At the entrance of a new decade, a debate has started among the Indian economists on whether or not, India should focus on investing globally. Whether it should acquire land in countries like Brazil or Sudan and grow crop there to beat the shortages. Buy natural and energy resources in Russia or Africa to met the growing competition and enable Indian entrepreneurs to buy out production capacities for the Indian market. Should we declare these commodities and import them duty-free? We allow duty-free import of foreign edible oil, seeds and sugar, then why not allow Indian entrepreneurs to acquire farms there and produce pulses or paddy and allow duty-free export to India? This will create way for both growth and emission cuts. India will be able to push aggressively in WTO or Climate Change Summits.
I strongly support this idea, but on one condition- our farmers should not suffer. We have had our part of shame form Vidarbha. We can take no more! Entrepreneurs must be encouraged to support Indian farmers first. Government must make sure we are healthy from within before we venture into the global market. Education and Development of infrastructure in villages are two major areas I can think of now. Government must make sure the irrigation becomes lesser dependent on yearly rains, for its unpredictability in the recent years. Farmers must receive subsidies whenever required.
So, economically, the time is ripe when we can venture into investing in foreign countries, but the highest priority should be to prosper the farmers of our motherland. Let's hope the government has similar plans.