UPA: Once bitten, very shy

A corruption-wary UPA government is leaving nothing to chance as far as probity in public life is concerned. In a recent notification on export, the government said the existing policy of distribution of export quotas based on a three-year average will be continued for the sake of “equity and transparency”, discarding a demand for adopting the “first come, first serve” (FCFS) policy for the allocation of quotas. The no-change policy may be justified, especially given the current stigma attached to FCFS, but the emphasis on “equity and transparency” has raised some eyebrows. Shouldn’t all orders be equitable and transparent as a matter of course?