Controls on rational basis, PM asserts

Summary

This Indian Express clipping reports Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s October 5, 1969 address to industrialists in Madras. Gandhi rejected the idea of imposing “controls for controls’ sake” and said that the long-term interests of business and government were not divergent. She offered to relax controls where private trade and industry demonstrated social responsibility, arguing that cooperation between private and public sectors was necessary for faster economic growth and social justice.

Key points

• Indira Gandhi said government controls should have a rational purpose rather than exist for their own sake.
• She presented the long-term interests of business and government as compatible rather than inherently opposed.
• She linked any relaxation of controls to evidence of social responsibility from private trade and industry.
• She argued that cooperation among all sections of society was necessary for faster economic growth.
• She said private and public sectors should be complementary, especially in expanding production and helping the economy progress.
• Gandhi described stability as a “dynamic concept” connected to improving people’s lot.
• She supported further development of nationalised banks, including more branches and a high-power committee to ensure credit reached industry and agriculture.