Excerpts from prime minister manmohan singh’s speech
“Dr. Sanjaya Baru, my esteemed friend and Cabinet colleague, Shri P. Chidambaram, Montek, Dr. Rangarajan, Shankar Acharya, I don’t know how I can thank each one of you because each one of you in your own way have made contribution to the processes of nation building. I congratulate all the award winners because in their own way they contributed to making us feel very proud of being Indians. I have always believed in Lord Keynes that for good or for bad ideas are more important than vested interests and in that process, the Business Standard under distinguished leadership of Mr. Ninan and now Mr. Sanjaya Baru have been pathfinders. I therefore join with all of you in celebrating 20 years of the existence of this highly innovative adventure in journalism that Business Standard presents.
It goes without saying that I am absolutely delighted to be here this evening to give away the Business Standard Awards. As a poet once said: The desire of the moth for the star, Of the night for the morrow, The devotion of something afar, From the sphere of our sorrow? So for me it is a very very pleasant feeling in the company of old friends and new friends, each one of them as I said are celebrated personalities in their own rights. I have been told and I believe today’s awardees have been selected by a jury of business leaders, headed by Mr. K. V. Kamath. There is no award more precious than one given by one’s peers. I compliment each of the individuals and companies that have been selected for this year’s very prestigious awards.
I believe before my arrival here, there was a discussion that marked the 20th anniversary of the economic reforms of 1991. All the speakers – my esteemed friend and colleague, Mr. Chidambaram, Dr. Rangarajan, Mr. Montek Ahluwalia and Dr. Shankar Acharya – have been at the forefront of policymaking and continue to shape the destiny of our great country.
There were several others who played a very important role in shaping our thinking on economic policies. They were people, like late Shri Vadilal Dagli, who produced learned reports on the need to end the regime of controls and subsidies that were holding back India. My friends Jagdish Bhagwati and Padma Desai were among the first to write about how our policies were stunting the progress of industrialisation. There were fiscal experts like the late Dr. Raja Chelliah who shaped our thinking on taxation. There were talented officers in various ministries who did the ground work for reform. But the reforms we carried out were not just the hallmark of economists and officials. That historic change would not have been possible without the visionary political leadership of the time. The first political leader to grasp the importance of re-orienting our economic policies, to accelerate economic growth with social justice, was Indiraji herself. Her initial steps were greatly taken forward by Rajivji, who grasped the importance of the arrival of the new information age. Finally, we must pay tribute to the boldness with which Narasimha Raoji grasped the nettle. I was able to do whatever I did, as finance minister, because I had the political support and backing of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and the help of my distinguished colleagues, particularly Shri P. Chidambaram.
On this occasion, when we are marking the 20th anniversary of that historic turn in our economic policies we must salute them all for taking India into a new orbit of opportunities. It was not as if we were walking down a blind alley. It was not as if we were merely experimenting. It is also not correct to imagine that we did what we did only because we were under pressure, in a crisis. We had a body of intellectual opinion that guided our thinking. There was the experience of many countries – countries that succeeded in East and South-east Asia, and countries that had not, like the Soviet Union and the economies of eastern Europe. Both intellectual opinion and international experience told us we must shift gears and change directions. In these past two decades we have seen an acceleration of India’s economic growth. We have seen the unshackling and unleashing of the animal spirits of Indian enterprise. We have seen the emergence of new businesses. We have seen the empowerment of a new middle class in our country. But, this process of growth has brought with it new problems, and accentuated some old ones. Inequality has widened – between rich and poor, between town and country, between one region and another. That is why our government has made the principle of “Inclusive Growth” a corner stone of all our policies. If growth is not inclusive, it is not sustainable. The end of the License-Permit Raj ended old opportunities for corruption and favouritism. Let us not forget that there was a time when we could not get a telephone connection without bribing someone. The telecom revolution has ended that era. Today, some of our poorest citizens are able to afford a mobile phone connection and get it easily. But, human ingenuity and the desire to make a quick buck are such that the greedy are able to tap into new sources of corruption.
Our government is firmly committed to greater transparency in governance and to ending discretionary powers that foster cronyism. I welcome the national focus on corruption, because it will, as it already has to an extent, generate public pressure in favour of more reform. Clearly, we cannot rest on our oars. The battle against corruption is a relentless one, and eternal vigilance is the price of our freedom.
On this occasion, when you are celebrating two decades of economic reform and liberalisation, I affirm our commitment to a new wave of reform. I am aware of the fact that much more needs to be done to make our economy more competitive.
Last week it was reported that China has over-taken the United States to become the world’s biggest manufacturing nation. China has regained this status after 115 years. I do believe India too will catch up. Our government will continue to implement policies that will give a push forward to Indian manufacturing and processes of job creation. In some key areas of reform particularly the reform of the tax system, the reform of the financial sector, the reform of the regulatory system, we need a wider political consensus. I urge Indian business, the media and civil society to play a constructive role in facilitating the emergence and growth of that consensus. I sincerely hope that we will be able to consider and approve long pending economic legislation that will widen business opportunities. For that to happen, Parliament must be allowed to run normally and smoothly.
I hope State governments run by opposition political parties will take a national view and work with us to complete tax reforms. A nationwide goods and services tax is long overdue and we are committed to its implementation from 2012.
We have already taken several initiatives through this year’s budget that will sustain growth while reducing inflationary pressures. I assure you that our government is committed to sustaining high growth, with low inflation. Our economic management, in turbulent times and through uncharted waters, has won the respect of the international community of investors and policy makers. The world acknowledges that India is rapidly emerging as one of the engines of global growth. Our successful re-integration into the global economy has given us re-assurance at home, but it has also strengthened our relations globally. India has economic and strategic partnerships with all the major powers and economies of the world. India has come closer to the economies of East and South-east Asia, and is now an active member of the East Asian Summit. We have been actively engaged in the economic rise of West Asia and Africa.
I value the impatience and the irreverence of the young. These can be forces for good if their energy is channelised, and their idealism is translated into constructive action. Let me assure you that I do have my fingers on the pulse of India today. I sense a mood for renewal, as I did 20 years ago. We did not disappoint India in the summer of 1991. We will grasp the nettle once again. India stands at the threshold of new opportunities. It is my firm conviction that we can and we will grasp these opportunities for posterity’s sake, we will overcome.”
