An agenda for the last lap

The recent annual meeting of the CII has somewhat overtaken the debate on evaluating the three years? performance of the UPA government in office. Course correction is always an ongoing process. It is important, therefore, to highlight the success and failures of the government to encourage further action. In the case of the UPA government, the circumstances of its coming to power are also relevant. The Left parties have reminded the Congress that the numerical Parliamentary difference between the Congress and the BJP is small, and it was the combination of their preferred electoral alliance which brought the coalition to power. They have lamented what they see as lack of progress on the UPA?s Common Minimum Programme. Further, on important economic issues, the so-called ?neo-liberal? policies (used by the Left in a pejorative sense) are not shared by all members of the Cabinet, and the gap between this approach and populist schemes is never easy to reconcile. The Congress president has been truthful in attributing the party?s recent electoral defeats, particularly in UP, to organisational failures. In all fairness, she has fully endorsed the UPA?s economic policies and does not regard the recent elections as a referendum on them. No doubt, the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Bharat Nirman, and inability to subdue inflationary pressures early enough, have caused concern.

Given the aforesaid, an honest report card must be sensitive to the exceptional circumstances under which the UPA government has had to function. First and foremost, the economy has performed exceptionally well?having achieved unprecedented GDP growth for three years in succession. The external sector is healthy, reserves are high, FDI buoyant and fiscal deficit contained. There has been no major reversal on the continuing reform initiative, except perhaps suspension of the disinvestment programme. Fresh initiatives have, however, been limited to civil aviation, Vat implementation and the new emphasis on agriculture and infrastructure. It will be wholly appropriate for the PM and his team to take credit for the economic record of this government. The debate on whether this is the outcome of earlier initiatives must remain a footnote.

Second, in the area of foreign policy, the Indo-US nuclear deal accords India a new international status even if short-term gains from civil nuclear energy remain limited. It is a communication failure that this strategic initiative has not received unanimous support. It is viewed by many as moving India unduly close to the US, kindling fear among party managers on the possible alienation of minority support. Similarly, regional cooperation in Asia has long-term benefits in improving competitiveness and market access.

Third, the legislative record of the government remains disappointing. Apart from the Employment Guarantee Act and the Right To Information (RTI) Act, key legislations on pensions, coal and insurance, to name a few, continue to languish. Others, like reducing government equity in banks, labour or privatisation, have dropped off the radar screen. The argument that the allies are unsupportive lacks conviction. In the end, governments must be judged by outcomes and not by the success they achieve in explaining their failures.

Fourth, tangible results from the infrastructure initiative are still to be seen. Civil aviation is a high point. The roads programme, however, continues to suffer from delays in awarding contracts, as well as time and cost overruns. Power sector reforms remain elusive. So is the case of converting ports into corporate entities. The recent CAG report on the flogging of railway assets by overloading or hastening wagon return time is a cause for worry, too.

Fifth, on the strengthening of institutions, an area close to the PM?s heart, the record is at best a mixed one. Key regulatory positions remain vacant and those appointed have raised eyebrows on the selection process with suggestions of government playing favourites. This emasculates the autonomy of regulatory oversight. Similarly, in spite of all the rhetoric about civil service reforms, key appointments do not bear the stamp of a new selection culture.

Sixth, in several areas, policy design remains mired in controversy. This is true of SEZs, reforms in education, harmonising quotas within the framework of a merit-based order and acquisition of agricultural land for industrialisation, to name a few. We would await the outcome of the National Development Council a few days from now on the new initiatives on agriculture.

The UPA, in the last two years of its term, cannot afford to exhibit a holding pattern. History judges governments by what they achieve, and give little allowance for the extenuating circumstances that retarded timely action. The UPA needs to build on its achievements and work on the unfinished agenda.

?Former top bureaucrat NK Singh is working on a book on infrastructure reform in India. These are his personal views