This is a lesson for the professionals that work on behalf of the politician. Subservience should not be equated with serving the best interest of your political masters. When the ruling political conglomeration pushed for greater welfare expenditures, when they prevented oil prices from being passed on and when they delayed infrastructure investments at the state and Central level, the professional economists and bureaucrats gave in each time, instead of sticking to first principles. 

Economic policy based on first principles is actually not all that complex. Value the money that you have and don’t throw it away; invest in the future as much as is possible; don’t mess with the prices; and if you expect prices to go up in the future increase its supply now. But these principles need professionals who stand their ground, whether they are lawyers, bureaucrats or economists. This government had its share of the best. But they gave in. And their political masters have lost out big time as the forthcoming elections will show.

The writer heads the economic research firm Indicus Analytics

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