The Indian economy is at a terminal stage. Except inflation and the fiscal deficit, everything is going down. April’s industrial growth figure was revised downwards, from 2.3 to 1.9 per cent. Overall growth may be less than 5 per cent. Even Indians are not investing in India. FDI in retail was pushed through despite strong opposition. After more than 10 months, there is no investment in this sector, either. Infrastructure growth is politics neutral since every party supports it. The NDA had a shining record in this area. Yet the UPA has messed up. Telecom, an important area of infrastructure growth, suffered a serious blow because of massive corruption in the award of licences. The power sector is in a mess because of “coalgate”. The national highway programme, another outstanding success story of the NDA regime, is suffering because of massive corruption, delays and lack of transparency. Real estate, another engine of infrastructure growth, is mired in corruption, favouritism and lack of clarity on policy issues. The only link between good economics and good politics is good governance, which has become the biggest casualty under the Congress-led regime. Why is it that when the national growth rate has come down to almost 5 per cent, nearly all BJP state governments — Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa — are repeatedly registering 10 per cent plus growth? The obvious answer is good governance. Today, there is a serious lack of trust and a crisis of credibility in the combined leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. If Indians are reluctant to invest their rupees in India, why will foreigners invest their dollars and pounds? This crucial question is not being answered by the Congress, because they know they have no answer. The next election will be fought only on these issues, namely corruption, inflation, rising unemployment, the critical state of the Indian economy, national security and the people’s profound sense of disappointment. The Congress knows it has no tangible explanation for its failures, therefore the secular-communal card is being played again.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 20:58:15 +0000
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