A precarious pragmatism

Without the road map that an economic ideology provides, govt's search for practical ways out of specific problems has led it to appear erratic and inconsistent

Nobody can accuse the National Democratic Alliance government of having a coherent economic ideology. It is true that, prior to the 2014 election, hopes were raised that a Narendra Modi premiership would be economically reformist. And there certainly have been some major reforms in the past seven years, including in bankruptcy and indirect taxes. But there has also been some major backsliding, such as on trade and in statist industrial policy. Recent statements that suggest the government is willing to restart stalled trade negotiations — driven both by post-pandemic requirements and geopolitical pressures — are representative of this incoherence.

Policy has