[Letter to Mr Minoo Masani]

Summary

This three-page correspondence records H. P. Nanda’s effort to convene a post-Budget discussion at his New Delhi residence on 1 March 1970. In his letter to M. R. Masani, addressed as “Minoo,” Nanda encloses both the invitation list and a copy of a separate letter to invitees, asking Masani to discuss the Budget with leading North Indian businesspeople.

The enclosed invitation frames the meeting as a conversation between business representatives and Members of Parliament who would soon prepare replies and criticisms of the Prime Minister’s Budget speech. Nanda says the aim is to communicate to Parliamentarians the business community’s view of Budget provisions that, in his assessment, adversely affected industrial productivity and progress. The papers therefore document an effort to connect business opinion, parliamentary criticism, and fiscal-policy debate.

Key points

• H. P. Nanda wrote to M. R. Masani on 23 February 1970.
• Nanda invited Masani to a discussion at 12 Jor Bagh, New Delhi, on 1 March 1970.
• The meeting was scheduled for 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., following the Prime Minister’s Budget speech.
• The proposed participants included Members of Parliament and leading businesspeople from North India.
• The MPs were expected to prepare replies and criticisms of the Budget in the following week.
• Nanda wanted the business community’s concerns about provisions affecting industrial productivity and progress conveyed through Parliamentarians.
• The third page lists thirteen invitees, including business figures, bankers, industrialists, and Members of Parliament.