Scheduled Tribes (STs) are social groups recognized by the Indian Constitution for their primitive traits, distinctive culture, shyness of contact with the community at large and geographical isolation. Scheduled tribes of India, due to developmental displacement, and in absence of proper rehabilitation initiatives, have faced cultural discrimination and socio-political and economic exploitation. Due to lack of education and skills, for decades these tribes continued to be oppressed at the hands of the larger society due to lack of education and skills.

Constitutional And Legal Safeguards Addressing Discrimination Against Sts

The Constitution of India has several provisions to prevent discrimination against people belonging to Scheduled Tribes and to protect their rights. Some of the important provisions, inter-alia, are Article 15, Article 16, Article 46, Article 335, Article 338-A, etc. Besides, several legislations are in place to prevent discrimination against people belonging to Scheduled Tribes and to protect their rights, significant among which have been Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 2015 and Recognition of Forest Rights Act, 2006/ 1. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 2015:

1. The STs in particular, face atrocities like denial of forest rights, preventing candidates from filing of nomination in election, accusation of witchcraft, disrobing of women and sexual harassment, defiling their sacred places and forest deities, imposing social or economic boycott, abusing them through words, acts or gesture.
2. The SC & ST PoA, 2015 prohibits the commission of offences against members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs and STs) and establishes special courts for the trial of such offences and the rehabilitation of victims, thereby preventing any potential social discrimination faced by the SCs and STs.
3. Special court has to finish the trial within two months.
4. Presumption to the offences i.e. If the accused knew the victim, then the court will presume that the accused was aware of the victim’s tribal identity unless proved otherwise.
5. The act also states that the wilful negligence of duty by public servants required to be performed by him under this Act, is a punishable offence.

2. Recognition of Forest Rights Act, 2006

1. The act was enacted to recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in forest land in forest dwelling scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have been residing in such forests for generations.
2. Under this act, Land titles (Pattas) are given to the forest dwellers, if they have been cultivating for generations (75 years to be precise).
3. Possession of land title makes the STs eligible for agricultural credit with interest subvention. This saves them from the clutches of moneylenders. They also become eligible for various government schemes for seeds, fertilizers, farm inputs, crop insurance and MSP.

3. Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996: PESA empowers the scheduled tribes to safeguard and preserve their traditions and customs, their cultural identity, community resources and also their customary modes of dispute resolution, thereby helping them from being vulnerable at the hands of larger society and also protecting their identity and culture from the onslaught of dominant culture. 4. Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955: In order to stop the practice of untouchability the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 has been enacted. This Act provides assistance to the States and Union Territories for the implementation of the constitutional provisions for the Scheduled Tribes. It also provides funding for the states to assist victims of atrocities and for the provision of incentives for the creation of special courts, inter-caste marriages and awareness generation. Government has adopted a multi-pronged strategy for overall development and mainstreaming of tribal people in the country, which includes support for education, health, sanitation, water supply, skill development, livelihood, infrastructure, etc. Major part of infrastructure development and provision of basic amenities in tribal areas in the country is carried out through various schemes of Central Ministries and the State Governments concerned.

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The Great Depression started after a major fall in stock prices that began around September 4, 1929, and became worldwide news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday.

Economic And Political Consequences Of Great Depression

The Great Depression had devastating effects on both rich and poor countries. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade fell by more than 50%. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%. In the political sphere, the great depression was considered as one of the prominent causes for the rise of totalitarian regimes that led to world war 2.

New Deal Of FDR

The new deal is a set of economic and social welfare measures taken by president Roosevelt to tackle the great depression and revive the American economy. Based on Keynesian principles of state spending, this policy is credited with creating massive employment and preventing further decline in the economy. The new deal was introduced with three aims:

1. Relief: To give direct help to poverty-stricken millions who were without food and homes. To fulfil this aim several steps like starting soup kitchens, loans for households in danger of losing their homes, slum clearance and building new homes etc. were taken up. To provide agricultural relief, a farmers relief act was passed where the government paid compensation to farmers who produced less. The social security act was passed to provide old-age pensions and unemployment insurance.
2. Recovery: The objective of this aim is to reduce unemployment, stimulate the demand for goods, and get the economy moving again. With this aim in mind several steps like The Civilian Conservation Corps, passing of The National Industrial Recovery Act, the establishment of FEMA, The works progress Administration were taken up.
3. Recovery: The intention behind this aim is to take steps to prevent a repeat of the economic disaster. Numerous financial and banking sector reforms like creation of SEC to regulate stock markets, providing insurance to depositors money. Apart from this, several reform measures to improve working conditions like The Wagner Act, Fair labour standards Act were passed. Under the Wagner Act, trade unions were given the legal foundation and the right to bargain with management.

Did New Deal Introduce Socialism?

The major criticism against the new deal came from businessmen who accused FDR of encouraging socialism. State governments also resented the extent to which the federal government was interfering in state affairs, effectively harming the federal spirit and centralizing the governance. However, a close look at the new deal and its implications are necessary to come to a definitive conclusion on this aspect.

1. The new deal was accused of being socialist because of measures taken by Roosevelt like increase in taxation, regulations of wages and working hours, liberalization and giving excessive powers of bargaining to trade unions.
2. He also introduced social welfare measures like old-age pensions and unemployment insurance schemes. Steps like government support to industries and government taking over of banks temporarily were seen by critics as the socialization of the USA.
3. While these policies made critics allege that the president is appeasing the left, socialists in the democratic party and outside were also not happy with the president, as they felt the measures of the new deal were not radical enough. Left felt that too much power was still left in the hands of big business.

Fdr Rationale For Socialistic Policies

1. While the accusations and counter-accusations about the new deal being socialistic and not being socialistic enough were running thick and fast, FDR himself stated, “I am fighting Communism… I want to save our system, the capitalist system…”
2. The measures of a new deal which has socialistic leaning were introduced when US capitalism was in a huge slump, and workers’ struggles and radical dissent were running at a high pitch. The measures were victories for those struggles and for that dissent, but they were far short of socialism, meaning the social ownership and democratic control of the majority industry and banks.
3. Roosevelt pointed out that to save capitalism from chaos… it was necessary… to grant to the American working class the much-belated economic concessions which the fellow workers in the advanced European countries had obtained in struggle years and decades before.
4. The national mood amid depression is gradually turning left, with radical left-leaning politicians gaining ground at local and state elections and gradually gaining popularity at the national level.
5. Sensing danger to the very political foundation of America, FDR co-opted left. Roosevelt shifted to the left in rhetoric and, to some extent, in policy, consciously seeking to steal the thunder of his populist critics.

As FDR himself stated, the goal of the new deal is to save capitalism from communism. Thus the new deal is pragmatic and is intended to do two birds with one stone. It aims to revive the American economy while also fighting back the rising radical left-wing in American politics. While many European nations doing the same turned into fascist and totalitarian governments, FDR tactically co-opted the left to preserve capitalism. The biggest consequence of this co-opting left is it gave rise to the Welfare state model of polity that is widely followed now across the world.

The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme was launched in 2020 by the Union Government in three key sectors (mobile manufacturing and electric components, pharmaceuticals and medical device manufacturing) and was later extended to 11 other key sectors with a budget outlay of Rs 1970 billion to create national manufacturing champions and generate employment opportunities for the country’s youth. The minimum production in India as a result of PLI Schemes is expected to be over US$ 500 billion in 5 years.

Role in promoting Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission:

• Creation of large-scale manufacturing capacity: The incentives under this scheme are directly proportional to production capacity/ incremental turnover. Hence, it will help develop large- scale manufacturing facilities and better industrial infrastructure, thus benefiting the overall supply chain ecosystem.
• Import substitution and export promotion: The PLI scheme aims to reduce the gap between India’s highly skewed import-export basket, which is mainly characterized by heavy imports of finished goods. The PLI schemes will promote domestic manufacturing of goods, thereby reducing our dependence on imports and help in expanding the quantum of exports from India in the long term.
• Technology transfer and skill development: The PLI Scheme will help attract foreign investment in India and along with that the advanced technology and expertise thus helping in skill development of our workforce.
• Focus on sunrise and strategic sectors: The PLI scheme covers new growing sectors such as drones and drone components, advanced chemistry cell batteries, Electronics and IT, Pharma etc. Thus, it will help India become future ready.

Challenges in realising these objectives:

• India becoming an assembly unit of imported parts: It is feared that the PLI scheme might degenerate the manufacturing units in India into the assembly of the imported parts. For example, the scheme aims to promote production of Air Conditioners in India, but the critical parts like compressors, valves and coils are being imported.
• Lack of research and development in India: The incentives under this scheme are linked to incremental sales of products manufactured in India, but lack of focus on R&D by the Indian private industry is the major structural weakness. For example, the largest share of value addition accrues the patent owners and the patent rights are kept abroad.
• Possible challenge in WTO: Earlier, Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) was challenged in WTO for violation of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement) and the decision was not favourable for India. If the goods manufactured under the PLI scheme significantly impacts global market prices then it might be challenged in WTO as well.
• Lacks long term approach: It is being argued that the short-term fiscal PLI incentives cannot overcome the lack of competitiveness in the long run.

Since its launch, the PLI Scheme has attracted much attention and various multinational firms are showing interest in investing in India under this scheme. Going forward, the government needs to ensure that the momentum gained by the scheme is sustained for a long-term growth.

Priority Sector Lending (PSL) mandates increased lending by the banks towards specified sectors and activities in the economy, which may not get timely and adequate credit in the absence of the special dispensation. Presently, categories under priority sector include Agriculture; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; Export Credit; Education; Housing; Social Infrastructure; Renewable Energy; and Others. The rate of interest on PSL loans is charged as per the directives of the RBI.

Challenges with Priority Sector Lending in India:

• Sectoral issues: Doubling credit to PSL in the agricultural sector leads to an increase of just 11% of total credit in the agricultural sector as compared to 76% in the export sector and 41% in manufacturing sector. Also, agricultural sector’s susceptibility to vagaries of monsoon increases the credit risks of banks under PSL.
• Lethargy in lending: Most public sector banks have been continuously underperforming on the total priority sector target. This may be due to difficulty in finding viable options to lend to the rural areas or the MSME sector.
• Rising NPA: The Second Narasimham Committee (1998) observed that directed credit led to an increase in non-performing loans and adversely affected the efficiency and profitability of banks. It stated that 47% of all non-performing assets have come from the priority sector.
• Costs of PSL in India: It hinders the banks from expanding their scale of lending, consequently, affecting the banking industry and the flow of credit in the economy as a whole. It also impacts the general lending power of banks and deposit rate, which ultimately impact the general public.

Notwithstanding the challenges, PSL has proved useful for the following reasons:

• Promotes equity: It promotes social equity and facilitates increase in employment and investment in less developed regions and gives an impetus to the vulnerable sections of the society.
• Balanced development: Direct lending allows the commercial banks to generate high social returns along with profits and it also contributes to economic development by increasing investment in strategic sectors like exports.
• Credit formalisation: It increases institutional credit (including commercial banks, cooperative banks and societies) to the agriculture sector compared to non-institutional credit (such as money lenders).

Despite the challenges, the policy of priority sector lending (PSL) target has benefitted the vulnerable sections of society, which though creditworthy, are unable to access the formal banking system for adequate and timely credit. In this context, to make the PSL policy more effective, various steps such as Priority Sector Lending Certificates, timely revised guidelines by the RBI, continued increase of the target under PSL year-on-year, etc. have been taken, which are steps in the right direction.