Reformer’s riposte

There was something fitting about Manmohan Singh’s address at the institution that represents the hub of global finance: the New York Stock Exchange. The man who piloted the first phase of India’s economic reform as finance minister and who is now its prime minister sent out a significant message to international investors: India is both ready and willing to integrate with the global market. Not only did the prime minister state that his country is willing to take the hard decisions required to raise its growth rates, not only did he acknowledge that India needed infrastructural investment to make that “quantum leap”, he was categorical in his observation that India needed investment from the US, since it was the “engine of world trade”.

There are several aspects about this speech that invite comment. One, there was a frankness about it that was as refreshing as it was new. It was arguably for the first time that an Indian leader has stated the issue with such clarity. There was no prevarication, no hiding behind unnecessary rhetoric. At the same time there was the confidence of conviction: India was ready for change, and even the Communist government in West Bengal testified to this. Two, there was no watering down of the ultimate objective that the prime minister was seeking: that of transforming the lives of the people by harnessing the power of wealth — no longer considered a bad thing. Three, there was the showcasing of ambition. Again, no longer considered a bad thing. The world, after all, is large enough to contain the Rising Dragon and the Rising Elephant. China’s growth does not preclude an India that is on the ascendant.

Our guess is that Manmohan Singh’s speech did more to boost investor confidence in India than anything our chambers of commerce could have done in a year. The tougher job, of course, would be to translate the prime minister’s stated intentions into well-designed policies back home. That’s when we come back to those “hard decisions” the prime minister spoke about.