30 years on, economic reforms have paid off
Three decades ago India embarked on a new economic journey when Manmohan Singh, then Finance Minister, placed the reform Bill and echoed Victor Hugo, “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come,” in Parliament. Since then, the crisis-hit economy has come a long way and marked its firm presence in the global platform.
By the beginning of the 1990s, India was reeling under double-digit inflation, gross fiscal deficits above 7.5 per cent of GDP, internal debt close to 54 per cent of GDP and foreign currency reserves were just enough to cover import bills of a fortnight. Further, there was a new government at the Centre.
With an economic crisis looming and political confidence on the verge of collapse, the economy was at its Nadir. It was a ‘TINA’ (there is no alternative) situation for Singh, to turn the crisis into an opportunity and undertake structural reforms that were long overdue.
Liberalisation started with a…
