New Delhi, July 24 (ANI): Reacting to economic reforms introduced 20 years ago by the then Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh, political leaders continue to analyse and deliberate the impact caused by it.
In 1991, Manmohan Singh, in his maiden budget as the finance minister under the PV Narasimha Rao-led Congress Government, assessed the financial condition of the country, which stood on the edge of bankruptcy, and decided to liberalise the national economy.
Immediate steps needed to be formulated and implemented. In such circumstances, Singh decided to reject the licence raj and introduced reforms, which have consequently, transformed the lives of millions of Indian citizens.
Congress leader and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla said the country, which was teetering on the state of bankruptcy, emerged out of it because the grandiose vision of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and implementation by Manmohan Singh.
"He (Manmohan Singh) came and introduced economic reforms. As a result of these reforms, India's foreign reserves have increased, economic growth increased, industrialization grew and most importantly, foreign investment witnessed growth. Share markets also saw an upswing. It created an atmosphere of happiness and development started to take place while employment opportunities increased," said Shukla.
"Rajiv Gandhi's dream for economic growth was implemented by the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh. Raja Chelliah committee and Narsimham committee were conceived by Rajiv Gandhi. He wanted India to figure in the international growth arena. The then finance minister, Manmohan Singh, implemented all of it. It is widely believed that this process of economic reforms is irreversible. Thereby, successive governments have also followed it," he added.
Shukla further stated that it is due to the economic reforms that the country is now being deemed as a superpower in the international arena.
"The result of these reforms is that today our economic growth stands at 8.5-9 percent and India is being known as a superpower. Even the American President came here and said that India is already a superpower. We are ahead of everybody in the IT sector. Our foreign reserves are ahead of any other country. However, Singh's vision is huge and therefore he wishes to implement many more of these plans," he added.
However, the socialist leaders disagree and suggest that the reforms have worked only for a select elite group while the majority continues to be marginalized.
"In totality, this country has only seen jobless growth. There are some successful people who can be labeled in the category of India Shining but they constitute not more than 10-12 percent. Children studying in regional schools are completely out of the job market," said Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav.
"The ones studying in public schools, which are english medium, receive the best of the employment opportunities in the Information Technology (IT) sector expansion," he ad ded.
Yadav further said that the country's labour laws are discriminatory against the poor.
"Labour laws stand on the principle of hire and fire. 92 percent of the labour sector in India falls under unorganized. So, if we compare last twenty years, only a handful of people have been successful. Remaining citizens of the country continue to remain poor," said Yadav.
"90 percent of people, who can actually impact growth, which the government calls inclusive growth, have not received adequate attention. As stated by Arjun Sengupta Committee, 78 percent of the people survive on Rs 20 per day," said Yadav.
Since 1991, India's GDP has increased four times, its forex reserves have surged from $5.8 billion to $279 billion, and exports from $18 billion to $178 billion.
The disparity between the rich and poor, meanwhile, has widened largely for the rural people who are unable to cope up with the increasing urbanisation in cities. By Pooja Shali (ANI)
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