This refers to Andy Mukherjee's article "Reform checklist" (Breaking Views, September 4). Much of the content on the list had been drawn up, albeit in a sporadic and non-sequential manner, by the United Progressive Alliance government. The Narendra Modi gust had swept away the sheets. It is good that the National Democratic Alliance under Modi is assiduously collecting and rearranging the sheaf without discarding any on prejudice. It is good to see that the monetary policies enjoy continuity despite a new Reserve Bank of India governor and government. Modi's emphasis on upgrading governance is a welcome turn in resurgence, given that the nation's progress had needlessly overstayed at the rest camp. But governance is no substitute for reforms. The former is only a means of transport, while the latter defines the destination.
There appears to be a certain caution in pressing the reform accelerator by the Modi regime. Perhaps rightly so, because at the cusp of a economic upswing there needs to be greater understanding on the possible downsides to big-ticket reforms. Nevertheless, initiatives have got going in a gamut of sectors, security, foreign policy and trade, education, legal reforms and so on. What is most significant in these 100 days is that there is a firm control at the top.
R Narayanan, Ghaziabad
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201 · E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number
