This pertains to Sanjaya Baru’s lucid exposition of the relationship between business and mood (“Business of mood,” October 3). Analysts of organisational behaviour say stress is one of the sources of change in mood. For business people uncertainty in business environment creates stress and dampens their mood. Most of them respond by reduction in business growth. However, those inspired by their entrepreneurial zeal and risk-taking propensity beat the mood and chart new avenues of growth. This is particularly true of Indian business. Soon after Independence, it found its corporate aspirations clipped by the First and Second Five-Year Plan that reduced the scope to make room for the public sector, while the licence-permit raj tried to decelerate business development. However, business houses led by Tata, Birla and Ambani group marched ahead. Their mood soared with the advent of the New Economic Policy of 1991 only to discover that the liberalisation of economy engendered a new class of “politician-regulators” endowed with disproportionate powers. They again waded through the hurdles and India achieved near double-digit growth. However, the message from Baru’s article is clear: imagine India’s growth if the political uncertainty and financial graft were missing from the scenario.
Y G Chouksey, Pune
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