Not many took note of the fact that the CBI has recently sought the court’s permission to close the Airbus 320 case. The agency has stated that after probing the purchase deal for 15 long years, it has found no evidence to suggest any irregularities. I used to cover Parliament in the late ’80s and I still remember how the V.P. Singh Government, supported by the BJP, created a ruckus, alleging that the previous government led by the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had violated rules and regulations in purchasing the Airbus 320 fleet. It was claimed, inside the House, that the Rajiv Gandhi Government had compromised on the quality of the aircraft in return of huge kickbacks, causing a loss of Rs 500 crore to the public exchequer. The V.P. Singh Government, with Arun Nehru as one of its key advisors, trashed the technical committee’s report that endorsed the aircraft obtained as the best available, and grounded the entire fleet. Later, the Chandra Shekhar Government lifted the ban and the fleet was re-inducted. According to a rough estimate prepared by the Aviation Ministry, the nation lost Rs 2000 crore due to the ill-advised decision to ground the fleet. Besides crippling the Indian Airlines, this damaged the civil aviation sector so badly that complete recovery was not possible in the years to follow. Time vindicated the technical committee’s report and the Airbus 320 fleet turned out to be the backbone of the Indian Airlines soon after its re-induction. So much so that now Indian Airlines maintains its mobility thanks largely to this highly efficient fleet. For so many years now, V.P. Singh himself has been boarding the same Airbus 320 whenever he flies within the country. None of us have heard him complaining yet. Now that the CBI has concluded, after a decade-and-half of investigation, that the deal was fair, those politicians who levelled false charges of corruption against the Rajiv Gandhi Government and grounded a perfectly competent fleet just out of personal vendetta, must come clean. Corruption charges always fascinate our middle-class and when levelled against politicians of repute, earn instant dividends. While our judicial system demands that everyone be considered innocent till found guilty, corruption charges trigger an immediate trial by the media and masses. Such popular trial summarily paints the suspect in black and it takes years of judicial trial to clear one’s name. In some cases, as in the present incident, the victim doesn’t live to see himself vindicated. It’s sad that even from leaders of certain stature, especially those who never tire talking of values and integrity in politics, we cannot expect basic political responsibility. If leaders don’t hesitate in levelling frivolous charges of such serious dimension for petty political gain, they must also be prepared to pay the price when their bluff is called. Such rootless allegations not only cause the investigating agency loss of time, manpower and money but also mislead and cheat the nation. Now that the CBI has made public its findings, the Vajpayee Government must initiate a probe against those who took the decision to ground the fleet. Unless we identify and strongly reprimand irresponsible leaders, this dirty practice of leveling unfounded allegations will continue in Indian politics. It’s time to set an example. Sinking into a State of Debt THE fiscal positions of the State Governments have been steadily deteriorating since the early ’90s. The trend has been particularly alarming in the last seven years. From 1997 to 2002, the quantum of debt of the State Goverments more than doubled. During this span, State finances came under increasing stress due to the impact of implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission. Since 1993, open market borrowings increased almost four times. Loans and advances from the Centre remained the single largest component of State debts, though its proportion in the States’ debt portfolio is apparently falling. Loans from the Public Accounts increased four-fold. At the end of 1993-94, the outstanding debt of States was Rs 1,83,049 crore, constituting 23.4 per cent of the GDP. It went up to Rs 6,71,653 crore, constituting 29.8 per cent of the GDP, at the end of the last fiscal. The consolidated debt position of the States deteriorated due to issue of State Government guarantees to entities implementing long-gestation infrastructure projects, independent power producers and the corporate sector. It has been an attempt to artificially preserve the plan size while knowing that many of these guarantees would devolve on the State. If we look at the budget debt plus guarantees in an integrated manner, it becomes clear that the consolidated debt as a percentage of GDP has crossed 35 per cent for all States in the aggregate. Evidently, this is not a sustainable position. We have to get realistic. The States must manage their finances. The Finance Ministry should also take effective steps to streamline the borrowing programme of the States. It’s time for some effective fiscal reform before the situation gets out of hand. Indian Market in Foreign Shores FINALLY, some good news. Our total exports for the year 2002-03 has been Rs 25,0130 crore. In dollar terms, it amounts to US$ 52.23 billion. This means a 19.2 per cent growth rate in dollar terms and 20.9 per cent growth rate in rupee terms as against the last fiscal. The major sectors of growth include agriculture and allied products (10.3 pc), marine products (11.7 pc), ores and minerals (16.4 pc), gems and jewellery (21.2 pc), chemicals and related products (16.4 pc), engineering goods (24.9 pc) and petroleum products (14.3 pc). While the textile sector witnessed a jump of 9.5 pc, handicrafts had it big with a 31.3 pc increase in export volume. On the flip side, leather and electronic goods, plantations, and carpets lost some of their appeal and recorded export decline. Consuming one-fifth of our exports, USA is, of course, the single largest destination of Indian goods. Exports to the US registered a healthy growth rate of 27.5 per cent. The European Union consumes another one-fifth of India exports, and here the volume has gone up by 15.3 per cent. Asia-Oceania account for more than two-fifth of our exports and registered a hefty growth of 33 per cent. While we have good news even from Africa (6 pc exports) where a 8.2 pc growth rate has been achieved, the best news has come from Latin America which has registered a 34 per cent jump. Arun Jaitley is proving to be a better minister in commercial matters also. — The writer is a Congress Rajya Sabha member
