As long as 43% of the workforce remains stuck in agriculture to eke out a living, the labor that would power industrialization won’t get released. With no end to the impasse in sight, Modi ran out of will to defend his reforms. In producing sugar from sugarcane, India exports scarce water at throwaway prices. Which means Punjab must keep producing rice, even though the water-guzzling crop is a wrong choice for the state. To think that the power of markets, unleashed by three laws, will magically solve this complex political-economy problem demonstrates naivety.

Source: Economic Times November 22, 2021 14:37 UTC