We have scored a few self-goals, says Praful Patel

Opines that it is responsibility of principal political parties to bite the bullet on economic issues

Praful Patel, minister for heavy industry and public enterprises, and a key alliance partner of United-Progressive Alliance, was today in a mood for some introspective plain speak on the economic performance of the government.

Addressing the MindMine Summit on the theme India’s Today: Economics or Politics, organised by the Hero Group, Patel said coalition politics was here to stay and that it was the responsibility of the principal political parties (read Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party) to bite the bullet on economic issues. “Unless we have sound economics, we will not have sound politics.”

“We scored some self-goals in the last few years,” he acknowledged, commenting on the state of affairs in sectors such as power, roads, and on tackling the issue of the current account deficit.

Patel said realisation had dawned that the government could not afford to get bogged down by misguided activism from certain sections within the government. He was categorical that on labour reforms, there was no thought process in place to make it happen. “I don’t see it happening in the near future,” he said.

On the government’s track record in containing the current account deficit, Patel said relaxation in the pricing of diesel and petrol could have been done over a period of five years. “This could have helped to pass on the (rising) costs in a sustainable manner,” he said.

Patel said India’s demographics had changed in the last 10-15 years, leading to aspirational changes in business and politics, among citizens and consumers. “This has made both business and politics more competitive,” he added.

Reassuring industry leaders on the economic performance of the government, Patel said: “The worst is over”. While not getting bogged down in decision-making, governments however have to strike a balance among various sections of the society, he said.

Addressing a session on the Aadhaar, Nandan Nilekani, chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India, explained that the project was designed to be like an application-store around which different service providers would develop their service offerings. He said the project had till date enrolled 340 million people, having issued 300 million UIDs. Interestingly, around 15-odd countries have evinced interest in the implementation of the UID project.

In a session on India’s connect with the world, Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid refuted allegations that the Indian government had been soft when it came to influencing its neighbours. On Pakistan, he said it was committed to deliver on the most favoured nation status to India once the new government was in place.

“There is a growing constituency for trade between the countries,” he said.

Speaking on China, he said both the countries had largely overcome suspicions about each other’s intensions. “This is the right time to ramp up people-to-people contact,” Khurshid said. There is a far greater scope for investment coming from China to India,” he said. Khurshid is slated to visit China next month.