Facing another slowdown

Finance ministry has at last admitted the economy is slowing - so what will govt do?

In spite of optimistic forecasts about a packed “100-day agenda” for the re-elected government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is unlikely that a new and comprehensive reform agenda will be revealed. This is for three basic reasons. First, the personnel involved do not inspire these expectations. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, for example, while unquestionably competent, did not distinguish herself as a reformist in her previous stint in an economic ministry, namely the Union ministry of commerce. Second, there is a rhetorical reversal implicit in revealing a reform agenda which this government will struggle with. Over the course of an