The Hindu Business Line : Reforms, real winner of elections: India Inc

The paper states that on many crucial policy issues, whether it is fiscal, financial, trade-related, agricultural or industrial policy, the NDA and Congress say similar things.

New Delhi , May 11

EVEN as the Indian electorate waits anxiously to know who will form the next Government at the Centre, India Inc, it would seem, has already announced the real winner - `Economic reforms'.

A paper titled `Two claimants, One issue: Economic reforms', prepared by the India Brand Equity Foundation which is supported by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), shows how much convergence there is in the thoughts of the two main political groupings — the NDA and the Congress and its allies — on economic liberalisation. The paper is based on the manifesto and vision statement of the National Democratic Alliance and the Congress party.

"The manifesto of the NDA is full of specific proposals, ranging from creating a new ministry for international trade to a clutch of commodity-specific, industry-specific and market-specific projects. On the other hand, the other contender for power, the Congress party and its allies, have come out with a document that typically pans the NDA, but at the same time, also stakes claim to the mantle for being India's original reformers," the document points out.

Besides, the paper states that on many crucial policy issues, whether it is fiscal, financial, trade-related, agricultural or industrial policy, the NDA and Congress say similar things. "Equally important, nowhere in its manifesto does the Congress proclaim that it will reverse anything that the NDA has done so far," the paper notes.

The paper also points to other areas of convergence, including the fact that both are keen to push and sustain a growth in excess of 8-10 per cent. In addition, both the parties talk about enhancing the global competitiveness of Indian industry, though in different ways. While the Congress has mooted the idea of a `national manufacturing competitiveness council' to sustain the growth of the sector, the NDA plans to make India a global manufacturing hub.

Similarly, both the Congress and NDA talk about widening the tax base and increasing the current tax-GDP ratio, emphasise on judicial reforms to cut down delays in courts and are in favour of revamping the FDI monitoring apparatus to make it more investor-friendly and transparent.

Besides, the Congress manifesto promises to develop and increase trade with South-East Asia and China — a clear indication of wanting to continue with the policy initiatives like the Delhi-Beijing trade talks and the Indo-Thailand Free Trade Agreement taken in 2003 by the NDA Government.

Similarly, the Congress manifesto talks about engaging the US in scientific, technological, strategic and commercial co-operation - a sign that it endorses the cosy relationship that the NDA Government has built with the US Administration over the last five years.

For the power sector, the Congress manifesto stressed on the importance of roping in the private sector for power distribution, a tacit sign that it supports the Electricity Act, 2003, which was initiated by the NDA, the paper points out.

"All this is clear evidence of the success, sustainability and irreversible nature of the reforms process. It is also a sign that in the new millennium, politicians in India have finally realised that economics and, not rhetoric, makes more electoral sense," the paper says.