Thinking big, thinking bold

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Mahmudur Rahman
With the government well into the preparations for the 2010-2011 fiscal budget, the recently disclosed Indian budget may well offer some points of thought. The inevitably unpopular decision to hike fuel prices has been castigated by all and sundry, even by the partners of the UPA alliance. And the main component, the congress leadership have been just as staunch in sticking to their position that such an increase, when the economy is really getting back to health, is timely. As always with a democratic set-up, unpopular decisions have to be taken early on in the tenure. It is a bold decision, given that there has been concern over spiralling prices of essentials. The other areas of increases are ones that never annoy anyone are in tobacco, high-end consumer goods and services.
But then India always has been somewhat of an enigma in such cases. In a country where farmers still commit suicide because they don't get proper prices for their produce, India can afford to have a defence budget of $ 30 billion and a shopping list budget of $ 110 billion in the next decade. It provides stimulus for both foreign and local companies to get their teeth into big business. It is a country that has gone nuclear, with the support of the internal community without commitment to a non-proliferation treaty-again because it is big business. And yet the World Bank (WB) is rubbing its hands over the prospect of a $7.0 billion dollar loan to help the country finance its infrastructure building. And to think that Bangladesh's request for $2.3 billion is put under such a microscope.
To the outside world India is projected as a country with immense potential-which it has. The sheer number of its population and an increasingly well-off middle class is a dream for consumer goods companies and the rapid strides in the areas of IT and management make it an attractive prospect for the world. Indian businesses are now foraying into world business through acquisitions and mergers and seeking further opportunities to invest. Remittances continue to be healthy, unaffected by the world recession. Most important volume figures have more than made up for the loss in value figures in most commodities.
The vastness of the country and its resources allow for India to do what the US has done for years, protect its own while arguing for flexibility internationally. During the caretaker government, with oil prices at an all time low, a downward revision of fuel prices was made with the idea of providing some relief to the consumer while recuperating the phenomenal losses through subsidy-another bane for the development partners. Following the Mohajot government announcing major subsidies for the farmers, especially in diesel, the recuperation may have suffered a setback but certainly subsidy hits are much lower, if at all. Whether the government will re-focus on the sector is something that has to be seen and whether they follow India's lead in the other sectors will also be of interest. But as always it is the balance. For example the significant concessions in the income-tax ceilings allow for some money to return to the hapless consumer caught between a rock and hard place in terms of prices of daily essentials.
India is big and can afford to be bold and the internal community is acutely aware of this. Bangladesh isn't big, but can we afford not to be bold with or without international community approbation? (The writer is a former Head of Corporate & Regulatory Affairs of British American Tobacco Bangladesh, former CEO of Bangladesh Cricket Board and specializes in corporate affairs, communications and CSR. mahmudrahman@gmail.com)