Blame it on UP

The United Progressive Alliance may have deferred a decision on foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail to some unspecified date, but that’s not the only FDI-related policy decision that’s being kept in abeyance. Ask bureaucrats about decisions such as allowing foreign airlines to invest in domestic ones or raising the FDI limit for insurance and the answer is the same: it will all be considered after the Uttar Pradesh elections. Considering the dates for that state elections have yet to be set, this is no doubt as handy an excuse for policy stasis as recalcitrant allies and Anna Hazare’s agitation.