Nine and a quarter years are not a small period
for any individual to show his/her credibility and presence especially when you
are running a country and know the nerves of the nation as you had been an
economist in the past. You can gauge it easily and come out with a discreet
plan to change the fortunes of a nation currently under the hammer from all
sides.
Yes, I am talking about Man Mohan Singh (MMS),
the current Prime Minister (PM) of India who we all admired when he was taking
an oath under the constitution of India. It was a proud moment for all of us as
MMS (please excuse me; it is not the live MMS. He followed only dirty politics)
had been the RBI Governor cum Economist for 2.5 years in the early eighties and
then the Finance Minster in the early 1990s when he had the credit of reviving
the ailing economy from the slump . Unfortunately, the MMS-nomics could not
work in India in his 3rd stint as the Prime Minister of India and
India saw the fall of her dignity along with the economic growth which is
staring at the Hindu growth rate, a term coined when the GDP grows at 3.5 to 4%
per annum.
MMS, since his elevation as PM has been construed
as a puppet in the hands of the glorified dynasty run by a foreign born lady
converted into India’s citizen due to a wicked past from a young and
charismatic leader who is no more on this earth. We all hope the proverb
“History repeats itself” does not prove true for the son who prefers eating at
a Dalit’s home but never speaks on key national issues. Nonetheless he is still
aspired for the post of PM. Despite getting a 2nd term in 2009, MMS
could not turn the mandate into an opportunity and a series of scandals
followed for all past sins committed by his ministers including him when they handled
different portfolios. Some scams are so prominent that the sums involved are
just wild guesses and run into trillions of rupees. MMS-nomics failed at all
fronts, be the foreign policy, home policy, finance policy or social security
policy. Nonetheless, to a certain extent, MMS is not responsible for the apathy
brought to the country in the current economic situation as he is not given a
free hand and not allowed to take decisions as the power still lies in the hand
of the UPA Chairperson. Unlike other countries where the Head of the State
played an important role in formulating and announcing the economic policies,
in India under MMS’s rein, all key decisions were hijacked by the ministers
like PC and others who had murky pasts (some have been proven but others are yet
to be proved) as per different media publications. All ministers worked in
favor of their near and dear turning India’s vicissitudes to losses only. Scams
ruled the nations and thanks to Media, it got uncover ed in a very short period
of time. Imagine what would have the scams’ size involved in the past among the
beneficiaries when there was only one news channel and few limited print
publications. Some of the famous scandals of the past are the Telecom Scam in
1993, Bofors’ scandal and many more which never got exposed.
The series of scams and scandals involving
trillions of rupees dented India’s image and it led FIIs to withdraw money
faster than they pumped in. Thanks to hawked eye review of India’s sovereign
rating by all leading rating agencies where they turned bearish, India turned
unfavorable for FIIs. The statement by Ben Bernanke, Fed Chairman of the USA that
they would reduce the pumping of cheap money in the system progressively also
led to unrests across the world especially emerging countries like India. India
got hit hard and due to absence of any other policies protecting its burgeoning
CAD, the partially convertible currency, Rupee got hit harder. As I talk, it has
already become a ‘Senior Citizen’ and is sitting at all time historic low. All other
assets except real estate have already seen extended losses or staring at
negative growth. In a few pockets of the country, Real Estate has already seen
few defaults and if it spreads like a jungle fire, it may give a scathing
attack on the economy of the country.
Thanks to media and people’s awareness, if the
government does not respond in a constructive way very soon, they are going to see
its own funeral. They will try their luck after they enacted Food Security Bill
into a law by passing an ordinance but at the same time, it would also burden
the state’s exchequer significantly.
Rise MMS Rise! Let
others sleep peacefully! Jai Ho!
