Are critics missing something in terms of the Modi government’s policies and initiatives for the southern states? What is your assessment of the impact they have had? How have they benefited?The Modi government has not made policies based on any idea that this is for Southern states or this is for Northern states. The Modi government, for the last 10 years, has implemented policies which have been good for India. But take, for example, the Sagarmala Project for linking all our ports. This has disproportionately benefited the southern states, because the most of the ports are in the South. The sole objective of this project was to boost Indian trade, and not gain any political mileage out of it. So, the government has followed a very fair and balanced policy, and it depends on region to region — what one region can absorb and what the other region needs.Most of the Southern states have followed a model of welfarism. On most human development indices, they score over other states. This has also attracted charges that some of these states, especially TN and Kerala, follow a path of fiscal profligacy. Does the BJP’s development model offer an alternative — one that balances all imperatives — to what is the tradition in the region?Welfarism is a common issue across the country. And state governments not being very fiscally prudent is also a chronic problem across the country. I would not say Southern states have followed a path of fiscal profligacy and welfarism. As a matter of fact, Southern states might have actually done better in the way they have spent their money on education and healthcare. And that is giving them a higher return on capital than some of the northern states. So, to that extent, other states must learn from the models that the South followed.Karnataka and Telangana are defence manufacturing hubs. The Centre has now chosen UP for building a defence corridor. How would you dispel the perception that it’s not at the cost of those traditional defence hubs?Why should we not have three or four big defence hubs or manufacturing hubs? A defence hub coming up in one state is not a loss to the other. Before this government came, the defence budget of this country was about $50 billion. A country that was sending satellites into space was buying simple firearms and bulletproof vests from overseas. At one time, we were even buying socks from abroad! In the last 10 years, such a country has moved towards becoming Atmanirbhar Bharat. We will do import substitution, we can start with our $50 billion defence budget. So, we are setting up defence manufacturing plants everywhere in the country. When policy planners plan for the country, they have to take a holistic view and a balanced view.Similar questions were asked in Maharashtra, when some large-ticket investments were diverted to Gujarat. Also, there is space for a GIFT city in the South… all the human and technological ground exists.Politics sometimes finds a way to keep saying things to create controversies when none exists. Gujarat has its own advantages and it may get some of those investments. Gujarat has got GIFT City, which is very important for the country. There are two centres — Singapore and Dubai — that have emerged in the world purely out of the inefficiencies that emanate from India. If you build a GIFT City in Gujarat to compete with Dubai, we may have to build one in due time in the South to compete with Singapore.The ‘North-South divide’ is also simplistic. The South is no monolith: there are large areas of deprivation within. Can you share your perspectives on future trends and policy directions that would ensure overall economic prosperity in the region?I would say that each of these states has now by and large developed some unique competitive advantage. And they should build on those competitive advantages, and create scale, speed and size that is globally competitive. That will allow you to get disproportionate value, add steam in that region, which will then help you plan development through the state exchequer or through your own economic growth in that area.Bengaluru is known as India’s start-up capital. Other southern states also have the manpower, talent and resources to become start-up hubs. How can you ensure they too benefit from the Centre’s efforts to encourage the start-up ecosystem?I think there is a very delicate balance between how much an individual place with its specialty must be allowed to build its scale, how much you can replicate, how much you should be do for distribution. Bangalore has become the start-up capital, it’s very difficult to now say that Kakinada will also become a start-up capital. But if Bangalore continues to build on its start-up ecosystem, and Silicon Valley-style branding, the benefits could reach all the way to Mysore or even Kakinada.So, the startup boom has gone to Bangalore, but semiconductors is still open play. Andhra Pradesh, with its water, electricity and ports, can become the semiconductor capital of India and even of the world. Similarly, Tamil Nadu already has a manufacturing base of autos, but autos are increasingly going to go away from diesel to EVs. TN already has the fabrication units, the foundries, the production lines. Now, how do we change ourselves to the new world? So, they go about competing for or building a Tesla of their own. any age of their life.Southern states are concerned that the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies will render them irrelevant in national politics. How would you like to assure these states that this will not be the case?We address it by greater awareness, greater education, by giving better explanations, by making people realise that what they’re thinking is not correct. Today, you are 17% of the population. You have 132 seats in Parliament, which is 25% of the proportional representation. In a democracy, where the population is higher, they will get more representation. This is inevitable: political size will come to wherever the population is.
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