Just Sibling Rivalry

They may claim to be as different as chalk and cheese, but on the economic front the Congress and the National Democratic Alliance couldn't agree more. The Congress may have taken pains to draft an 80-page manifesto, while the nda settled on just 10 pages, but both promise the same reformist path to economic salvation. Says Dr Kirit Parikh, director, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (igidr): 'Both manifestos seem remarkably similar. And that is a positive sign.' Be it gdp growth targets, reduction in the fiscal deficit, eradicating unemployment, fdi inflows, or public sector reform, both the nda and the Congress parrot the same lines.

The consensus appears to have evolved gradually, with the Congress talking of 'self-reliance', which in a way is a tacit acceptance of the fact that bjp's 'swadeshi' agenda does have its appeal. At the same time, since bjp is only a part of the nda, it has been forced to tone down its swadeshi rhetoric. Hence, both manifestos seem to have found a common meeting ground.

Sudheendra Kulkarni, director in the pmo, though still insists that the nda manifesto has its share of differentials from the Congress one. 'Our manifesto takes the reform process forward, deepens and widens it. We are not the initiators of the reform process, we're merely forwarding it and correcting deficiencies.' Ditto, says Congress' Manmohan Singh. 'The broad direction will remain the same. We'll certainly make such corrections as are necessary.'

But Parikh thinks it's unfortunate that broad statements are made but few specific policies are mentioned. 'If there's no debate on the economic targets, there should be some debate on the route to be taken.' Sure, everybody would like a four per cent fiscal deficit, $10 billion of annual foreign investment, disinvestment in the public sector, and so on and so forth. But how do you do that? The nda's manifesto, for one, does not make any such suggestions.

If anything, the few specifics of the nda's economic manifesto have come in for criticism. First, its promise of earmarking 60 per cent of plan funds for agriculture, rural development and irrigation. Today the figure stands at about 20 per cent. 'That's a very large amount. The only way to do it is by reducing plan allocation in other areas,' says Parikh. Then, the nda talks about linking the Ganga and Cauvery rivers and undertaking the Sethu Samudharam canal project. Given its scale, the economic and ecological aspects of the project would be mindboggling, feel experts. Instead it's better to finish the existing canal and dam projects.

The Congress manifesto does go one better. Says cii president Rahul Bajaj: 'We've identified over 80 positive features in their manifesto.' It also contains a few intriguing hints, which, if read between the lines, implies radical reform without explicitly saying so. For instance, the manifesto reads: 'There is a need to review and revamp such laws and regulations as stand in the way of faster employment generation.' Questions Parikh: 'Is the Congress implying an exit policy?' There's also talk of reviewing the items reserved for the small scale sector, which's been a no-no in the past.

In addition, the Congress also mentions some specifics. It talks of more than halving the level of non-performing assets (npa) of the banks to four per cent. Says Singh: 'The banks should be given a lot more autonomy, and also held a lot more accountable for their actions.' Then, there's talk of a forward looking Companies Act, reducing real interest rates to 3-5 per cent, even a competition law in place of the current mrtp act.

Perhaps, that's why,in a bid to win the specifics battle,three days after the nda manifesto was released, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha announced a 'charter of commitments', including allowing provident and pension funds to invest in the equity markets, which will bring in large sums into the bourses, and also help the funds meet their commitments. He also committed the nda to state electricity board reform, which has been a crying need for years now.