Towards a new compact

Without a collaborative arrangement between the Centre and the states, fresh reforms in many areas would become more contentious

Last month saw the commemoration of the big-bang economic reforms, which were launched by the Narasimha Rao government three decades ago in July 1991. A series of media commentaries from government leaders, economists and analysts captured the journey of those reforms in the last 30 years. In brief, the commentaries highlighted two broad trends.

One, after the burst of initiatives in the first 100 days of the Rao government with fundamental changes in trade, industrial and fiscal policies, economic reforms have by and large gone on, though at a varying and often slower pace. Importantly, they have been continued by all