With GDP growth at 5.3%, one would expect panic, firefighting, or at
the very least, concern from the highest echelons of government. Not so
in India. It is almost as if in its quest for political posturing, our
government would be more concerned because this is now being referred to
as the 'Hindu' rate of growth. Sacrilege for those who swear by
secularism. Pranab Mukherjee, the man at the helm of affairs in the
Finance Ministry (and some say the whole government), is, I think, one
of the worst FMs India has seen in recent history. Not only did he
deliver a toothless budget when a bold one was expected, he is also
personally responsible for the deteriorating investment climate in
India.
At a time when growth is collapsing, the current account deficit is running high, one would at least expect the FM to support Balance of Payments by encouraging capital flows. His conjuring of the Vodafone tax specter to haunt investors (past, present and future) has been particularly damaging. In his desperate quest for bridging a fiscal deficit (which by the way is his own government's creation, thanks to Sonia Gandhi's pseudo socialist policies a la NREGS), he seems to have unleashed his sniffing taxman on all unsuspecting corporates.
"We cannot declare India a tax haven to attract FDI," he said. Very soon, Mr Mukherjee, you may not have any FDI left to tax. In your gold-rush, you have killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. Good luck with your revenue targets.
What scares me most, is that Pranab Mukherjee, at some level, also refuses to acknowledge the situation that his government has created - time and again, when he would have been expected to stand up and take responsibility, he has instead conveniently passed the buck to the Europe crisis, coalition compulsions and market volatility. In other words, to anything but his own incompetence and apathy.
The arrogance of entitlement is apparent, when your Finance Minister claims in Parliament that "When we had no FDI, we did not eat lizards." Nice to know what your worst case scenario is, Mr FM. We shall be prepared. Even now, after the latest GDP figures have been released, a number of government advisers are choosing to hide behind a paltry Fixed Capital Formation growth (which some people have already claimed is due to a one-off).
Pranab Mukherjee is touted to be the next President of India. I think that would do just as well - it could offer some much needed relief and a welcome change in the Finance Ministry. Only, I wish this was applicable with retrospective effect.
At a time when growth is collapsing, the current account deficit is running high, one would at least expect the FM to support Balance of Payments by encouraging capital flows. His conjuring of the Vodafone tax specter to haunt investors (past, present and future) has been particularly damaging. In his desperate quest for bridging a fiscal deficit (which by the way is his own government's creation, thanks to Sonia Gandhi's pseudo socialist policies a la NREGS), he seems to have unleashed his sniffing taxman on all unsuspecting corporates.
"We cannot declare India a tax haven to attract FDI," he said. Very soon, Mr Mukherjee, you may not have any FDI left to tax. In your gold-rush, you have killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. Good luck with your revenue targets.
What scares me most, is that Pranab Mukherjee, at some level, also refuses to acknowledge the situation that his government has created - time and again, when he would have been expected to stand up and take responsibility, he has instead conveniently passed the buck to the Europe crisis, coalition compulsions and market volatility. In other words, to anything but his own incompetence and apathy.
The arrogance of entitlement is apparent, when your Finance Minister claims in Parliament that "When we had no FDI, we did not eat lizards." Nice to know what your worst case scenario is, Mr FM. We shall be prepared. Even now, after the latest GDP figures have been released, a number of government advisers are choosing to hide behind a paltry Fixed Capital Formation growth (which some people have already claimed is due to a one-off).
Pranab Mukherjee is touted to be the next President of India. I think that would do just as well - it could offer some much needed relief and a welcome change in the Finance Ministry. Only, I wish this was applicable with retrospective effect.
1 comment:
Oh God, such is to be the fate of India, a minister selected by a group of tainted and corrupted politicians, filthy of black money and defecated 2G, 3G scams, and he himself being in that post unable to resolve those issues !!! If that's it, them it's the doomsday in Indian history, a group of dictators are governing the largest democratic country in the globe.
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