Running in place

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,in one of his recent conversations with the press,brushed aside concerns that a policy paralysis was creeping into UPA 2. On inter-ministerial differences that are delaying administrative decisions,for example,he said that “these are aberrations,whereas the impression seems to be that this is the norm.” While he acknowledged the current climate of gloom and despondency,he seemed to think that it was unanchored to any form of reality. If this means that the thinking at the highest levels of government is that,since there is a large amount of fuss being made over nothing,no steps will need to be taken to recover the situation,it would be deeply unfortunate.

Let us recall the outlines of the situation in which we find ourselves. Food inflation is still around 7.6 per cent. Growth estimates are being revised downward continually,and eventual growth this year might even dip below 8 per cent. Interest rate hikes show little promise of being able to affect the rate of inflation,but industry is screaming that borrowing should not become any more expensive. Industrial growth is at a 14-month low,and foreign investment has crashed,as domestic and foreign companies alike sour on the India story. At this point,any government should accept that something is stalling — and not give every appearance of being an administration in denial. Mukherjee said a proposed land acquisition law “will take time”,even if it is logical. On tardy assessment of environmental regulations,he said: “At times,there is strong pressure,maybe wrongly,we cannot ignore it.” On the financial sector reform bills,he said: “I don’t know how many will be taken up in the monsoon session.” These are all,possibly,true. Yet,put together,they paint a worrying picture of a government at the mercy of factors it insists are beyond its control,tossed about by the winds of circumstance — and yet claiming that they are nothing but gentle breezes.

UPA 2 needs to seize control of its own destiny. There should be no further delay,for example,in passing bills on banking insurance and pension reform. The Congress’s floor managers need to get those bills out of committees and into the statute books. Denying that there are unacceptable delays over even the simplest administrative decisions on its watch will not help.