Dressed in a dark suit and a light tie that contrasted with his usual South Indian whites, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today swayed an elite audience of the Singapore establishment at the launch of his book, A View from the Outside: Why Good Economics Works for Everyone — it’s a collection of his columns in The Indian Express between 2002 and 2004 — published recently by Penguin.

Joining the local investor community, business tycoons and professionals in the celebrations were Singapore’s Foreign Minister George Yeo and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Chidambaram’s reputation here as one of the architects of India’s economic reforms since 1991, along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is quite secure.

Earlier in the day after his speech on the Indian economy at the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Chidambaram refuted apprehensions that populism had begun to take precedence over reforms, especially in the context of his budget proposals for waiving farm loans. “While markets ensure efficiency”, Chidambaram said, “a democratic governing system ensures that the reform process has a human face.”

While Left critics at home never miss an opportunity to slam his “anti-poor policies”, Chidambaram’s main theme tonight was India’s determination to wipe out the “stain of poverty” from the nation’s fabric. “India’s rediscovery of itself will come only when we wipe out poverty,” Chidambaram declared. He argued that India’s impressive annual growth rates, since he took charge as Finance Minister four years ago, that have hovered around 9 per cent were not good enough.

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