Masani lauds Indira stand on controls

Summary

This Indian Express report covers Swatantra leader Minoo Masani’s response to Indira Gandhi’s statement that the Government would welcome shedding controls over industry and trade when business had honoured its principle of social responsibility. Masani welcomed the statement but argued that the private sector should not be treated as a single “black sheep,” stressing that business had responsibilities in creating a national climate conducive to industrialisation. He also invoked Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of trusteeship and criticised excessive taxation and public distrust of business.

Key points

• Minoo Masani welcomed Indira Gandhi’s willingness to reduce industrial and trade controls if business demonstrated social responsibility.
• He argued that the private sector should not be condemned as a whole because of the failings of some businesses.
• Masani linked business responsibility to the creation of a national climate favourable to industrialisation and referred to Gandhi’s concept of trusteeship.
• He criticised excessive taxation, public suspicion of business, and the absence of effective parliamentary scrutiny of public expenditure.
• The report presents Masani’s case that monopoly means an absence of competition, not merely the existence of a large enterprise.
• Masani argued that state monopolies should be excluded from the proposed Monopolies Bill and that inefficient state enterprises should face private-sector competition.
• He maintained that public accountability and business efficiency are not inherently incompatible when applied to state enterprises.