Daily Analysis of 'The Hindu' - 15th April, 2020 | Additional Study Material for UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


For every ailment under the sun, 
There is a remedy, or there is none; 
If there be one, try to find it; 
If there be none, never mind it. 
Page 2


For every ailment under the sun, 
There is a remedy, or there is none; 
If there be one, try to find it; 
If there be none, never mind it. 
Economic liberalisation and its faults 
?Dr. Manmohan S i n g h ’ s 1991-92 Budget speech marked the 
beginning of the end of the ‘Licence Raj ’ in India. 
?Most of the manufacturing sector was opened up to 
foreign direct investment.  
?In the late 1980s, transnational corporations started 
shifting the production base to smaller companies in 
developing countries. 
?The world witnessed the development of global supply 
chains. 
?Manufacturing shifted from a decentralised production 
system spread across different counties to just a few 
locations. 
Page 3


For every ailment under the sun, 
There is a remedy, or there is none; 
If there be one, try to find it; 
If there be none, never mind it. 
Economic liberalisation and its faults 
?Dr. Manmohan S i n g h ’ s 1991-92 Budget speech marked the 
beginning of the end of the ‘Licence Raj ’ in India. 
?Most of the manufacturing sector was opened up to 
foreign direct investment.  
?In the late 1980s, transnational corporations started 
shifting the production base to smaller companies in 
developing countries. 
?The world witnessed the development of global supply 
chains. 
?Manufacturing shifted from a decentralised production 
system spread across different counties to just a few 
locations. 
?In the case of health products, China became the global 
supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), personal 
protective equipment (PPE), and medical devices 
diagnostics.  
?The U.K. Prime Minister asked the c o u n t r y ’ s manufacturers 
to produce ventilators in order to provide care for critical 
COVID-19 patients. 
?Similarly, the U.S. President invoked the Defense Production 
Act of 1950 to ramp up N95 mask production. 
?Similarly, the French Health Minister stated that the 
country may nationalise vaccine companies if necessary. 
?Spain nationalised all its private hospitals. 
Page 4


For every ailment under the sun, 
There is a remedy, or there is none; 
If there be one, try to find it; 
If there be none, never mind it. 
Economic liberalisation and its faults 
?Dr. Manmohan S i n g h ’ s 1991-92 Budget speech marked the 
beginning of the end of the ‘Licence Raj ’ in India. 
?Most of the manufacturing sector was opened up to 
foreign direct investment.  
?In the late 1980s, transnational corporations started 
shifting the production base to smaller companies in 
developing countries. 
?The world witnessed the development of global supply 
chains. 
?Manufacturing shifted from a decentralised production 
system spread across different counties to just a few 
locations. 
?In the case of health products, China became the global 
supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), personal 
protective equipment (PPE), and medical devices 
diagnostics.  
?The U.K. Prime Minister asked the c o u n t r y ’ s manufacturers 
to produce ventilators in order to provide care for critical 
COVID-19 patients. 
?Similarly, the U.S. President invoked the Defense Production 
Act of 1950 to ramp up N95 mask production. 
?Similarly, the French Health Minister stated that the 
country may nationalise vaccine companies if necessary. 
?Spain nationalised all its private hospitals. 
?In an indirect show of power, Chinese billionaire 
Jack Ma sent a flight containing 5.4 million face 
masks, kits for 1.08 million detection tests, 40,000 
sets of protective clothing and 60,000 protective 
face shields to the U.S.  
?This exposes the poor state of preparedness and 
dependence on imports for essential goods 
required to meet the challenge of any major 
disease outbreak. 
?In India, economic liberalisation has damaged the 
g ov e r n m e n t ’ s capacity in two ways. 
?First, it incapacitated the government to respond 
to emergencies based on credible information. 
Page 5


For every ailment under the sun, 
There is a remedy, or there is none; 
If there be one, try to find it; 
If there be none, never mind it. 
Economic liberalisation and its faults 
?Dr. Manmohan S i n g h ’ s 1991-92 Budget speech marked the 
beginning of the end of the ‘Licence Raj ’ in India. 
?Most of the manufacturing sector was opened up to 
foreign direct investment.  
?In the late 1980s, transnational corporations started 
shifting the production base to smaller companies in 
developing countries. 
?The world witnessed the development of global supply 
chains. 
?Manufacturing shifted from a decentralised production 
system spread across different counties to just a few 
locations. 
?In the case of health products, China became the global 
supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), personal 
protective equipment (PPE), and medical devices 
diagnostics.  
?The U.K. Prime Minister asked the c o u n t r y ’ s manufacturers 
to produce ventilators in order to provide care for critical 
COVID-19 patients. 
?Similarly, the U.S. President invoked the Defense Production 
Act of 1950 to ramp up N95 mask production. 
?Similarly, the French Health Minister stated that the 
country may nationalise vaccine companies if necessary. 
?Spain nationalised all its private hospitals. 
?In an indirect show of power, Chinese billionaire 
Jack Ma sent a flight containing 5.4 million face 
masks, kits for 1.08 million detection tests, 40,000 
sets of protective clothing and 60,000 protective 
face shields to the U.S.  
?This exposes the poor state of preparedness and 
dependence on imports for essential goods 
required to meet the challenge of any major 
disease outbreak. 
?In India, economic liberalisation has damaged the 
g ov e r n m e n t ’ s capacity in two ways. 
?First, it incapacitated the government to respond 
to emergencies based on credible information. 
?The dismantling of the ‘Licence Raj ’ resulted in the elimination of 
channels of information for the government, which is crucial to make 
informed policy choices. 
?For instance, as part of the removal of ‘Licence R a j ’ , the 
government stopped asking for information from the manufacturer to 
file the quantity of production of various medicines. 
?Second, the logic and policies of economic liberalisation seriously 
undermined the manufacturing capabilities of health products in 
India. 
?The short-sighted policy measures, with the objective of 
enhancing profitability of the private sector, allowed the import of 
raw materials from the cheapest sources and resulted in the debasing 
of the API industry, especially in essential medicine.