Author: Balaguru Mamundi

Title: ​ ​ ​​Public accounts: On the newly constituted Public Accounts Committee

Over the last decade, the Central government, with a comfortable majority in Parliament, has evaded meaningful parliamentary accountability. Now, however, the BJP heads a coalition that is dependent on allies, and the Opposition is stronger. The changed situation is an opportunity for the renewal of parliamentary oversight over the executive’s functioning. The proactive beginning of the newly constituted Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is a case in point. On September 2, it notified 161 subjects it had picked for deliberations during its term, most of them based on CAG reports. The panel has picked five subjects suo motu — reforms in the banking and insurance sectors; review of the implementation of centrally sponsored welfare schemes; policy measures underway for transition in the energy sector; performance review of regulatory bodies established by Acts of Parliament, and the levy and regulation of fees, tariffs, user charges, on public infrastructure and other public utilities. The PAC, headed by Congress Member of Parliament K.C. Venugopal, has made use of the rule which clearly states that its functions can go “beyond the formality of expenditure to its wisdom, faithfulness, and economy”. This rule has been used only rarely and to make a political point. Though the subjects picked by the PAC have political undertones, the overarching public interest involved is unmistakable.

The constitutional scheme envisages that Parliament controls the finances of the country. Any tax may be imposed only by passing legislation. All expenditure of the government needs prior sanction from Parliament through Appropriation Bills. The CAG is a constitutional office that examines and audits the financial functioning of all government departments. All its reports are sent to the PAC, one of the oldest and most significant parliamentary panels. Government measures that pick the winners of the economy have led to serious allegations of crony capitalism in recent years. The government has refused to investigate the serious charges against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi P. Buch and the Adani Group, which controls seven Indian airports. Public sector banks and regulatory bodies have a lot to answer for. The BJP has already opposed any PAC investigation into these questions. The 22-member PAC has 13 members from the BJP-led NDA and nine Opposition MPs, including four from the Congress. The committee’s assertive posturing could be undermined by the ruling coalition’s majority. The PAC, and the Department Related Standing Committees, many of which are yet to be constituted, should assert their role as instruments of parliamentary authority and the enforcer of the executive’s accountability to the people.

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Title: ​ Stolen vote: On a sledgehammer blow to democracy in France

Emmanuel Macron, France’s centrist President, called a snap parliamentary election in June after the country’s far-right National Rally (RN) finished first in the European elections. Mr. Macron wanted a fresh national mandate against the far right. But in the elections, held in two rounds in June and July, no party won a majority (289 seats) with the leftist New Popular Front (NFP) emerging as the biggest bloc, with 182 seats. Mr. Macron’s Ensemble won 168 seats and the RN finished third with 143 seats. The NFP immediately staked claim to form the next government and even picked a prime ministerial candidate. But after two months of a political deadlock, Mr. Macron, last week, picked Michel Barnier, a veteran from the conservative Republican party, which finished fourth in the election with 46 seats, as the new Prime Minister. In effect, Mr. Macron called the snap election to defeat the far right, saw the victory of the left-wing bloc, but appointed a conservative as the Prime Minister. His decision has angered many French voters, with tens of thousands of them pouring into the streets on Saturday to protest against the “stolen vote”. The NFP, especially its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has slammed Mr. Macron’s “betrayal” of the public mandate.

Mr. Macron’s rationale was that he chose “institutional stability” as most other political blocs were opposed to a leftist forming the government. In the current arrangement, Mr. Barnier would seek to form a minority government with support from Mr. Macron’s party and indirect support (through abstention) from the RN. So, if Mr. Macron called the snap elections to defeat the far-right RN, his pick for the post of the Prime Minister would be dependent on the far right’s mercy to stay in power and push legislation through Parliament. Mr. Macron wants a leader who can form “a unity government to serve the French people”, and Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader, wants a Prime Minister “who works for RN voters”. Mr. Barnier, 73, has served in several conservative cabinets and was the EU’s main Brexit negotiator from 2016-21. His job is to form a government that would take Mr. Macron’s agenda forward without irking the far right. Whether he would succeed or not, Mr. Macron’s move itself is a sledgehammer blow to democracy in France. His impulsive decisions to push the country into elections and then ignore the spirit of the people’s mandate are not typical of leaders of mature democracies. By rejecting the winner of the election and picking a Prime Minister who is acceptable for the far right, Mr. Macron is making a mockery of the people’s choice and also mainstreaming the far right with neo-Nazi roots. He has made a big mistake.

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Title: ​ ​Wide open: On India’s Paralympians

Following the disappointment of several near-misses in the recent Olympics, India’s best-ever show of 29 medals for an 18th place finish in the Paris Paralympics is reason to celebrate. From four medals and 43rd spot in Rio 2016 to 19 medals and 24th rank in Tokyo 2020, this is a significant ascent and depicts the Indian Paralympians’ constant improvement in sync with the increased government support. Since the challenges are different, it may not be fair to compare the achievements of the para-athletes with those in the Olympics. India’s performance in the 2024 Paralympics reflects its para-athletes’ quest for excellence despite the unimaginable odds they face. Of the seven gold, nine silver and 13 bronze medals, the majority (17 in all), came from para-athletics. The javelin throwers and high jumpers contributed the most, with four medals in different categories classified as impairments. Para-badminton (five), para-shooting (four), para-archery (two) and para-judo (one) completed the country’s medal tally. Shooter Avani Lekhara and javelin thrower Sumit Antil, who set a new Paralympic record, defended their gold medals, high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu claimed his third successive medal, 17-year-old armless archer Sheetal Devi became the youngest Indian to win a medal and Harvinder Singh won the first para-archery gold.

Preethi Pal bagged India’s first-ever track medal as she picked up a bronze in women’s 100m T35 event followed by another in 200m and Kapil Parmar captured India’s first para-judo medal. Nagaland’s 40-year-old Army man Hokato Sema, who shone as a shot putter despite losing a leg in the line of duty in the prime of his youth, cornered glory to underscore the indomitable human spirit. Overall, the spectators’ response to the Paralympics 2024 was heart-warming — organisers sold over two million tickets for the Games. The Stade de France witnessed a near-capacity crowd thronging the iconic venue daily to watch and support the heroic efforts. It was a huge encouragement for the 4,400-plus para-athletes competing in 549 medal events in 22 sports and might contribute to the growth and acceptability of para-sports. It complemented the French authorities’ attempt to make the Paralympics more inclusive, which is apparent from the emblem, mascot, and motto — Games Wide Open — used for the Olympics. The successful conduct of the Paris Paralympics and the Indians’ praiseworthy performance should draw more government and corporate support for these athletes in India to ensure improved shows on the field and a better life as part of the mainstream.

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Income inequality: On the ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook study

More jobs and higher taxes can counter the effects of automation 

The ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook study (September) has definitively linked declining trends in labour’s income share of total income within nations to technological advances — mainly automation and artificial intelligence. In an analysis of the past two decades, it mentions a 1.6% drop in the global labour income share between 2004-24. More ominously, almost 40% of this decline was in the pandemic years of 2019-22 — a drop that has not been recouped in the past couple of years. Labour income share is a measure widely used to assess income inequalities within economies. The 1.6% drop might seem insignificant, but it amounts to $2.4 trillion in lost wages at constant purchasing power parity, in relation to what workers would have earned had the labour income share been stable since 2004. $2.4 trillion lost globally is more than half of India’s nominal GDP forecast for FY2023-24. The study also highlights the gendered aspect of this inequality. In 2024, almost a third of the world’s young women (28.2%) are not in employment, education or training, it estimates, which is double that of young men (13.1%). This is alarming for developing nations with growing working age populations, as it highlights challenges in job creation. In fact, another ILO report on the status of employment in India estimates that 83% of its unemployed are youth. This coupled with the government’s recent prescriptions to the private sector to invest in labour intensive employment points to a crisis in jobs growth and rising inequality, even as output and labour productivity rise.

Several countries have been mooting the idea of a universal basic income (UBI), or a floor to stand on, as economists have called it. A referendum in Switzerland on UBI was defeated in 2016, while Democratic candidate and American tech investor Andrew Yang, in his aborted 2020 bid to the White House, mainstreamed a ‘Freedom Dividend’ of $1,000 a month for every American adult. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi too made a proposal of ₹12,000 a month for every family, during his 2019 election campaign, calling it a “final assault on poverty”. Several industry reports point to high-paying job creation due to automation and AI, to counter the jobless growth theory. But again, this only highlights an acceleration in income-inequality trends. Indeed, with the apparent advantages of automation and AI being irreversible, perhaps a global goal towards a universal basic income could address Sustainable Development Goal 10, or reduced inequality within and among countries. It is perhaps time that developing nations such as India consider the reintroduction of an inheritance tax as a measure to redress wealth inequality.