Political analysts often talk about the ability of political administrators to "talk up" the markets or "talk down" prices. In effect, this means that a decisive policy announcement is enough to influence the economic indices - provided it is accompanied by sufficient credibility.In the eight months they have been in office Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha have tried to "talk up" the markets - and the general mood of the nation - on several occasions. Most infamously, Sinha promised a boom "by September" only to find his hopes going bust. While the finance minister has acquired a reputation for talking through his hat, the prime minister has come to be seen as a man who begins the right journeys but conveniently fails to complete them.Early in his term, Vajpayee put in place a set of task forces - on defence, information technology, the finances of states, you name it. Reports have long been submitted. In the case of info-tech, the Jaswant Singh-led panel's suggestions have even been hailed as the route to software super-powerdom. Yet, implementation levels are close to zero. Given this record, the scepticism evoked by Vajpayee's policy overdose at a recent industry conference is understandable. For instance, allowing companies to buy back shares is already being described as a means of buying time for the Government - by pushing up the Sensex temporarily. The supposedly new initiatives on disinvestment, aviation and telecom are anything but that. In these areas the BJP-led regime has shot itself in the foot by appearing to succumb to vested interests. Far from taking a great leap forward, it now has to do some urgent repair work. What use are grand promises if they are not followed up? The prime minister cannot but know that whether the fare be swadeshi or videshi the proof of the pudding lies in the eating.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 9, 1998--- ENDS ---
