Concern over food security in AP

Nellore: Bhanu Vikalam, the Senior Vice President of the Emirates NBD Bank in Dubai, has expressed his concern at the looming threat to food security in India. He believes that the governments have been negligent in safeguarding cultivable lands.

A native of Nellore and an alumnus of IIM Ahmadabad, Mr Bhanu says that food security is a major issue world over, and the governments have been buying thousands of hectares of agriculture lands with irrigation facilities in countries abroad, to transfer more produce to their own nations.

“In India, the situation is reversed. The area under cultivation is decreasing drastically because of urbanisation and a lack of water. It is not a preferred area of employment today. Farmers do not want their children to enter the field because the returns are poor,” Mr Bhanu says. He says that there is enough food as of now, but productivity is on the decline and the next generation will have to pay the price.

Criticising the re-purposing of 30,000 acres of fertile land for the construction of the capital, he asks, “Except for a matter of pride, is there any necessity for a capital city?” He says that visionary leaders such as Narendra Modi can give the economy a boost provided they are free of political compulsions.

The senior banker says that the financial health of banks in India is quite poor, because of indiscriminate lending. “Banks should encourage productive enterprises. If Rs 1,000 is released to any venture, it should become Rs 2,000 in 10 years. As of now, Rs 1,000 comes down to Rs 200 in a decade,” he says. He wishes to remind the banks that the money that they lend belongs to depositors, whom they are obliged to pay an interest to.

Mr Bhanu says that demonetization led to the violation of multiple laws, and he believes that the Prime Minister was incorrectly advised in this respect. He says that going by the 56 circulars released by the RBI between November 8 and December 31, the bank itself was not clear about the implementation of demonetization.

He says the government should have concentrated on the 5 percent of the population that is wealthy, in order to recover black money, instead of putting the lower and middle classes through an ordeal.