Jaswant Singh Instinctively Understood Power of Liberal Economics
He wanted India to grow, to be reckoned with for its economic growth, and match the advanced democracies of the world on a horizon of 25 years.
The earlier year had seen the SARS epidemic affect growth in several countries, including India, and he was determined to bring in policies that would help the country grow.
Atal ji, the then prime minister, had great confidence in him, as also Mr Brijesh Mishra, the all powerful principal secretary to the PM. So, once Jaswant Singh started feeling that I was alright, there was no stopping all of us in North Block. CS Rao was Revenue Secretary, Ashok Lahiri was Chief Economic Adviser, and we had strong support from the then RBI Governor, Bimal Jalan.
Our brains trust included Rakesh Mohan, UK Sinha and Ajay Shah. It was a golden age in the Ministry of Finance, and I really wished…