In his speech at the ceremonial unveiling of the ambitious “Make in India” programme, aimed at encouraging foreign investment and exports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated a significant reorientation of the contract between the entrepreneur and the state, and a shift in the way business is perceived. He underscored the need for trust to be the default setting, rather than oppressive scrutiny and oversight, and for government, as facilitator, to step in less frequently. This marks a paradigm shift from the rote contempt for and suspicion of business that has marked the dominant sarkari culture for decades. It is in this context that a seemingly small policy alteration like the acceptance of self-certified documents — that the PM also mentioned in his speech — becomes the signal for a pivotal and much-needed change.
But the launch of a programme aimed at boosting manufacturing was shadowed by the Supreme Court judgment of the previous day cancelling all but four coal block allocations made since 1993. Without enough coal to sustain the power and steel industries, and a healthy banking system — it is currently staring at the possibility of Rs 1 lakh crore of debt going bad in the power sector alone — the manufacturing sector seems imperilled. In his speech, the PM also talked of businessmen wanting to quit India because of policy flip flops and uncertainty, and of the prerequisite for attracting firms: ensuring security of investment. Given the bitter aftertaste of the SC judgment, or of the CBI’s selective exhumations of long-ago decisions, for instance, the PM’s assurances will not be enough to reassure investors.
