But there is no sense in putting routine decisions on the backburner just because of the proximity of polls. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs' decisions on Tuesday are all unexceptionable, and the Opposition can have no quarrel with them. GAIL's LPG project at Gandhar will save large amounts of forex, while the Salal hydro-electric project will benefit Jammu & Kashmir immensely. With the software boom in India, setting up a venture capital fund to encourage software start-ups will ensure that good ideas find financial backing. The government is right in saying that there is a broad swathe of economic decision-making where there is no disagreement on policies, and all that is essentially needed is implementation.

There are many measures in the budget, and Exim policy, whichneed to be followed up by notifications. FIPB approvals should continue as before, because the broad contours of policy in this area have already been laid down, and precedents have been well-established. These are all matters which are in the national interest, and will serve to mitigate some problems associated with political uncertainty. This country cannot afford the luxury of keeping all decisions in cold storage, and there is no reason why the Opposition should not cooperate in this national endeavour. It is the duty of all political parties to ensure that petty politic do not derail the economy. Even a caretaker has to ensure that the property entrusted to him is protected from harm, and the economy will definitely be harmed if all decisions are stalled.