Just heard on FM: A view from outside

MUMBAI: What does a finance minister do when the economy is growing at a fast clip and corporate czars are in an ebullient mood in the commercial capital?

He has come to the city to rub shoulders with the high and mighty of the financial world. They later queue up to get the FM’s autograph on his book. It is a rare sight to see so many distinguished men and women line up patiently to get their chance to get his autograph.

The finance minister gently asks their name, so as to pen a personal touch to his autograph on the book, A View from the Outside, a compilation of columns that assesses the promises and performance of the NDA government from 2002 to 2004.

The book was recently launched in New Delhi by the prime minister. In the city on Friday for the book launch here, the finance minister had K V Kamath, ICICI Bank CEO and managing director, Shobha De, novelist and columnist, and Shekhar Gupta, editor-in-chief of the Express group, to give him company on stage.

Shobha De tries to put him at ease. “One should not be ashamed of flaunting one’s book,” she tells the Harvard-educated
legal eagle who’s undoubtedly the most successful finance minister the country has had till now.

He may be a bit at unease as he sees among the audience luminaries such as RBI governor Y V Reddy, PSU bank chiefs and a host of private bankers waiting patiently to hear the man and his erudition. We are at Crossword, a leading book vendor, which he has mistakenly referred to as Crossroads.

B Nagesh, CEO of Shoppers’ Stop, would not mind it, as many from the audience made a beeline for the FM’s book as well as other books on the shelves.

“It’s easy to be a reformer when everybody is in agreement,” the FM begins. “But it’s difficult when there are people against it,” he says and the hint is not difficult to understand, as the Left, which supports the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition, has blocked some of his policies that lean towards liberalisation.

Chidambaram comes straight to the point. The growth in the Indian economy is “not an accident,” he says proudly. “We have taken that for granted. Whether it is inclusive growth is what is the criticality of this growth,” the Harvard-educated lawyer, who, when not a minister, dons the lawyer’s garb for leading corporates.

Growth is critical as it gives us the revenues to spend on education, build roads etc, he added. The FM ends his argument, by saying, “No country has beat poverty without adopting market policies. Open policies are the best guarantor and the one tide (economic growth) that lifts all boats.”

Kamath is late for the event. But it’s understandable. After all, he’s in the midst of a mega follow-on public offer. But the delay would have been more because of the traffic bottleneck outside Kemp’s Corner.

Chidambaram was indulgent on Friday. After all, he was parading his book. He willingly read passages after passages on various columns he liked best. The book has spoofs on former finance minister Jaswant Singh, former prime minister A B Vajpayee and many BJP leaders.

When it comes to his mentor, Rajiv Gandhi, he suddenly gets emotional. It was Rajiv, who shaped my life and career, Chidambaram said. He has a chapter where he argues, “With death, all accusations must come to an end.”

He has the Bofors scandal in mind and argues fervently about the deeds that his friend did to reshape the country’s destiny, whether it be the STD booths, the Agni missile and many other landmark achievements during his regime.

Chidambaram is gung-ho, and so are the captains of the industry. In the audience are O P Bhat, SBI chairman, investment bankers Nimesh Kampani and Udayan Bose, Ravi Mohan of rating agency Crisil, Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao of the GMR group.

Kamath talks of how efficiently the FM has balanced the books reducing fiscal deficit, which prods the FM to quip, “I know what I can become after my tenure as finance minister — a banker.”

Shobha De is none too impressed by the growth. She has just returned from China, and now, on her return, comments on her home city and its infrastructure: “It’s not very uplifting.” The FM and Kamath do not bite, adroitly skirt the topic, and turn the attention to inclusive growth.