Rhetoric and reality

PM's emphasis on less govt interference is the way to go

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech from the ramparts of Red Fort on the occasion of India’s 75th Independence Day contained several statements with regard to reform and sustainable economic growth that were welcome in their clarity. The prime minister explicitly drew a distinction between the policies of the “past”, in which he said the government was in the driver’s seat of the economy. Those were, Mr Modi argued, perhaps the needs or desires of the time. But the times have changed, and his government intended to minimise the intrusion of government into people’s lives. He specifically referred to efforts to