Articles by B M

NEW DELHI Fall-Out of Janata Crisis B M NEW DELHI is in the grip of the crisis in the Janata party. The exit from the government of once-powerful Home Minister Charan Singh and his aid and principal spokesman during his illness, Raj Narain, on the Prime Minister's demand, was not even contemplated a couple of weeks ago. But the pace of events was precipitated so much on the return of Morarji Desai from his foreign tour that it is as yet difficult to grasp the full implications what has been happening to the ruling party. The dramatic developments have been made all the more delectable by Charan Singh's claim that he had been ousted from the cabinet by a conspiracy in which multinational corporations "and Indian big business have had a hand.

NEW DELHI Compulsions of Aid B M THE Indian delegation to the annual meeting of the Western aid consortium at Paris is naturally very gratified with the results of the meeting. There is to be a step-up of aid by $ 200 million to a total of $2.3 billion during the current year. There is no provision or relief this year in the repayment of old debts, but that is not a cause for worry since this country's foreign exchange reserves position is sound and repayment of about $ 600 million on this account will not pose much of a problem. The delegation was also able to like a good impression on the aid- givers by pointing to the significant liberalisation of import policies and procedures which had already resulted in the emergence of a substantial trade deficit last year and the expectation that the deficit would widen in the current year. This apparently made it possible for our aid diplomats to make a strong case for continuing foreign aid. not only for the benefit of the aid-givers but also that of public opinion in India which might normally have questioned the need for foreign aid when there is so much talk about our burgeoning foreign exchange reserves.

NEW DELHI Evasion on Wages Policy B M AN attempt to buy time by appointing a committee, when faced with difficult choices, is a time-honoured practice with all governments. The Janata government has shown this inclination more than any. The preference is justified by the facile explanation that the Janata has to make a break with the past regime and break fresh ground all along the line. The, expedient has been found to be all the more attractive since the Janata itself is an amalgam of several political, parties representing different and often conflict- ing ideologies and policy positions, However, such an expedient does not always work. Judging from the upshot of the appointment of the Bhootbaling- gam Committee on wages, incomes and prices policy, it can actually aggravate matters. The Committee's report has met with total rejection from all the organised sections concerned with it

NEW DELHI Tilting at Big Business Houses B M THE political situation is becoming very uncertain very fast. Whatever coherence and direction was beginning to emerge a few months ago in policymaking by government and in executive action at the administrative level is now getting blurred and might even disappear altogether. Contrast, for intance, the quiet framing and presentation of the Budget for the current year as also of the Draft Five-Year Plan with the pointless intervention of the Executive Committee of the Janata party with its 32-point economic programme last month and the loud talk which some ministers have suddenly started of taking measures to break up big business houses and family empires in industry.

NEW DELHI Planning without Policies B M THE conventional round of talks held by the Union Food and Agriculture Minister with the chief ministers on the price policy for the rabi crop have concluded. There is some hope among the officials of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture that the Agricultural Prices Commission's recommendation against any change in last year's prices will be upheld. But the concerted pressure mounted by the chief ministers of the wheat producing states led by Punjab and Haryana for a further increase in what are euphemistically called procurement prices may not be found so easy to cope with and a compromise might be considered necessary and a marginal increase in the wheat price might be granted as has happen- ed again and again in recent years.