I saw this the other day.

And I thought, why not. Let’s offer some suggestions. 

Mr Prime Minister, consider these as “open suggestions” being given through an “open letter”. I’m sure you’ve already got a load of legit stats during your brainstorming meeting with top economists in the country. On top of it, you must have received legit feedback on the condition of the markets from top business leaders in the country too, going by your other meeting. 

But I’m also confident that none of them would have told you to do this: Scrap the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019.

What has that got to do with the economy, you ask? Oh, a lot of things. Allow me to elaborate.

You might have noticed that a lot of protests are currently going on in the country. One of them is at Shaheen Bagh, where women and children have been sitting on a dharna since this Bill was passed. There are a string of shops in the market which have been closed since December 15. Businessmen there have been supporting the cause, standing with the protesters, but they’re also pointing out how some shops have to pay a monthly rent of Rs 3 lakh. It’s been almost a month and they haven’t done any business. 

You must feel their pain, if not that of the protesters.

Best way to solve this situation? Scrap CAA, protesters will get up, clear the streets immediately, and businesses can start functioning again. Simple. Mind you, this example is just a microcosm of how bad laws lead to economic losses. The sheer scale of protests in the country indicates how this might be happening in pockets everywhere. Think of the losses, Mr Prime Minister.

Another suggestion: Stop shutting down the internet willy-nilly.

Kashmir has been in a virtual shutdown for five months now. The internet there has been indefinitely cut off to contain the volatile situation and maintain law and order. In Assam, there was an internet shutdown for a week, which was revoked only after the high court ordered it. In Uttar Pradesh, the internet was shut down in 18 districts following the citizenship law protests. 

These are only the latest examples of shutdowns. The big thing to understand is that shutting down communications without prior warning causes massive economic losses in the whole area. According to one estimate, the shutdown of internet services leads to a loss of Rs 2.45 crore per hour across the value chain. Telecom companies are already complaining about this.

Some of the owners of these telecom companies met you a few days ago too, but I somehow doubt if they told you about this.

In Kashmir, the only way to get investment is to create a friendly environment that lets businesses prosper. Shutting down the internet and curbing communications actually does the opposite. This step-motherly treatment of the state creates unrest and uncertainty — no investor would want to put their money into a state where such feelings are evident.

And this is the basic idea that should be applied across the nation. Businesses do not function in isolation from the society in which they function. Every business gets affected by the overall sentiment of the people. If that feeling is of fear and suspicion, then there is no positive demand created.

While speaking at an Indian Express event in Mumbai, Nobel Laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo said: “The critical problem in the Indian economy is demand. You definitely want to stimulate demand.” 

To create that demand, there is a desperate need to reassure the country that nobody has anything to fear from the government, that their livelihoods will not be upended due to laws like the CAA, random internet shutdowns, or even cyber-bullying businesses by giving boycott calls if they don’t fit in with the overall social narrative of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Unfortunately, your government and the party spokespersons are constantly creating divisions — identifying and labeling people who don’t agree with them and unleashing hate towards them. This toxic environment is not apt for creating positive demand, investments and job growth.

Don’t just take my word for it. This is what one of the biggest venture capitalists in the world has said. Tim Draper told The Wire that his organisations and invested companies are “a network of fairness, openness and transparency”. He added that his companies are “guiding their invested companies toward free markets and other basic freedoms, religion, assembly and speech.” 
The most crucial part of Draper’s interview was this:

Freedom is a big thing for me. More rules and restrictions create more corruption. Anytime one group of people get better treatment than another, the regulations are compounded with unfairness. Unfairness permeates a society like a cancer. I don’t want to invest to support bad behaviour. 

If you’re trying to attract investors from foreign lands, like Draper here, do note that they are wary of the social situation in the country right now and are hesitant. These are not good signs for the economy and our society in general.

Multiple commentators are pointing at the fact that the CAA and NRC, and even the JNU situation, is a distraction from the current economic crisis of the country. I want to say that this is not a distraction, it is actually affecting the economy and making it worse. Feelings of doom and gloom within citizens do not result in a healthy economy.

I hope these suggestions are taken into consideration when announcing this year’s Budget.

P.S. I’m posting this piece on the myGov portal.