Thought for the day
“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is
not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of
skill.”
-
Sun Tzu (Chinese, 544-496BC)
Word for the day
Impugn (trn v)
To attack by words or arguments; to call in question; to
make insinuations against; to oppose or challenge as false;
(Source: Dictionary.com)
Teaser for the day
Want a Lok Sabha ticket - hurl your shoe on a minister!
Nothing to fear
Continuing from yesterday,
I would like to first deal with the least likely (in my opinion) but most debated
feared outcome of the 2014 election, viz., AAP leading the government with full
support of Congress party and “others”.
In my view, in the absence of a formal economic policy
vision documents presented by AAP, the following four precedents, provide
indication towards the likely economic approach of AAP:
(a)
Withdrawal of permission granted by previous
regime for 100% FDI in multi brand retail trade,
(b)
Electricity & water subsidy for low users,
and
(c)
Challenging the gas pricing formula prescribed
by Rangarajan Committee and accepted by the Union Cabinet in an unconventional
way; and
(d)
Questioning the Delhi discoms and threatening
de-privatization of power distribution function in the state of Delhi.
Sensationalism
apart, I believe nothing could be deduced from these instances that would
suggest that AAP could bring any radical change to the status quo insofar as
the economic policy of the country is concerned. This may however be a matter
of concern for those unscrupulous businessmen who misuse loop holes in the
policy for personal gains and to the detriment of the common people.
Most non-Congress
ruled states, including BJP, have made it clear that they would not permit FDI
in multi brand retail trade in their respective states. In fact Rajasthan BJP
government has also withdrawn the permission given by the previous Congress
government in this respect. There is nothing that makes AAP stand out.
To the contrary, it
does indicate that AAP actually is more than willing to side with the traders,
who are not particularly known for their compliance standards insofar as the
taxation and municipal rules and regulations are concerned, if they see them as
their political constituency, much like BJP.
Most parties,
including BJP and Congress, when in power have offered electricity and water
subsidies for segments like low users, farmers, etc.; so nothing new or worth
worrying here. AAP seems business friendly as it has extended the subsidy to
the industrial users also without any discrimination.
The FIR against
Mukesh Ambani should be seen in the context of the tremendous nuisance value it
carries (Ambani now being equivalent of Tata-Birla of 1970’s). The details of
FIR suggest it is mostly untenable and carry no implication for AAP, as the
complainant is Delhi government not AAP or any of its members. Deriving any
indication of economic policy from this would be inappropriate in my view.
The accounts of
discoms and operators of E&P assets have been consistently challenged by
various parties. It is not a secret that cost escalation of projects through
unfair and unethical means is a common practice amongst Indian entrepreneurs.
This practice is actually one of the primary source of money laundering. If
this practice could be checked – who should be complaining?
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