Gaurav Garg
Close to 28 years after the implementation of globalization norms in the country, the till date insulated ‘Heaven on Earth’ has opened its treasure trove for the world to see. With the revoking of Article 370 and Article 35(A) by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Rajya Sabha on August 5 2019, the special status that had been granted to J&K since 1954 has been removed.
The abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35(A) will be mutually beneficial for both J&K and rest of the country. First and foremost, J&K people will benefit from the Right to education for all the residents of the state, irrespective of their gender, caste or any other such bias.
The women in the state may now enjoy the perks of passing their state rights to their children and non- permanent resident spouses: advantages that were earlier prohibited by the Sharia Law.
Moreover, the people of J&K will have the advantage of all policies which were assisting other states in the nation such as better development prospects. People from other parts of the country will be able to buy property and can also permanently settle in Jammu and Kashmir. With the increase in accessibility to the once protected state, there will be a plethora of opportunities available for different industries to grow their businesses, especially the tourism and food industries of the country.
Sectors such as metals, infrastructure, PSUs and FMCG will have the opportunity to trade better in J&K now. Apart from its beauty, J&K is famous for its exquisite handicraft, handloom products, tourism, horticultural and cottage industries. Thus, industries which trade in all these sectors can also grow in this beautiful state. J&K bank, which was earlier controlled by the state government, will now be regulated by the central government which also opens the state to take advantage of welfare schemes launched by the Central government such as such Sukh Samriddhi Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Yojana and Ayushman Bharat.
This historic move by the government has had a great impact on the stock markets globally. The markets discount everything in this world, including macroeconomic factors affecting an economy. The Pakistan stock markets showcased a bearish sentiment after the said announcement. At the same time, Indian stock markets bounced back from lower levels as a new bill for the reorganisation of J&K was also introduced along with repealing the previous norms. Under this, Ladakh has been separated from J&K and given the status of a Union Territory without legislature, while J&K has been given the status of a Union Territory with legislature.
Even though the long-term effects of this move are yet to be seen in a concrete form, this came as a bold move by the Modi government and reinstated the faith of the public. A support on a global level has boosted the people’s confidence further and has helped the public to hope for better days for the ailing Indian economy.
(The author is Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited – Investment Advisor.)
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