The Hindu Business Line : Gentle persuaders

THE Indian Liberal Group, headed with great dedication by Mr S. V. Raju, deserves a big salute for holding aloft the values (freedom, fair play, tolerance, intellectual honesty, open mind, recourse to reasoned persuasion, receptivity to opposing points of view, and adherence to decencies in public life and discourse) which are rooted in India's ancient heritage and which, in the last century, were exemplified by stalwarts such as Tej Bahadur Sapru, M. R. Jayakar, Minoo Masani and V. S. Srinivasa Sastri. The members of the Group remind one of Cardinal Newman's definition of a gentleman.

On the economic plane, the Group's approach is expectedly one of unleashing the creative energies of the stakeholders for the greatest good of the greatest number with full scope for private enterprise to exercise its initiative and judgment, in a competitive environment, free from State control, except in the role of an umpire and facilitator.

As part of its Project for Economic Education, the Group has been bringing out in the past two years "Liberal Budgets" embodying its ideas on the strategy, policies and measures that, in its opinion, will give a push to the economy and the reforms process. That it has been doing a thoroughly professional job of it should occasion no surprise since it draws on the talents of eminent and experienced thinkers and doers in public administration, academia, economics, civil society and public and private sectors.

The efforts of this Brains Trust are purposefully coordinated by Mr Sunil S.Bhandare, formerly Economic Adviser Tata Services, and Professor S. Radhakrishnan, the live wire of the Group's Chennai Chapter.

For 2006-07 too, it has come up with a Budget blueprint, with a Seven-Point Action Agenda containing what it believes to be right choices requiring tough decisions meant to unshackle the economy and speed up the reforms. It advocates to this end the creation of an Economic Reforms Implementing Authority.

In my view, a far more effective method is to place the responsibility of monitoring and guiding the reforms squarely on the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs headed by the Prime Minister. I also would have liked the Group to be a little more charitable to the legitimate concerns of the Left, instead of dubbing them obstructive.

All said, here is a recipe for fiscal health and economic growth, which merits serious consideration at the hands of both Central and State Governments.

B. S. Raghavan

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