In India's Interests

In India's Interests
Congratulations for making the India Special (May 15) articles informative and educative, and covering the various changes taking place under the new government. It looks like a number of promises made by the present rule may be achieved due to the efforts of its A-team in operation!
There are a couple of areas in which the Indian government ought to put in a little more effort. The first would be to bring about a national educational policy, which can be promoted by an educational tax payable by all business enterprises. All these bodies may be directed to mandatorily pay, say, 2 per cent of their profits to this fund, to the state government of the place where they are loca-ted. The latter can, in turn, utilise the funds to set up schools and colleges and make education compulsory for all citizens. As an incentive, the payments could be compensated by a similar amount being exempted from the tax structure on the businesses' total profits. Educated Indians will be the country's biggest asset in the future. Big corporate businesses should also be encouraged to set up high tech colleges, research centres and laboratories.
The second move could ensure agriculture gets additional attention, to ensure the growth of this sector. We must remember that America's strength today is inherently derived from its strong agricultural foundation, and under their Public Law 480, the USA has literally fed the world for decades. India has also greatly improved from being a food grain importer to becoming a leading exporter of grains and other agricultural produce. Its land and human resources can be put to good use and help the world at large, particularly the poorer African countries.
Meantime, I'd like to point out important Indian achievements vis-à-vis its progress in space research and technology, and its prompt humanitarian action when the tsunami struck the south Asian region a decade ago, or during the latest earthquake tragedy in Nepal.