Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement on Thursday that the reforms under the PV Narasimha Rao government were ‘aadhe-adhure’ are a major source of controversy.
The Finance Minister said in the same event that had the ideology of socialism that relied on centralised planning not existed, India may have been the fifth largest economy in the world earlier.
A sharp rebuttal has come from Congress veteran P Chidambaram, who once served at the helm of the country’s finance ministry.
Former Finance Minister Manmohan Singh reportedly said that 1991 reforms were “half-baked”. Thank God, Dr Manmohan Singh did not prepare overcooked and unpalatable dishes like demonetisation, multiple-rate GST, and savage fuel taxes. In addition, he thanked the FM for revealing that she took baking and cooking courses at university.
In the wake of the unprecedented financial crisis of 1991, India’s economic policy has undergone fundamental changes. PV Narasimha Rao’s government has been credited by opposition leaders on many occasions for implementing those changes. A new economic policy was formulated for India in 1991 by Dr Manmohan Singh, widely considered the financial wizard.
In 1991, the changes led India to make its mark on globalization and market-oriented economics. India’s economy grew at a rapid rate, foreign exchange reserves increased, and international goods, capital, services, technology, etc., were freely flowing into the country.
