REMEMBERING SHRI P.V. नरसिम्हा RAO

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Quote: “ Humans overstimate the change that will occur in next 2 years and underestimate the change that will occur in next 10 years – Bill Gates

India has just completed  quarter of a century since radical economic reforms were introduced for the first time since independence, in the year 1991 by  former Prime Minister Late Shri P.V.Narsimha Rao with the help of his cabinet colleague Dr. Manmohan Singh, who happened to be a prominent economist and former Governor of RBI. Another person who was instrumental in the success of reforms was the then RBI governor Shri C. Rangrajan. This ‘trimurti’ did great service to the nation by ending decades-old “licence-permit raj‘  in the country thereby unleashing wide ranging economic reforms covering Industrialde-licencing, fiscal policy changes, financial reforms, market based interest rates, flexible exchange rates, inflow of foreign equity etc. When Shri Rao tookover as Prime Minister the Indian economy was in doldrums – facing serious economic crisis and an all out fund crunch added and abetted by the abscence of any viable policy framework to deal with that crisis. Under this  threat of  imminent economic collapse the courageous Mr. Rao boldly dismantled the licence raj and opened the Indian economy to the fresh winds of international trade and commerce.

It is noteworthy that all successors to the coveted post of India’s prime Ministers have followed the same reform path as shown by Shri Rao and Dr. Manmohan Singh although the same Mr. Singh, later on as Prim Minister during two terms of UPA’s tenure failed to exhibit the same boldness as Shri Narsimha Rao could.

Shri Rao remains an unsung hero for his own party as well as the people of India which is a sad commentary on the mentality of most Indians who easily forget those who did commendable services  in the past to the cause of the country.

It goes to the credit of liberal reforms introduced by Shri P.V. Narsimha Rao,  that, today, when the world economy is facing slump, the Indian economy is comparatively steady in the midst of current volatility in Europe, Middle east, China and USA etc.

I pay my tribute to this great son of India with whome I had the occasion to rub shoulders with him and likes of him during lively debates regularly organised by Delhi Study group  at YMCA Delhi in 80  where he participated quiet often as a scholarly panelist and I happened to be  organising secretary of that group in those days.

– ओपीपारीक43oppareek43