Reforms have certainly created disparities in income distribution. Dr BL Mungekar, Vice chancellor, Mumbai University, delivering an inaugural address at a three-day national seminar on "Reforms, Institutions, and policies :Challenges confronting the economy "being organised by the Centre of Advanced Study in Economics, Department of Economics, University of Mumbai lamented the fact that " democracy as an institution in this country has been totally dominated by the elites who have bent it to serve their own interest. The poor and the illiterate have kept democracy alive through their active participation in elections though fruits of democracy have eluded them. Economic reforms,carried out under the democratic framework have created a chasm between the poor and the rich.

The poor have become poorer and the rich richer." He did not set much store by the official poverty statistics that showed a decline in poverty levels. He urged the policy makers to reduce inequalities in the gains from economic reforms through a proper monitoring of markets. He also lamented the fact that many elements in economic reforms and subsequent policy measures have gone against workers. He urged the government to formulate a policy to safeguard workers' interests. In the absence of such policy, social unrest would one dy become a serious problem as unemployment has been on the rise, he warned.He cited Chinese reforms under Deng Hsio- Ping in the 1974 to show how every care was taken to guard the workers' interest. He heavily criticised the government on the Balco disinvestment, that he feared did not serve public interest.

Dr A. Vasudevan , former Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India, in his keynote address,`Generation ' of economic reforms for a brave new world', traced the history of the term in Indian economic policies since the fifties and pointed out that , " If the the word reform is interpreted in a broad sense , the Indian economic history since India's independence could be classified into two reforms modes- first spanning from 1955 and running through the years upto the middle of 1991, and second is the one proceeding on since then. The first reforms mode is itself not that crystal pure in terms of the content of the policy strategies that were pursued.

The second mode is expectedly evolving." He argued for a proper regulatory framework. He said it is imperative that structural reforms are furthered with a view to lending flexibility to prices and rates of return , and eliminating barriers to undertaking of legitimate activities in response to market demands. Some of the leading economists are subjecting aspects of Indian economic reforms to a critical scrutiny in the next two days.