Political Opinion: Written in 2012, when the economy was towards deep fiscal deficit and there was no talk of new initiatives or entrepreneurs.

1. Can we trust a Harvard MBA to bring back ‘The GoldenBird’?
The Indianeconomyisdwindling.Year2012 broughtsome bad newsforthe economylike
The growth rate for first-quarteris5.3 percentwhichhasgone downfromwhopping9.2 percenta
yearago; The lesseramountof monsoonrainfall affected235 millionfarmersacrossnation;the
target toreduce budgetdeficitto4.6 percentisnot achievedandthe mostdiscussedpowerfailure
broughtthe whole nationstandstill.
Duringthe cabinetreshuffleinJuly2012, PM Manmohan Singhappointed Palaniappan
Chidambaramasfinance ministerwithahope of rescue.The businesscommunityandinvestors
outside IndiagotoptimisticandexpectedChidambaramtorevive the nationfromSingh’sdying
economicreform memo.
A Harvard alumnus, Chidambaram, 66, wascommerce ministerinearly1990s and has done
remarkable jobasfinance ministerinyear2004 to 2008. Nobodycan forgethisspeechthatbrought
nations’trustback after2008 Mumbai attack.
He tooksome extensive measurestoreduce downbudgetdeficitburdenbyloweringthe lending
ratesof 10 percent. “Chidambaramhasmade all the difference—partlybecause he’staking
initiativesthatwill improve the investmentclimate andpartlybecause he’sjustnotMukherjee,”
saysD.H. Pai Panandiker,presidentof RPGFoundation,aneconomicthinktankinNew Delhi.
But the effectof hisactionis still unseen.He strivedtobringsome stronglawsinactionbut some
backfiredandsome hitthe general publicbadly.
The economyneeds“bittermedicine,”saidFinance MinisterPChidambaramata Delhi Economics
Conclave onFridayas reportedbyFirstpost.Butafterthe diesel price hike andLPGcap, the govt.is
runningaftersugarystuff.He has still notgivenanyconvincingplantoreformthe economy
slowdown.
Since September2012, Chidambaram hasgiven bittermedicine:
1. The LPG cap of 6 cylindersayear rockedthe middle –classkitchens
2. There isstill nofurthertalkof diesel price regulation.
3. Chidambaramtriestobringeverythingdollarsthatmakesforeigninvestorseasytoinvestin.
4. Govt. mustcut itsfiscal deficitwheninflationishigh.Bycuttingextracoston non-productive
expenditures,the nationcanfightinflationveryeasily
5. The latestlandacquisitionbillthat hasmade propertypurchasingforinfrastructure and
industrya difficulttask couldhave beenavoided
SeemsChidambaramisindustriousinmakinghispositionstronginfrontof Soniaji ratherthan
winninggeneral public.The journeywithChidambaramisquite painful butfeeble.