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Journalism of Courage
Economist Bimal Jalan has held some of India’s most crucial policymaking positions — Finance Secretary in the Union government, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Not surprisingly, this book, a stocktaking of India’s growth trajectory, benefits from his deep insights.
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”.
At the same time, he underlines that another important priority is for the government to reduce its managerial role in public sector enterprises that are yielding adequate returns on capital.
On politics, the third section, Jalan talks about issues such as political opportunism, the politics of power, and how politics combines with economics. He explains why the notion that a democratic government works in the interest of the people doesn’t always hold in real life. He highlights the “pyramidal” structure of political power in India and the ills of over-centralisation.
Title | From Dependence to Self-reliance: Mapping India’s rise as a global superpower
Author: Bimal Jalan
Publisher: Rupa Publications
Pages: 184
Price: Rs 695
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