UPA 2 has almost set a record in making unfulfilled promises. No wonder the union Government is in a crisis. Commerce minister Anand Sharma has himself emphasized that results depend on implementation of proposed measures. Two decisions have been taken in the last few days. First, FDI is to be allowed in multi brand retail. Second, the price of diesel has been increased by Rs. 5 per litre and a cap has been put on the subsidy to cooking gas making six cylinders available to a family at the existing rate. Opposition has mounted in the ruling alliance itself, especially from the Trinamul Congress. The Left is also on the warpath. In the past, the government had made these decisions but pulled back on the ground of alleged political compulsion.
A year ago, the government was not in a shambles as of now and yet it held fire. Now the UPA government is mired in alleged scandals – 2G, CAG and coal. All this has retarded the country’s growth and botched its poverty alleviation efforts. The RBI is now more amenable to cutting rates, which corporate India had been praying for. Can the government have any excuse now to roll back the diesel price hike? And that applies to FDI in multi brand retail also. The market and Industry are happy with the decisions and expect more to come. The oil price measures will save the PSU oil marketing companies a whopping Rs.20,300 crore. However, there will still be and unrecovered gap of Rs. 1,67,000 crore in 2012-13. The elections are drawing near and populism threatens. Parliament has a long list of legislative measures to put through before the general election. It should be aware that several bills will lapse with the dissolution of the present Lok Sabha. The UPA 2 needs to reactivate itself and carry on with it.
