<story><title>India unveils $2.5B plan to electrify all households by end 2018</title><url>https://in.reuters.com/article/india-power/india-unveils-2-5-billion-plan-to-electrify-all-households-by-end-2018-idINKCN1C029S</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>thewhitetulip</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s highly ironic that the ruling party is now receding to the level of the previous govt that they destroyed in the 2014 elections. The UPA also used to offer free things to poor and used to do minority appeasement two years before the elections.&lt;p&gt;The thing is, this govt came to power in all but 4 Indian states and it has just destroyed the economy. The GDP rate has skid down to 4% just as the previous PM, Dr Manmohan Singh said it would and at that time, everyone mocked him.&lt;p&gt;Guess who is laughing now?&lt;p&gt;The current govt has failed absolutely at every way, the Demonetization exercise was a total and epic disaster and it shocked the economy without fulfilling it&amp;#x27;s motive of &amp;quot;war on black money&amp;quot; as 99% of the invalid notes were returned to the RBI.&lt;p&gt;But that&amp;#x27;s not the only problem, the problem is, this govt takes decisions just to win elections. DeMo happened just before UP elections after the &amp;quot;surgical strike&amp;quot; lost it&amp;#x27;s glitter in the media.&lt;p&gt;Even the most ardent supporters of the current govt are asking the question, if the earlier govt was able to keep the GDP growth rate above 7 in horrible world economic condition, why is the current govt unable to do so even when the crude oil prices are half of what it was earlier?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>_jgdh</author><text>I&amp;#x27;ve been predicting this govt would do poorly long before they were elected to power. Having said that, you&amp;#x27;re completely mistaken about this issue. It&amp;#x27;s the govt&amp;#x27;s job to provide infrastructure. If all households are electrified by 2019 that makes a massive difference to people&amp;#x27;s lives - lights and fans at night improve the quality of life, children can study, phones can be charged etc. Further, this actually increases the rate of growth because these people will likely earn and consume more. Honestly, I&amp;#x27;m thrilled about this.&lt;p&gt;Just to play Modi&amp;#x27;s advocate for a second, I think replacing all indirect taxes with one indirect tax will benefit Indian businesses in the long run. Although it will be painful for now, especially for corner cases the govt hasn&amp;#x27;t thought about (exporters having to pay tax and getting a refund months later) it will get better with time. I predict that the software will improve to the point that filing the tax will become more or less automated. India is taking the hit to growth today to reap the benefit of tax simplification 2+ years from now.&lt;p&gt;As for demonetization, I doubt even Modi&amp;#x27;s mother could spin that positively. It was a disaster, no doubt. Perhaps the tiny silver lining that was completely unintended is that most urban merchants accept digital payments now.</text></comment>
<story><title>India unveils $2.5B plan to electrify all households by end 2018</title><url>https://in.reuters.com/article/india-power/india-unveils-2-5-billion-plan-to-electrify-all-households-by-end-2018-idINKCN1C029S</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>thewhitetulip</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s highly ironic that the ruling party is now receding to the level of the previous govt that they destroyed in the 2014 elections. The UPA also used to offer free things to poor and used to do minority appeasement two years before the elections.&lt;p&gt;The thing is, this govt came to power in all but 4 Indian states and it has just destroyed the economy. The GDP rate has skid down to 4% just as the previous PM, Dr Manmohan Singh said it would and at that time, everyone mocked him.&lt;p&gt;Guess who is laughing now?&lt;p&gt;The current govt has failed absolutely at every way, the Demonetization exercise was a total and epic disaster and it shocked the economy without fulfilling it&amp;#x27;s motive of &amp;quot;war on black money&amp;quot; as 99% of the invalid notes were returned to the RBI.&lt;p&gt;But that&amp;#x27;s not the only problem, the problem is, this govt takes decisions just to win elections. DeMo happened just before UP elections after the &amp;quot;surgical strike&amp;quot; lost it&amp;#x27;s glitter in the media.&lt;p&gt;Even the most ardent supporters of the current govt are asking the question, if the earlier govt was able to keep the GDP growth rate above 7 in horrible world economic condition, why is the current govt unable to do so even when the crude oil prices are half of what it was earlier?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>harigov</author><text>Minor correction. They are NOT offering free electricity. Just free electric connections. Consumers have to pay the monthly bill on their own. Also, GDP growth under previous govt was accompanied by a significant increase in inflation and govt debt so it is not exactly apples-to-apples comparison.</text></comment>