[Letter from Mr Minoo Masani]

Summary

This two-page English correspondence packet from February 1970 records M. R. Masani’s effort, as Deputy Leader of the Swatantra Party Parliamentary Group, to place a parliamentary resolution concerning the administration of permits and licences in India’s mixed economy. The proposed resolution would transfer this administration to a fully autonomous, non-party board of economists and statesmen functioning independently of the government.

Masani’s letter of 27 February 1970 responds to the Secretariat’s concern that the resolution was insufficiently precise. He argues that its wording is already clear, but offers an alternative formulation: replacing “in the mixed economy now in force” with “of an economic nature now issued by the Union Government or any of its ministries or departments.” The second page is a related letter dated 20 February 1970, giving notice of the same resolution; its signature is not visibly present or legible.

Key points

• The packet concerns parliamentary notice for a resolution on the administration of permits and licences.
• The proposed reform would create a non-party board of economists and statesmen with full autonomous authority.
• The board would function independently of the government.
• Masani rejects the Secretariat’s suggestion that the resolution is vague or imprecise.
• He proposes an alternative wording referring to economic instruments issued by the Union Government, its ministries, or its departments.
• The second letter, dated 20 February 1970, is a related notice for moving the resolution during the Lok Sabha budget session.