India’s growth trajectory: A veteran policymaker’s perspective | Explained News,The Indian Express

The big reason for India’s new growth trajectory in the 21st century has been the economic reforms of 1991, Bimal Jalan says. More recently, he underscores the decisive mandates that national governments have received since 2014.

It is written lucidly, with the general reader in mind. Bimal Jalan breaks his book into three parts: four chapters on economy, and three each on governance and politics.

The big reason for India’s new growth trajectory in the 21st century has been the economic reforms of 1991, Jalan says. More recently, he underscores the decisive mandates that national governments have received since 2014. To be sure, the lack of mandate had a role to play in what minority governments earlier in the post-reform era could do.

“The government, elected with full majority, is now in a position to launch political reforms on its own without relying on the discretionary powers of members belonging to other parties,” Jalan writes. For Jalan, a decisive mandate is more important for India’s future than the political hue of the party in power. “The primary focus [of any government] should be on promoting India’s national interests, irrespective of any party’s political agenda announced during elections (either on the Right or Left or a mix of both)”, he says.

Jalan details how patterns of trade and investment have started turning in India’s favour — however, to ensure that India becomes one of the world’s leading economies, it is essential for the government of the day to have strong political will to move ahead decisively, he says.

A full chapter on the public sector marks its centrality in governance, the theme of the second section. What the government should disinvest in and what it should hold on to, has long been debated. Jalan is not against disinvestment, especially in loss-making public enterprises, but he believes “it is important to ensure that the disinvestment process is fair and transparent, and public perceptions of political interference and favouritism are avoided”.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/indias-growth-trajectory-a-veteran-policymakers-perspective-8209260/


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