Economic Reforms, Untenable Assumptions and an Alternative

Assumptions and an Alternative LIKE many governments in the world, the Indian government also is following policies for the uplift of the economy. The government and its principal actors are quite genuine about the goal of such policies and are persuaded that these policies will get the country to the desired goal of growth and economic welfare of most people. These policies are contained in a package known as 'economic reforms'. There is a consensus among some sections on the elementsjn this package for a variety of reasons: (i) a genuine belief that these will be effective, (ii) they suit the interests of the ruling group whom for purposes of analysis I have classified under the heading Resident Non-Indians (RNI), (iii) they seem to be consistent with the prevailing conventional wisdom based on economic orthodoxy, and (iv) they are supported, and promoted, by the international lenders. Even though these policies have been formulated, and pushed, by the government for the past five years these have not gained the support of the populace at large as is evidenced by the defeat of the Congress Party in most stale elections; this in spite of the government's and its supporters' economic muscle and political power. It is clear that the economic logic being argued by the central government is at variance with the experiences of the majority public. Why is it so?