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"Most Indian leaders have been short-sighted in not giving due importance to the upbringing of the new young generations. This works in the short term but plays havoc with the future of a nation. Historically, they have followed the example set by Louis IV of France, not Bismarck in Germany- most were petty politicians, not statesmen.'
Good morning to one and all present here. Today I, Tamanna Sharma, will be speaking for the motion, 'India's development is a matter of skewed priorities.'
To open with that powerful statement by political analyst Shaunak Mukherjee seemed extremely apt, considering that the Centre continues to fritter away its limited resources towards low priority areas. An indictment of Indian policymakers becomes unavoidable when one studies the dismal state of public health and education in the country. The recent Human Development Report published by the United Nations Development Programme has highlighted India's poor development outcomes compared to its peers. India's abysmal ranking is primarily because of its skewed spending priorities: 16% of total central government expenditure is locked away in subsidies, whereas only 5.3% goes to education, health, water and sanitation put together. Economists and policymakers from both the left and right of the political spectrum have warned India not to neglect its public health and education sectors, including men like former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Nobel laureate economist Dr Amartya Sen!
India’s economic growth could decelerate next year, according to a UN report calling the recovery “constrained”. It said that India "suffered a contraction" of 7 per cent in 2020! Certain indices are among the worst in the world, well below norms already achieved in our neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. These relate to women's empowerment and literacy, mother/child care, and rural economic development. An apt example of skewed priorities in these spheres is the draft document on Reproductive Health and Family Planning, prepared by the Department of Family Welfare. It focuses only on family planning and ignores the immense issue of reproductive health in women and children in India!
My worthy opponents might argue that new schemes for child development, women's healthcare and public resources are being introduced in eight more states from district to block levels. Esteemed jury, I hope you agree when I say that these results appear impressive, but this seems to be a case of acting too little too late. India's share of malnourished women in the world stood at 46% well into the first decade of the new millennium. Authorities pampered the corrupt and neglected the poor. Delivering mothers were victims of a cruel exploiting system. This was at a time when its leaders were talking of the country becoming a major international power!
To conclude, I would like to quote Robert J McKain, "The reason most goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first." India's development, or rather lack thereof, is clearly a matter of skewed priorities.With this, I rest my case.
