3rd Lecture
" Quality of Politics will Determine India's Roadmap in the Future "
- Arun Jaitley

" The single most important factor determining India's roadmap to the future will be the political process", said Shri Arun Jaitley, Hon'ble Minister for Law, Justice & Co. Affairs, Govt. of India, at the Third Dr. D.R. Gadgil Memorial Lecture organised by Maharashtra Economic Development Council in Mumbai today. He was addressing a select group of audience, comprising academicians, experts and businessmen on " India in the 21st Century - The Road Map".

The Crux of his Lecture:
The most significant achievement of India is the strengthening of the democratic institution despite high poverty levels.

Democracy has been strengthened because of an apolitical army, independent judiciary, a free media and an independent Election Commission.

India's other achievements- strengthening of federalism and decentralization of power. India is now in an era of " coalitions that work". India in the past ten years has transformed from a country of shortages to a country with surpluses. India has also become internationally more relevant.

India has succeeded in areas where she has opened her windows to the world- IT and telecom for instance.

Unfortunately, the stature of men exercising power has not risen. Therefore the road map to the future will hinge on whether economics drives politics or whether politics drives economics.

There are several instances where politics has driven economics in India- bank nationalisation, 20 point programme, Urban Land Ceiling Act, Contract Labour Act (CLARA) and promotion of tourism.

There is a great need for national consensus on issues like privatisation, labour law reforms, energy policy, transport, foreign policy, fighting terrorism. The State must only act as a facilitator. Democracy is an act of consensus and leadership is the art of enforcing decisions.

Labour laws are positioned to be labour friendly but are hostile to the long-term interests of labour.

Knowledge will be a dominant force in the 21st Century. And India is well positioned here. The base of education process has increased and literacy rates have jumped. But we need institutions of higher education and our challenge is to transform our higher education institutions into institutions of excellence and quality education. India should be a " Brain Bank" in the near future.

Next decade will be crucial for reducing poverty and increasing literacy. We need to target a growth rate higher than the 6-6.5% achieved so far. We need to bring about a change in our mindsets to become internationally competitive.

Indian judiciary is fair, but the system is slow. Lot has been done here- in civil law process, our procedures have been shortened. But in commercial areas, norms for judicial intervention will have to be laid down. Courts will have to act, in these areas with some self- restraint.

Media is powerful, but its credibility will hinge upon the extent to which it moves away from sensationalism and focusses on opinion building.

For a bright future, India needs to expedite the process of fighting poverty, tackle the issue of terrorism with an iron fist, and get out of the " mould of cynicism".

Earlier, in his welcome address, Shri Sharad Kulkarni, President, MEDC, reviewed the performance of the Indian economy over the past ten years.

The meeting concluded with a Vote of Thanks by Shri M. N. Chaini, Vice-President, MEDC.

The lecture received an overwhelming response with about 200 academicians and experts from business and industry, participating in the discussions.