Evening star., 1944-08-06
Bombay Plan
India Seeks to Raise
Standard of Living
By Siqrid Arne

standard OF Living
By Sierid Arne
NEW YORK.-The first practica
steps Of a plan to revolutionize tn,
economy of India are being dis.
cussed here between New Yorl
bankers and leading Indiar
flnanciers.
It's the Bombay plan," calculated
to double the country's agriculture
production and multiply its indus.
trial output five times in Is years a,
cost of 80 billion dollars.
The United States comes into the
picture because India, both private
industrialists and the government
would like series of American
loans. to total about IL billion dol.
lars, with which to buy American
machinery.
The Bombay plan was developed
by industrialists led by four partner,
of the house of Tata, an organiza-
ton which owns a variety of manu-
featuring, chemical, mining ano
financial concerns, and which Il
responsible for much of India I
current industrial production.
Indias government has adopted
the plan and has appointed Sil
Ardeshir Dalai, Tata partner, tC
the viceroy's council as minister ol
planning and reconstruction.
Called Splendid Opportunity.
Another partner, A. D. Schroff
who now is in New York talking with
bankers and manufacturers, say.
the plan offers "a splendid oppor.
tunity for the United States to. enter
the Indian market. The only fly ir
the ointment is our difficulty ir
getting American dollars to pay"
Schrof explains that India had 6
peacetime net income from sale.
abroad exceeding her purchase.
abroad, that she owes nothing out.
side her own country and that she
currently has balance in thu
Bank of England equal to 3 billior
American dollars, which, though
blocked now. will eventually be freed
India expects to continue to sci
jute, magnesium and pig iron tt
the United States and tea, hides
cotton. oil cakes and magnesium
chloride to other nations.
She may step up sugar sales ir
the Far and Middle East, and she
hopes to take some of Japans cot.
ton piece goods markets. perhaps ir
eventual competition with China.
But her main objective is to in.
crease production for consumption
at home, raising her living stand.
ards.
Will Speed Small Plants.
The Bombay plan lists in detail
the increases that are sought ane
the approximate costs. 1t pays re.
spects to Russia's five-year plans
but says India hopes to avoid max.
ing her people go without com.
forts for severel years while huge in.
dustrial plants are completed.
Instead India will try to get small
industries busy on clothes ant
household goods, even while the big
plants are being built.
The number of people in agricul.
ture would be reduced, even while
modern methods double the actua
amount of food produced; anc
greater numbers would work in in
dustry, in order to get better-bal.
anced production.
Here's how some of the sched-
ules work out:
l. In a nation which suffers fam
ines (the last. around Bengal, saw
100000 persons die of starvation)
supporters Of the plan hope te
raise enough food to provide q
2,600-calory average daily diet. They
hope to step UP per-acre yield by
throwing pocket handkerchief
farms together into co-operatives.
2. They want to produce 30 yards
of cotton goods a year per person
The average has been 16.1 yards, as
compared with a world average Of
AZ yards.
Public Health Plans.
3. The plan includes a large hos
pital-dispensary program, water
sanitation, wholesale vaccination
and training of doctors and nurses
India now has only l doctor fol
each 5000 persons and nurse fol
each $4,000. For the United King
dom, the ratio is l doctor per TIC
persons, l nurse per 435 persons.
4. The plan calls for erasing adult
illiteracy by a 3-to-6-month course
which would cost only $1.20 per-
son. Schools of at least five grades
at first would be opened for chill
dren. The plan places great en-
phasis on education, since the peo-
pie must be able to read and write
to understand the reforms. India Il
now 86 per cent illiterate.
5. These are the basic industries
which would get attention: Power
mining, and metallurgy, engineering
chemicals, ornaments, transport
and cement.
6. These are the consumer goods
industries which will get first at
tention: Textiles, glass. leather
paper, tobacco and oil.
How will India pay? Here are
the planned sources of finance:
Hoarded wealth, $500, ,000, 900.
Balances in England, $4,000, ,000, 900
Sales abroad, $1,000, ,000, 600.
Foreign borrowing, $2,100, , ,000, 600
Savings, 12,0O0, ,000, 900.
Created money" SIC. 200 900 900.
That created money" item Il
money which, it is planned, the gov
ernment will issue to pay for both
labor and plants.