Their plight will dim the shimmer of the festival of lights, reflecting a nationwide concern for the plight of Orissa. The chances are that the colossal calamity will not be repeated next year. But relief will have to go to Orissa on a large scale: massive reconstruction will have to be funded by the Centre. The budgetary initiative in this regard will spillover into the coming year. The foreseeable future spells tough times. But the nation has developed a new understanding that it must stand together.

If this informs the political class, the perspective on reforms will gather clarity. The government has too much on its hands, and therefore investment initiatives are best left to the private (domestic and foreign) sector. That also means rapid privatisation. The government is earnest about accelerating second generation reforms; but so much depends on its ability to ride out the storm over Bofors. Majority support in Parliament will be crucial for the big push to reforms. If this can be garnered, immense growth possibilities will open up. But a divided Parliament could mess up reform in the coming Samvat year.

Non-financial corporates (1,248) logged a sales-growth of 8.6 per cent in 1998-99 but their expenditure rose by 9.4 per cent to depress their pre-tax profits (according to a Reserve Bank sample study). Corporate performance has improved through thefirst half of this fiscal; so, Samvat 2055 closes on a hopeful note. But the key problem of high interest cost (up 16.6 per cent compared to gross profit growth at 0.8 per cent, shown by the RBI study) has been barely mitigated. This could retard industrial revival in the next Samvat. Fortunately, the stock markets are raring to go; despite the nose-dive in prices towards the end of 2055, expectations remain high, foretelling a recovery. The problem is the uncertainty dogging reforms as the country steps into Samvat 2056.