Obstacle race

the trinity comprising regulation, user charges and private sector production. In some areas, progress has been made. The best example is telecom, where VSNL was privatised and private players allowed. We have problems in the form of BSNL and MTNL which have not yet been privatised, and an improper legal and institutional framework for TRAI — yet results are visible. Prices have collapsed, teledensity has exploded. In no other sector can Manmohan Singh similarly say “mission accomplished”. Take the railways. It’s the most efficient form of transportation, but little reform has been undertaken. Everybody would agree that while a government can own a road, the private sector must not be excluded from running trucks and tempos on it. But in the railways, we are stuck with an inefficient monopoly government transportation company. In electricity, Delhi is the cynosure of attention, as a test case of how privatisation of distribution can work. But elsewhere, there is no progress on distribution. We still harbour biases against private and foreign firms who could assist in transmission, distribution and generation. The aviation sector remains a farcical story of not building good quality airports, and protecting Air India, Indian Airlines and Jet Airways. In the roads sector, while the new roads being built by NHAI are a quantum leap, a major shift in attitude is required, away from constructing roads to obtaining sustained speeds of 100 kph on them, with added emphasis on safety.

The UPA has a horizon running till the next elections in 2009. There is a fascinating opportunity to engage in big bang reforms in electricity, ports, railways, roads and aviation. This could involve political pain in the first two years. But as happened with telecom and roads, we will see results from 2006 onwards, and the UPA will be able to take credit for having decisively put India on a path to infrastructure that can compete with China’s.