Read Online To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story by Jairam Ramesh - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jairam Ramesh
Ads: Link
my first address to you I had outlined the agenda of my government. We stand committed to that agenda. The Budget which will be presented on July 24 will clearly articulate the social and economic philosophy of my government, the broad outlines of which are evident in our actions.
What is this outline?
We believe that a bulk of government regulations and controls on our economic activity have outlived their utility. They are stifling the creativity and innovativeness of our people. Excessive controls have also bred corruption. Indeed, they have come in the way of achieving our objectives of expanding employment opportunities, reducing rural-urban disparities and ensuring greater social justice.
We believe that the Nation, as well as the Government, must learn to live within its means. Normally, a family borrows money to buy an asset and not to meet daily expenditure. So it is with the Government. There is much fat in Government expenditure. This can and will be cut.
We believe that Government concessions must be for the poor and the really needy. Over the past few years, expenditure on this has increased substantially and in many instances the concessions are being enjoyed by people who are not in dire need of them. This must change
India Cannot Lag Behind
We believe that India has much to learn from what is happening elsewhere in the world. Many countries are bringing in far-reaching changes. We find major economic transformation sweeping large countries like the Soviet Union and China, as well as small countries in Eastern Europe. There is a change in outlook, a change in mindset everywhere. India too cannot lag behind if she has to survive, as she must, in the new environment.
Our commitment to work for the uplift of the poor, the underprivileged and the disadvantaged is firm and irrevocable. We believe that this is best achieved if Government concentrates on providing drinking water, on expanding education, on fighting social discrimination, on creating jobs, on establishing infrastructure. Our measures must reflect this ideology.
I wish to assure you that while we are restructuring the economy to make it more productive and efficient, prices will be kept under the strictest control. We will ensure adequate availability and supply of essential commodities.
Friends, it will be dishonest for me to pretend that the job of repairing our economy will be easy, quick or smooth. Each one of us will be called upon to make sacrifices. This is no time for partisan politics. I need the cooperation of each and every one of you. I need your support, your understanding. Together, we will succeed.
I could not believe that the prime minister had conveyed my speech to the nation
in toto
. There was now a spring in my step, and I shared my excitement with the principal secretary the very next day. He was phlegmatic as ever and said that perhaps the prime minister had been too preoccupied to find the time to draft his own speech. Nonetheless, I felt mighty pleased that the master draftsman had actually used my draft. Indeed, this time, as a result, the style of his speech was more direct and pointed; it stood out in contrast to the normal Narasimha Rao offering, given its pithiness. There wasn’t much philosophy. I would not know it then, but this was my first and last success with him as far as speeches went.
But the story of this speech does not stop here. In January 1993, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting brought out the first volume of selected speeches of the prime minister, from his assumption of office in June 1991 up to June 1992. Strangely—and it could have been done only with his approval—the9 July 1991 broadcast to the nation does not figure in the collection. The volume starts with his very first speech of 22 June 1991 and then jumps to his speech in the Lok Sabha on 15 July 1991. The omission is bizarre, to say the least, and it would appear that the prime minister did not wish to leave behind this
What is this outline?
We believe that a bulk of government regulations and controls on our economic activity have outlived their utility. They are stifling the creativity and innovativeness of our people. Excessive controls have also bred corruption. Indeed, they have come in the way of achieving our objectives of expanding employment opportunities, reducing rural-urban disparities and ensuring greater social justice.
We believe that the Nation, as well as the Government, must learn to live within its means. Normally, a family borrows money to buy an asset and not to meet daily expenditure. So it is with the Government. There is much fat in Government expenditure. This can and will be cut.
We believe that Government concessions must be for the poor and the really needy. Over the past few years, expenditure on this has increased substantially and in many instances the concessions are being enjoyed by people who are not in dire need of them. This must change
India Cannot Lag Behind
We believe that India has much to learn from what is happening elsewhere in the world. Many countries are bringing in far-reaching changes. We find major economic transformation sweeping large countries like the Soviet Union and China, as well as small countries in Eastern Europe. There is a change in outlook, a change in mindset everywhere. India too cannot lag behind if she has to survive, as she must, in the new environment.
Our commitment to work for the uplift of the poor, the underprivileged and the disadvantaged is firm and irrevocable. We believe that this is best achieved if Government concentrates on providing drinking water, on expanding education, on fighting social discrimination, on creating jobs, on establishing infrastructure. Our measures must reflect this ideology.
I wish to assure you that while we are restructuring the economy to make it more productive and efficient, prices will be kept under the strictest control. We will ensure adequate availability and supply of essential commodities.
Friends, it will be dishonest for me to pretend that the job of repairing our economy will be easy, quick or smooth. Each one of us will be called upon to make sacrifices. This is no time for partisan politics. I need the cooperation of each and every one of you. I need your support, your understanding. Together, we will succeed.
I could not believe that the prime minister had conveyed my speech to the nation
in toto
. There was now a spring in my step, and I shared my excitement with the principal secretary the very next day. He was phlegmatic as ever and said that perhaps the prime minister had been too preoccupied to find the time to draft his own speech. Nonetheless, I felt mighty pleased that the master draftsman had actually used my draft. Indeed, this time, as a result, the style of his speech was more direct and pointed; it stood out in contrast to the normal Narasimha Rao offering, given its pithiness. There wasn’t much philosophy. I would not know it then, but this was my first and last success with him as far as speeches went.
But the story of this speech does not stop here. In January 1993, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting brought out the first volume of selected speeches of the prime minister, from his assumption of office in June 1991 up to June 1992. Strangely—and it could have been done only with his approval—the9 July 1991 broadcast to the nation does not figure in the collection. The volume starts with his very first speech of 22 June 1991 and then jumps to his speech in the Lok Sabha on 15 July 1991. The omission is bizarre, to say the least, and it would appear that the prime minister did not wish to leave behind this
Similar Books
