Budget 2020-21 Some random thoughts and suggestions

                                                         Budget 2020-21

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The budget 2020-21 assumes unusual importance both politically and economically to live up to the expectations of the people domestically and expert economists internationally ensuring fastest economic growth in the backdrop of slowdown of the economy witnessed all around the world. The challenge the Finance Minister faces is though thrilling and defiant but definitely manageable with the resources potential the economy has and the support the Government enjoys from the right thinking of vast majority of the masses aspiring for all round welfare. The only hurdle perhaps is the laxity in Governance, planning and execution of various reforms reflecting in the poor achievement of results from all well intended grand reforms and very bold policies of the Government Viz, Demonetisation, GST and well meaning welfare measures for the downtrodden who had been ignored for decades and now made part of the inclusive economic development obviously pursued since 2014.   

The so called economic Growth engine and the Compartments the engine supposed to pull need to be well aligned and placed on very strong laid parallel lines viz Fiscal Policy and Monetary Policy. While the broad economic policies should encompass the major reforms so far found to be elusive in the areas of land labour and legal with strong administrative and political will to get them implemented expeditiously, the fiscal policies and monetary policies need to be closely coordinated to strengthen the Financial System consisting of all broad Markets, Institutions and Instruments under meaningful and transparent regulatory and supervisory arrangement accountable to Parliament. The need for drastic, considerable and visible change in the major macro economic factors Viz GDP, Employment and Inflation is paramount to make the ambitious target of $ 5 Trillion for the Indian economy a reality not only to meet the political and economic aspirations of the Government but also to make the Country powerful and noticeable among the economic super powers of the world.

The ensuing budget is an opportunity to turn the tables and reset the Economy the way the Government desires, people aspire and the world wonder.  Some of the measures which can perhaps do the trick inter alia include the following.

The very fact that the slowdown of the economy though has not materially altered the living conditions of the people and the standards of living of large segments of the population by and large in reality particularly those coming under upper middle class , the data captured, presented officially and publicised widely do not reflect the ground reality and present an all round gloomy picture is a proof that the informal economy is more strong than the formal economy and the policies announced and pursued do not bring in the desired results officially. The economic Liberalisation of the1990s seem to have let lose the administration, regulation and supervision paving way for non accountability, freedom to indulge in activities unethical and erosion of values all around, leading to amassing of wealth at any cost by a few and getting away with all sorts of frauds, scams and unheard of atrocities in the society.

The Leakage of data on production, services and employment and the consequent leakage of income accruing to the Government kitty despite the best of technology in vogue needs to be officially and administratively recognised and this needs to be plugged by all possible means involving, Panchayats, Municipalities, Corporations, all administrative set ups, Financial Institutions, service providers and Social groups.  The failure of collection of data in the overall governance is beyond justification causing embarrassment to the Government and missing all the intended results under various major policy initiatives. No doubt, the task is easier said than done but it is time to think out of the box and fix the problem. Earlier it is done the better for the economic and social development. The National Registrar of Citizens as and when introduced, The Aadhar Cards, PAN Numbers, Bank accounts, real estate deals, employment Numbers, various pension, insurance provident funds, subsidy  claims from various segments, etc can provide some links and leads to generate the required data on employment, services and leakage of revenue to the Government. The very fact that Cities and Villages do not get both skilled and unskilled workers is an indication that there is no unemployment and poverty as such and the economic slowdown needs to be captured elsewhere perhaps by innovative statistical designs covering informal economy spread throughout the length and breadth of the Country and even having international connections. Contract labour concept, underemployment, low income, uncertainty of a steady income and low demand may perhaps have caused a bit to slow down the economy but is definitely not insurmountable and can be tackled through the budget.      

The Fiscal Policy to augment tax revenues through GST, Direct Taxes and other avenues like Railways, auctions of essential resources like coal, power and other energies needs to be thoroughly and constantly reviewed to ensure that whatever is envisaged is collected and it reaches the  Government Kitty without much of time gap and preferably instantly without pilferage. The leakage of revenues seems to be untraceable and this needs to be tracked. This again requires data integrity, expeditious flow and Checks and balances to ensure against pilferage and evasion through ingenious means. Unfortunately even Technology is largely understood to be abused and misused over and above the dishonesty and unethical practices already in vogue. This calls for the effective Governance Standards and transparent accountability. Knowingly or unknowingly, the erosion of values in the pursuit of making money by reducing costs and maximising profitability at the cost of investment, employment, production and distribution of national wealth seem to have set in, in  the society throwing to the winds the good objectives and long standing value additions to the economy through prudential means. Time has come to arrest this tendency and restore the values through the budgetary measures.

 The fear of tax should be literally absent among the people and tax compliance should be a pleasure. This is possible only through intelligent and proper mix of taxation policy with Technology and human resources capable of handling abnormal situations and circumstances gently and amicably. Make GST a very Good and Simple Tax attracting everyone to voluntarily comply. Let the taxpaying public satisfy themselves about the merits of GST, the way they are collected and spent for socio economic development of the Country.GST should gradually emerge as the Only Tax replacing all other levies over a period lessening the gap between the Rich and the Poor. Evasion of GST by any one should be a national Crime and it should be accordingly dealt with.  

The Income tax presently levied has to be totally revamped in such a way that it gets completely eliminated over a period with appropriate GST replacing it.  The fact that only about eight crores of the total population of about 135 crores come under Income Tax net simply cannot be true by any reckoning going by the number of cars, the number of flats, the number of people well employed and well placed both in the organised sector and unorganised sector as well, number of real estate deals in the country, number of people travelling abroad and domestically by flights in particular, number of people operating in the share markets, etc. This number alone should reflect on the inefficiency with which our tax collection machinery functions despite the best of Technology the Country has and is proud of being known internationally.  Further, the Security Transaction Tax needs to be made more dynamic and attractive to strengthen the entire Financial Market which should include among other things foreign exchange, derivative and commodity markets.STT being non inflationary in Character and its collection is instant and hassle free from administrative point of view, it should emerge as a an important tool to regulate and supervise the entire Financial market and make the market free from undue volatility, speculation, insider trading etc. Even the capital gains tax which creates some sort of anathema now can be well managed and collected through STT without incurring the wrath of the affected and without loss of revenue to the Government.   

Monetary Policy:

The Financial system which is the foundation to build up the economy strong and vibrant needs  better understanding and support through convincing and pragmatic policies by bringing in more of professionalism and expertise with added  vigilance, supervision , transparency and accountability in managing the system. The Infrastructure development, the industrial growth, the agricultural growth, storage, transportation and  marketing of products , their pricing and distribution to ensure their reach and supply in the length and vast breadth of the country containing inflation and all sorts of mal distribution through corrupt practices to manipulate prices through shortage and surpluses of seasonal agricultural products etc require strong administration, linkages with technology to capture essential data , flow of information to support with appropriate policy initiatives. The bureaucrats and professionals manning various institutions have to play a key role in ensuring that the monetary policies bring in the desired results minimising the time lag and benefiting all stake holders of the economy.

The Trust in Banking needs to be re-established at the earliest. The banks cannot and should not be the source of loot of tax payers’ and depositors’ money and this awareness among professionals, bureaucrats and politicians needs to be well incorporated in the budgetary provisions .The banks’ borrowers in particular and other stake holders of banks in general have a moral responsibility to safeguard the banks from collapse. The menace of Non-performing assets which is unfortunately man made is crippling both the banks and the economy as well, needs to be tackled with strong in built mechanism  to identify the problem at its incipient stage and liquidate it without passing on the loss to others under any circumstances. Definitely the ensuing budget can do that. The Whole Economy cannot be made to suffer perennially to satisfy the greed of some borrowers who collude with some powers that be to loot the banks and take away the credibility and the TRUST in the whole financial system. The triple balance sheets problem of Banks, NBFCs and Corporates caused because of bad borrowers’ behaviour needs to be arrested by all means and the Confidence in our Banking Systems’ ability to give a boost to the economy at this hour of crisis needs to be restored at the earliest.    

The Contribution of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development since its inception in 1982 needs to be evaluated in the context of continuous decline seen in Agricultural and rural segment in terms of agricultural  growth, income, employment, economic and social developments in the rural areas. Similarly the role of Urban Cooperative Banks in metropolitan and urban areas in the background of mushroom growth of commercial banks both in the public and private sector, spread of branches, ATMs, mobile banking etc needs to be studied in detail and suitable changes can be thought of to strengthen the Cooperative Banks in rural areas significantly. These banks can definitely be spared from Urban and metropolitan centres as they have a better role and responsibility elsewhere.  

Gold Bank.

The need of the hour is to find the financial resources to take the economy forward without any strain on the fiscal deficit anymore and without adding any tax burden on the people. The best and the most sensible way is to monetise the vast Gold reserves of the Country estimated to be around 20000 and odd tonnes  by setting up a Gold Bank under the auspices of the Reserve Bank. The Gold Bank would eventually turn out to be a goldmine of resources to meet all the economic developments envisaged and also would help to strengthen the foreign exchange market in particular among other broad objectives the Country has. The Country can turn out to be a Pioneer in the field in the process.      

The need to ensure fast and equitable growth of the economy is paramount and with all the needed resources the Country has, Why not we work for that and be the Super Economic Power of the world.  Time has come to recognise the Nations’ ability to achieve what has been missing us so far. I would like to conclude here with a quote by Robert Half “There is something that is much more than scarce, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognise ability.” Let this Budget exhibit to the whole world the ability of the Country to perform and excel.

Dr T V Gopalakrishnan
17/12/2019.

Poor Depositors taken for a ride

Very well said. Indian Financial System particularly the banking system is strong and stable because of the savings habit of the people and unfortunately the same people are being taken for a ride every now and then by fraudsters, bad borrowers, politicians, bureaucrats, lawyers , Chartered accountants, Management experts, regulators and supervisors and bankers. They do not get any sort of protection and on the contrary they are encouraged  rather forced directly or indirectly to keep their savings in banks, Chit fund Companies ,  Non Banking Financial Companies, Capital market etc through small   tax incentives, interest etc  and finally their savings are being misused and liberally abused by the authorities.without giving them any protection to pass on their savings . The trust and confidence the people have in banks get eroded very fast the way the banks fritter away their hard earned savings by allowing borrowers to misuse /divert and writing off of the loans without even the knowledge of the depositors. leave alone with their consent. The banks take the depositors for a ride and when they get liquidated or closed down because of erosion of deposits with bad debts,tax payers have to come their rescue again without their knowledge and save the banks.  The legal system helps the looters instead of the depositors and the DICGC provides an Insurance cover of Rs one lakh for the depositors and how and on what basis this pittance compensation has been fixed,is never questioned or analysed by any authority. The Premiums collected by the DICGC from banks and how they get accounted and what happens to the premium collections etc are never questioned or made transparent. The accountability and Governance standards are the worst one can think of in the economy and unless and until this is fixed,the 5 trillion economic growth will only remain in dream. The depositors and capital formation depend on the trust and Confidence of various institutions and the way the credibility of the Institutions efficacy and delivery of functions gets deteriorated every passing day,, this gets completely eroded and one can expect only  dooms day affecting all. 

(Comment in response to Mr Parikh's observation on the Depositors fate appeared in BS dated 10/10/2019). 

Econo-Reflexions: Dr Jalan Panel and Transfer of Reserves of RBI to ...

Econo-Reflexions: Dr Jalan Panel and Transfer of Reserves of RBI to ...: It appears from the press reports that prima facie  the recommendation of the Dr Jalan Committee on the transfer of RBI reserves to the Go...

Dr Jalan Panel and Transfer of Reserves of RBI to Government .

It appears from the press reports that prima facie  the recommendation of the Dr Jalan Committee on the transfer of RBI reserves to the Government is on expected lines in the sense that while the Government  is entitled to have its share of RBI surplus but the committee does not appear well convinced  of the way the Government intended and  demanded to get the entire Reserves transferred in one lot perhaps to cover up its failures on the economic front .No doubt the Government  as Owner of RBI and having its dominance on RBI by virtue of having all members of RBI Board appointed by the Government,  is entitled to have the surplus technically and politically, but  RBI being set up as an independent Organisation under a special statute, has certain unique role and responsibilities to deliver taking care of  predominantly the Government's interest, the economy and protect the nation from the national and international calamities arising out of political economic social and technological changes and dynamics. The Committees' recommendation though not fully disclosed with regard to the quantum of reserves to be transferred (as per the press reports version) is something very vital and its approach to transfer the reserves over a period of time needs to be underlined for its Reservations and perhaps Hesitations to transfer entire reserves in one lot. No Central bank worth its name and reputation can do this in the Sovereign Interest and in the interest of having a strong Financial system to support the growth of the economy based on the sound  economic policies  expected from a popular Government without much of damage to the entire fiscal position. The Committees' Recommendations should work as a major signal to the Government to leave alone RBI as an independent Organisation and to enjoy the surplus of income it makes prudentially in a manner without detrimental to the Financial  System Stability of the nation and without ignoring the need to have a  financially sound Central Bank to take the economy forward and strong and project inter alia  an image of the nation among other powerful nations and Independent Central Banks. 

Dr T V Gopalakrishnan

( Personal views and Comments given to Business Standard dated 18th July 2019) 

ESTABLISH A GOLD BANK AND OPEN UP THE ECONOMY IN A BIG WAY.

The Modi  Government in its second term  has a lot to do to live up to the expectations of the whole world and Indian masses . The economic Development is the only way to live up to the challenges and the resources have to come from with in and India is fortunate to have all the resources that are required to take the economy forward on the fast track. Human resources and talent are abundantly available . Technology is at its command. Money is perhaps the only resource in short supply but if one were to tap the idle  Gold Reserves estimated at around more than 20000 tonnes and convert them into cash, the country has all the resources needed to develop the economy the way it wants and the world expects. The Reserve bank can establish a GOLD Bank under its control and mobilise the Gold reserves lying scattered through out the country with people all over , temples, churches, mosques, charitable institutions, and other places where even mining can be explored. 

It is time for the new Government to have innovative ways to find resources for all its developmental and welfare activities along with its reforms in taxation and governance. The Gold Bank can be set up in Mumbai where the Reserve Bank has its Central Office and the Government has plans to develop   an international Financial  web.  THE GOLD BANK IS THE KEY TO OPEN UP THE ECONOMY AND MAKE IT A WORLD LEADER. 

Dr T V Gopalakrishnan 

The article reads well and well argued against RBI  but it is totally one sided is what I feel. The need to make RBI accountable is well taken but how to make it accountable when its so called autonomy is only on paper and it is made to dance to the tunes of politicians, bureaucrats and  it gets questioned  every now and then by all when something against the bureaucracy or media or political philosophy is expressed directly or indirectly by the top management through their speeches and otherwise. The author should have  and could have done full justice to her write up by probing into the working of RBI and understanding well  as to what extent it is allowed to have operational autonomy in its day to day functioning.  No doubt some Governors with their diplomatic skills and taking advantage of political connections, and command over the bureaucracy could appear to be functioning as if the Institution has full autonomy, but some had miserably failed and had to leave despite their intellectual supermacy , mastery over the subject of Economy, Finance and Management. RBI despite all short comings has earned a reputation for its professionalism in keeping the Financial System free from turbulence and  unsoundness. The problem seen in NBFCs is not RBIs' making is a well established truth and as long as political  and bureaucratic interfrence is there in the functioning of any well meaning Institution , I feel your well intended objectives cannot be achieved. The fact that  RBI has  punished  the erring banks and saved  the depositors  from catastrophe is   well known to the learned public and how RBI fails at times is also well known to all Intellectuals of this nation. The need to make RBI totally independent and making it  accountable to the parliament and public is  paramount and definitely the need of the hour.Hope this article will  help to generate an intellectual debate and help RBI to have its autonomy in true sense of the term. 

Dr T V Gopalakrishnan

This comment is given in response to an article on "RBIs' Accountability questionned" that appeared in Money Life.

Time to review The System and Procedure pursued in PSBs

Dear Sir,

                    Sub Time to review the System and Procedure pursued in PSBs.

The PSBs need to change their approach, attitude and above all appearances to remain in banking business which is essentially to deal with the most sensitive Commodities Ie Money and human resources. Banking is a service oriented commercial activity with lots of social objectives to serve the ordinary masses and the economy to achieve the twin objectives of  economic Growth keeping the inflation under the affordability of the large segment of the population and fair distribution of the resources ensuring inclusive growth of all the segments of the economy. Public Sector Banks having SBI as the largest bank have to be necessarily role models to all those in the Financial services sector in the discharge of their major banking functions ie mobilisation of deposits and deployment of the  funds  equitably , profitably and socially to achieve the economic growth well intended and vigorously pursued by the Government . In this context, I have a few and very simple suggestions for your possible consideration and implementation.

Very recently, myself and my wife both senior citizens  happened to visit a branch of the State Bank of India to deposit some money under the tax savings  scheme to claim the rebate under 80c. My wife had a deposit under the scheme which got matured in February but unfortunately, the bank had no system of sending an alert through SMS or email to the depositors particularly when the depositors are senior Citizens and chances of their keeping track of transactions are very remote.  The Deposit got matured on 2^nd February 2019 and being away on a pilgrimage, we missed the date and happened to see the Deposit receipt only on our return. Immediately we rushed to the branch and requested to renew the Deposit under the tax savings Scheme to claim the rebate under 80C for this Financial year ie 2018-19. The System and procedure of the Bank is such that it took almost one and half hours to complete the process involving transfer of the matured deposit proceeds to an SB account and then opening a fresh Deposit account with a request application along with a cheque to transfer the money from SB account to the new FD. The Staff was very courteous, helpful and Customer friendly but the Systems and procedure followed involves time, paper work despite having a computerised system and core banking solution to take care of all possible demands of bank and Customer needs. It is really a pain to be in the bank premises for an unduly long time to do a small transaction incidentally favouring more the Government than the bank. I strongly feel the whole transaction can be finished in five minutes with a simple request from the Customer in writing and submitting the matured deposit receipt. The very joy of visiting the bank vanishes the moment the procedures are advised and made to wait indefinitely to completely the process. This can be and needs to be avoided at any cost if the Image of PSBs matter among the depositors who are the real back bone of the Financial system.

Then the banks’ image along with the  Government’s   prestige get projected on the Receipt issued by the bank for the Deposit made under the Tax savings Scheme. While simplicity and Cost saving are essential features to be followed and admired by all, they should not be at the Cost of bank’s on stature and image among the banks and the public. I am sorry to observe that the receipt for the deposit was in A4 sheet the preservation of which with distinction as it carries value for the holder is at great risk. I am shocked to get a receipt in A4 sheet which shows the pathetic condition of the bank and the attitude it has for its Deposit Customers as they have no other choice other than come to banks to keep the money. This is going to ruin our PSBs’ prestige and image and definitely SBI’s being the largest public Sector Banks with maximum international presence as they  cannot and should not stoop to such levels. As seeing is believing, I enclose the receipt issued for our deposit for your perusal, and own judgement.

PSBS have a greater role and responsibility in the nation building and making the financial system strong, visible to the whole world to emulate them for their involvement, commitment and supporting the economy through mobilisation of resources from within and outside country and deploying the funds effectively, efficiently and economically to achieve the political, economic and social objectives set by the Government and very rigorously pursued. The steps initiated by the government to make the PSBs strong by injecting additional funds along with helping them to wriggle out of the bad debts conundrum are really admirable but they need to be adequately supplemented by improving the Systems and Procedures in carrying out the basic functions of banks, with efficient and flawless customer service and image building exercises without adding to the costs in any manner.  Time is equally precious to all ie all Service Oriented Institutions and Customers as well. Nothing is impossible in this great Country is what is being established in the recent past.  Attention is all that matters.

With best wishes and highest regards,

Yours faithfully,

Dr T V Gopalakrishnan

A Senior Citizen and Well wisher of The Government.   
 (Copy of  the Letter addressed to the FM)  

Letter to the Honourable Prime Minister

To,

The Honourable Prime Minister of India,

New Delhi.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Respected  Honourable Prime Minister,

                                                     Sub: A highly fruitful and satisfying Second term

This is perhaps my third and last letter to you before you complete your first term as PM which is a success by any reckoning despite shortfalls in meeting all the aspirations of all 130 crores of people.   The policies and reforms introduced are no doubt very bold, imaginative and unparalleled and the fact that they are whole heartedly welcomed and supported by the people is by itself is not a mean task but a very great achievement. The shortcomings if any, however, lie not in your policies but in their implementation due to certain vital and very fundamental information missing in the scheme of things. The major flaw is lack of data on employment, income, generation and distribution of wealth. The depth of the informal economy is so deep and unfortunately it has not been fully fathomed out by any Government so far is a wonder and is the root cause for all the ills in the economy. Whether it is agricultural growth, industrial output, inflation, employment, black money generation, corruption, capital formation, generation of non- performing assets not only in banks but in the whole economy, evasion of taxes and laws of the country, the information does not get captured fully to frame policies and their effective implementation. The Country has produced worldly recognised great Statisticians and Information Technology Experts, but still it  has not been able to generate data on certain vital basic aspects of the economy is an unacceptable state of affairs leading to failure of very grandiose schemes.  In this background, the introduction of Aadhar is a landmark but a lot remains to be done to make the Aadhar a fool proof mechanism to capture some of the essential and vital statistics to support the economy and Governance. The other issue one can think of is general deterioration in Ethics and values seen in the society due to the faulty education system practised over several decades.

To give an example as to how the information does not seem to get reflected in national statistics, I would like to briefly cite the following from my own experiences and perceptions. I live in a fairly large Complex in Bangalore where there are 2000 flats. The area is surrounded by a few lay outs consisting of lots of independent houses, flats, schools, offices of all kinds, hospitals, malls and all kinds of shops and establishments one can imagine. I do a mental survey during my walks and otherwise by my casual observations day in and day out and I find that there is no shortage of employment, income, tax, economic activities to generate wealth and its distribution. To what extent, the data gets captured is a million dollar question. I casually observe that there are hundreds of security guards, maid servants, car drivers, car cleaners, iron wallahs, milk and flower vendors, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, hawkers of all kinds spread in and around our complex earning definitely not less than ten thousand rupees a month. Many may have migrated from rural areas and the fact remains that there are no agricultural labourers to work in the fields and many lands are allowed to remain barren. My own gut feeling is that many earn more than the cut off limit prescribed for Income Tax and they do not seem to get reflected in the employment data of any kind or for that matter in the GDP itself. Likewise one gets a doubt as to whether all the shops and establishments which include dispensaries, hotels and restaurants earning in thousands and lakhs of rupees and that too in cash, generate genuine bills and report the correct earnings and tax collected. This may be true of thousands of complexes, townships sprung over the entire country . The idea is not to suspect their dealings but to what extent their economic activities get reflected in the National Statistics and help policy formulation is a matter of great concern.

The erosion in values seen in every walk of life in the society poorly reflects on our ancient culture, wisdom, civilisation and way of life. This needs to be tackled on an urgent basis though there is no quick fix solution. Perhaps, through quality education, enhanced value systems in our judiciary and administrative set ups, a beginning can be made to bring back fast the lost values and build a strong foundation for future generations to come.  For that to happen, you have to be back in power and I wish and pray for your grand success in the coming election.  The Country is rich and great in all   respects in terms of human, natural and other physical and financial resources and with a very dynamic and resulted oriented leadership the so called Ache DIN promised cannot be very far off.  God is Great.  

Wishing you the very best and all successes for your good thoughts and sincere actions

Yours faithfully,

Economics Over Politics.

The open fight between RBI and the Government is not in the interest of the economy, the nation, the ruling party and the RBI itself being a professional adviser to the Government and saviour of the entire financial system. The government and RBI have common and very laudable objective of ensuring fast and equitable economic growth keeping the welfare of all segments of the society particularly the farming community who is the real backbone of the economy and the society. Knowing this, both RBI and the Government have to have close coordination and understanding in enunciating policies and their meaningful and effective implementation. The whole world is watching and the international community particularly investors  and Institutions like IMF and world bank have a stake in understanding the placement of the EConomics over politics. 

Dr T V Gopalakrishnan

Food for serious thoughts

The Government's interference with RBI has started with the withdrawal of updating of Pension to its Retirees way back in 2007.Then the setting up of FSDC taking away RBI powers over the Financial system has dealt a deathblow to RBI' independence  This was followed by the appointment of additional Directors from the MOF as Nominees in RBI Board followed by demand of interim dividends and the entire surplus of RBI's income by the Government. Forcing two professional economists  Governors to quit was the final blow killing the Institution and taking away the Concept of independence of Central Bank .Less said the better about the way RBI is treated and the banking system is manipulated to suit  more the politics than the economics of the nation.The balancesheets of the Government and the RBI are getting weaker and weaker every passing day. Forget about the twin unhealthy balance sheets of the Corporates and the banks. They are weak beyond imagination. Good to hear some voices like Dr Reddy on the subject. Some intellectual satisfaction and food for serious thoughts. Good Economics and Good Politics cannot go together in a democratic set up is what it all indicates.  

Dr T V Gopalakrishnan