India is growing at the slowest pace in a decade and the sharp slowdown in the economy has hit India Inc hard. The government has often attributed the global crisis for India's economic slowdown, but Martin Wolf of the Financial Times has put the blame squarely on the current UPA regime.
"The government in India has been very disappointing. There have been lack of reforms because of which the steam has gone out of underlying domestic economy," Mr Wolf, who is also one of the world's most influential writers on economics, told NDTV's Shweta Rajpal Kohli at the World Economic Forum in Davos. (Watch the full interview)
It's for this reason that the upcoming elections in India, due by May 2014, are being closely tracked across the globe, he added.
Mr Wolf said the global business community is excited that the next government might be headed by BJP's Narendra Modi.
"The excitement is based on his reputation as the chief minister of Gujarat. There are hopes that he will be more decisive, follow a reform agenda, manage resources efficiently and finances better," he said.
Mr Wolf's praise for Narendra Modi came on a day when Finance Minister P. Chidambaram hit out at the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate in Davos. BJP's economic policies are "retrograde" and "blood-eyed", Mr Chidambaram said. He asked why Mr Modi had never fielded a Muslim candidate. (Read the full story here)
Mr Wolf also agreed that there were some concerns about the BJP and Mr Modi. "One is sort of used to a Congress-led government, so BJP will be an unknown quantity," he said.
However, he also made a case for a change in government, saying the current regime has "many failings in many different ways."
"There's great optimism that change will be beneficial for India. If it happens, it will be very positive for India," Mr Wolf added.
The veteran journalist said the emergence of the Aam Admi Party in India is an "incredibly healthy" development, but added that the economic policies of the party will not make India any better.
"Free power is a catastrophe, it will destroy the economy," he said.
© Copyright NDTV Convergence Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
