and growing monopoly power of the big companies. Tariffs of all services are already going up, and the government has already amended the Essential Commodities Act to pave the way for an across the board rise in prices of all essential items.
While consumers will have to bear with increased prices, small traders, roadside vendors and livelihood earners will suffer a major jolt. Privatisation of roads will mean appearance of toll plazas and expensive eateries and disappearance of roadside dhabas, tea stalls and repair shops. Adani-Ambani railway stations will be more like airport lounges and shopping malls where food courts and expensive coffee shops will replace the fruit and tea vendors and providers of cheap meals who will lose their access to stations and trains.
NMP by its very nature will have much more enduring effect, with the public sector virtually being replaced by powerful private players and consumers and small producers being completely subjugated to the extortionist ways of big business.
Government Must Guarantee There Won't Be Monopoly, Says P Chidambaram | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdrxJdaQ5Oo Aug 28, 2021
In an interview to NDTV, P Chidambaram, former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader, says several sectors are heading towards a monopoly or at the best a duopoly. "Government must guarantee there won't be a monopoly and that the bidder who has the capacity to convert it into a monopoly will be excluded from the bidding."
Is the lease rent additional revenue during the lease period? The figures of this should be brought out before leasing. 
Leasing Out Assets Worst Option, Kaushik Basu Tells NDTV | The Big Fight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhvXsDrf0b8&t=320s Aug 28, 2021
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Kaushik Basu, Professor of Economics, Cornell University; former Chief Economist of the World Bank and former CEA, says "the broad idea of putting of putting to good use the government's assets is a very good idea, but the way in which the monetisation plan is being worked out is not the way to go. Leasing out the assets is the worst option; it would have been better to sell them."
Why Is The Modi Govt. Selling The Nation's Assets? | National Monetisation Pipeline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flwGcjGtgi4 Aug 26, 2021
वित्त मंत्री निर्मला सीतारमण द्वारा छह लाख करोड़ रुपये की राष्ट्रीय मौद्रिकरण पाइपलाइन की घोषणा किए जाने पर सवाल उठाते हुए कांग्रेस नेता राहुल गांधी ने कहा कि यह सब कुछ कंपनियों का एकाधिकार बनाने के लिए किया जा रहा है. वहीं माकपा ने कहा कि सरकार ने देश ‘बेचने’ की आधिकारिक घोषणा की है. तृणमूल कांग्रेस ने सोमवार को दावा किया कि केंद्र की राष्ट्रीय मौद्रीकरण योजना (एनएमपी) ‘साठगांठ वाले पूंजीपतियों द्वारा सरकार का निजीकरण’ करने का उदाहरण है और इस ‘जन-विरोधी फैसले’ को तत्काल वापस लिया जाना चाहिए। इस मुद्दे पर द वायर की सीनियर एडिटर आरफ़ा ख़ानम शेरवानी ने अर्थशास्त्री अरुण कुमार से चर्चा की.
Business Tit-Bits: From Demonetisation To Monetisation | National Monetisation Pipeline | NMP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWDiPU1U_u0 Aug 27, 2021
It was in her 2021 budget speech that the Finance Minister announced that a National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) would be launched to monetise the operating public infrastructure, to finance the construction of new infrastructure. The declared purpose was to raise funds for the build up of much needed infrastructure in India, at a time when the government’s finances are very fragile. A wide and diverse range of government owned assets were proposed to be put on the block by the FM.
NITI Aayog Chief On India's Mega Monetisation Plan | Left, Right & Centre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-o9phdSY1Y Aug 26, 2021 India unveiled the Rs 6 lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline, under which the government will monetise assets by bringing in private sector participation in several key areas - roads, power, airports. The government says that it isn't selling any resources, only encouraging handing over key projects on a time-bound basis. Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog, who is spearheading this initiative talks to NDTV on what the policy means.
''Asset Monetisation To Enhance Capex, Revive Credit Flow'': Amitabh Kant To NDTV https://www.ndtv.com/business/niti-aayog-ceo-amitabh-kant-on-national-monetisation-pipeline-nmp-to-ndtv-monetisation-is-not-privatisation-2518494 August 25, 2021
Under the National Monetisation Pipeline, the government will monetise assets worth ₹ 1.6 lakh crore from the roads sector, ₹ 1.5 lakh crore from railway sector and ₹ 79,000 crore from power sector
Pipeline Govt would be virtually extending the lease in perpetuity: https://www.cenfa.org/uncategorized/with-national-monetization-privatization-pipeline-govt-would-be-virtually-extending-the-lease-in-perpetuity-thomas-isaac/
September 22, 2021
Thomas Isaac “The government is claiming they are giving only temporary rights for certain duration (through the National Monetisation Pipeline). The key question is how the government will repay this investment that the private companies have made at the end of the period when they take back the assets. If the government says that whatever the investments the private players make would be taken over by the government at the end of the tenure, then there would be no takers. So, basically the government would be virtually extending the lease in perpetuity,” Thomas Isaac, the former Finance Minister of Kerala said.
Praveen Chakravarty: putting big capital assets on the block at a time when the economy is extremely weak, when private investment is very constrained, is only to favour a few big players as no one else will have the money now to invest in these assets.
Comrade Thomas Isaac on Issues With GST | CPIM Kerala https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtIDvG4kgLU Sep 2, 2020
Designed To Create 2-3 Monopolies": Rahul Gandhi On Asset Monetisation Aug 24, 2021 https://youtu.be/VNZrKP0P1gw?t=587
BJP Govt selling everything UPA helped create: Rahul Gandhi
https://www.aninews.in/news/national/politics/bjp-govt-selling-everything-upa-helped-create-rahul-gandhi20210824192858/ BJP Govt selling everything UPA helped create: Rahul Gandhi
Read more At:
https://www.aninews.in/news/national/politics/bjp-govt-selling-everything-upa-helped-create-rahul-gandhi20210824192858/
P Chidambaram : https://youtube.com/embed/LiQXXs3f6qE?start=1093&end=1389
http://emeets.lnwr.in/index.php/1187/congress-critique-of-economic-agenda
The government plans to raise Rs 6 lakh crore ($81 billion) from selling state-owned infrastructure assets over next four years to help bolster the government’s finances and plug its budget deficit, according to people familiar with the matter. Revenue from monetizing roads is pegged at Rs 1.6 lakh crore, while that from railways is seen at Rs 1.5 lakh crore, the people said. Power sector assets may fetch Rs 1 lakh crore, gas pipelines Rs 59,000 crore and telecommunication assets Rs 40,000 crore. Public warehouses, civil aviation and port infrastructure, sports stadiums and mining assets are expected to bring in another almost Rs 1 lakh crore.
“The government does own very valuable assets and this should see investor interest,” said Sonal Varma, economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Singapore. “This will be like an asset exchange, where the government sells its infrastructure assets and uses the revenue earned to invest in other infrastructure priorities that it has set.”
The Adani Group’s shadowy offshore investors – calls grow for a full investigation https://www.adaniwatch.org/the_adani_group_s_shadowy_offshore_investors_calls_grow_for_a_full_investigation
Geoff Law Aug 12, 2021
Adani Group holds stakes in strategic Indian infrastructure like ports, airports and power plants.’ By its own admission, the Group will control 40 per cent of air, sea and logistics infrastructure soon…
On June 2021 Ms Mahua Moitra wrote to India’s Central Boa
rd of Direct Taxation referring to six foreign companies with significant investments in the Adani Group that allegedly shared a common address, directors and secretary. She said the companies concerned owned over US $5.6 billion worth of stock in Adani companies but did not have websites or independent addresses.
Other article in adaniwatch.org
https://www.adaniwatch.org/unravelling_adani_s_network_of_offshore_investors_part_2
https://www.adaniwatch.org/love_is_in_the_air_the_modi_adani_sweetheart_deal_on_privatising_airports
How the government of India is turning Goa into a coal hub Nihar Gokhale https://www.adaniwatch.org/how_the_government_of_india_is_turning_goa_into_a_coal_hub
To BEST: Why are we waiting for hours?
(PART 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USnt4fiF6kA Aug 8, 2021
In 2019, the BEST management had signed an MOU with worker unions which said that the number of BEST owned buses will remain at 3,327. Any wet-leased (i.e., smaller contractor-run conductor-less) buses will be in addition to this. Today, the number of BEST-owned buses is down to 1,999, and the total number of buses (including contractor-run buses) stands much higher at 3,267.
(PART 2) Aug 8, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoUSK2hrEGc Aug 8, 2021 BEST's reduction of buses has led to enormous hardships for commuters and workers alike. Everywhere in the city, we can see long queues of commuters waiting for buses - sometimes for hours. There is simply no reason why Mumbaikars are being made to suffer in this manner for something that can be easily avoided or overcome with careful planning and management.
(PART 3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my9kt8vPX48 Aug 9, 2021
The BEST-owned buses are larger, and can accommodate up to 72 passengers. The contractor driven buses that have replaced them can accommodate at the most 30 passengers. This means that not only are there fewer buses on the roads, but the number of seats in the buses are dramatically reduced. If we apply the standard of 50 buses per 100,000 people, Mumbai should have a total of 6,250 70-seater buses. (In fact, going by the norms the Supreme Court had laid down for Delhi, Mumbai would need 12,500 buses.)
(PART 4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcH9SxWuEX0 Aug 9, 2021 All through the COVID pandemic, the BEST has transported workers providing essential services, and later other daily commuters, in Mumbai. More than a hundred workers of BEST have succumbed to the disease since last year. Over the years, BEST has proved to be the most reliable public transport for people during times of crisis. However, rather than expand the city's public bus service, the BEST management and BMC have shrunk the services. The authorities have used the pandemic to further downsize the BEST in order to facilitate contractor driven (privately operated) smaller buses.
(PART 5) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b70fil9cQFg From young children to senior citizens, most Mumbaikars are dependent on BEST to fulfill their work, educational, health and other needs, and the denial of this mode of transport is a direct attack on our rights.
आमची मुंबई आमची बेस्ट संवाद:
"काम पर 9 बजे / 10 बजे कि जगह पर मैं 12:30 बजे पहुँच रहा हूँ" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2aKXlYjHDI Aug 8, 2021 504 में सफर करने वाले एक और वडाला के कामगार का कहना था कि बसों की संख्या कम होने से उनकी जीविका पर सीधा असर पड रहा है । रोज वाशी से वडाला आने जाने में पाँच घंटे लगते है । कभी बैठने को जगह मिल जाती है और कभी नहीं मिलती । मैं दस बजे निकलता हूँ तो साडे बारह बजे यहाँ दुकान पर पहुंचता हूँ । और मार्केट 4 बजे को बंद होता है । तो मेरा समय और पैसा दोनों बरबाद हो रहा है
"वाशी की बस के लिए २ घंटे तक इंतजार करना पड़ा" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PB665LemaE Aug 8, 2021 खुशनम दादर पारसी कॉलोनी की निवासी है और पिछले सात सालों से वह नियमित रूप से बेस्ट में सफर करती है । उनका कहना था कि इससे पहले कभी भी बेस्ट की हालत इतनी खराब नहीं हुई थी जितनी आज है । बसों की संख्या कम हो गई है, बस स्टॉप पर छत या बैठने की जगह नहीं है, लोगों
Webinar: Covid 19 and the Threat to BEST 8th august 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5pnuFbISVA Aug 12, 2020
More than one hundred employees of BEST have passed away in recent months and more than a thousand have fallen ill, not least due to the appalling handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by the city and government authorities. Throughout the lockdown, BEST bus services were the ONLY form of public transport for all frontline workers. Yet, what does the future hold for the premier bus service and its employees? In recent years, the city’s bus services have been systematically shrunk, starved of investment and handed over to private contractors – in the name of making it financially viable.
In this webinar we discuss the importance of BEST for Mumbai, the impacts of the pandemic on BEST workers, and the way forward for BEST.
Speakers [click on timestamp to jump directly to each speaker]:
1) Amita Bhide [5:23] https://www.youtube.com/embed/n5pnuFbISVA?start=323&end= 1136 overll privatisation..
2) Meena Gopal [20:11] https://www.youtube.com/embed/n5pnuFbISVA?start=1211s
3) Shashank Rao [31:35] https://www.youtube.com/embed/n5pnuFbISVA?start=1895s
4) Trishila Kamble [45:46] https://www.youtube.com/embed/n5pnuFbISVA?start=2746s
5) Nikhil Wagle [56:17] https://www.youtube.com/embed/n5pnuFbISVA?start=3377s
6) Dunu Roy [1:16:27] https://www.youtube.com/embed/n5pnuFbISVA?start=4587s