People's Democracy

Planning Commission Should Change

Its Mindset: Jyoti Basu

 B Prasant

THE Planning Commission should realise that India has sufficient talent by way of having good economists without the need arising for a foreign import. The basic thing here is for the Planning Commission to change its stereotype mindset over such ‘imports’ being a compulsory exercise. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and former Bengal chief minister, Jyoti Basu said this in Kolkata recently while fielding questions from the media at the Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan.

The background to the media’s curiosity about the CPI(M)’s stand on the issue of induction of advisors to the Planning Commission from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and MNCs stemmed from the debate gathering momentum over the decision by the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission to go in for foreign advisors. Five noted economists, Prabhat Patnaik, Utsa Patnaik, Jayati Ghosh, C P Chandrasekhar, and Thomas Isaac have already declared their intention not to participate in the meetings of the advisory committees should the foreign advisors be allowed to continue in their capacity as advisors.

Jyoti Basu began by saying that it was a wonder to him as to why the foreign advisors had been taken on board, in the first place. He said that exchange of views could be organised with foreign institutions – many of which operated in Bengal while participating in projects – and discussions could be entered into. But one really did not want to go to the extent where advice had to be sought from them in an institutional manner and that too at the level of the Planning Commission. “We are against the induction of foreign experts in the Planning Commission,” declared Jyoti Basu.

Basu said that there would be little need for the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission to resign but he should certainly change his present mindset. It is recalled that it was the deputy chairman who had organised the involvement and participation of the foreign experts in the Planning Commission and had defended the decision when the Left had protested the move. Basu recalled that the deputy chairman had earlier worked for the World Bank.

ON FDI

Basu said that once the prime minister was back from his tour abroad, the CPI(M) leadership would once again talk to him over the issue of induction of foreigners in the Planning Commission. In the meanwhile, the prime minister had said in New York that he had discussed with the Left regarding FDI and that they have no objection to it.

Reacting to this, Jyoti Basu said in Kolkata that the CPI(M) had always stood for FDI inflows into the country – but only on the basis of mutual interest. The Party is keen that such FDI should not jeopardise the interest of the country in any manner whatsoever. “There would be no compromising even one bit the economic sovereignty of the nation and the national interest,” asserted Basu.

Referring to foreign investments in Bengal, Basu said that back in 1994, the industrial policy of the state Left Front government had clearly opined that certain sectors had been identified where foreign investment in technology could be invited based on mutuality of interest. On some occasions, foreign principals had sought to impose conditionalities that the Bengal LF government had refused to accept. “These organisations have in the past laid down certain conditions and terms which were unacceptable to us. We did not bow down then. We shall not do so in the future too,” said Basu. Citing an example, Basu said that once the World Bank had called for an examination of the state budget for the next year before releasing Rs 900 crore for a roads project in Bengal. The Bengal LF government refused to oblige the World Bank. He pointed out that after taking such precautions, the state government of Bengal has taken loans and grants from institutions like the World Bank, ADB and DFID. (INN)