# Chidambaram slams economic model, ‘rule and regulation raj’ 2026-08-22T00:23:28+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Former Home Minister P Chidambaram criticised the government's economic model as a 'default system' lacking expert leadership, drawing a contrast with former PM Manmohan Singh. In an interview with India Today, he argued that initiatives like Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and the PLI scheme have failed to boost manufacturing, which remains at about 14% of GDP. Chidambaram said a 'rule and regulation raj' has replaced the old licence raj, citing regulatory restrictions, bureaucratic delays, and crony capitalism as hurdles. He dismissed recent Foreign Trade Agreements as minor and pointed to structural weaknesses in the Competition Commission of India and severe vacancies in the National Company Law Tribunal, which he said hamper investment and economic functioning. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Chidambaram's critique echoes a long-standing debate over India's manufacturing stagnation. The 14% GDP share has barely moved in a decade despite flagship schemes, while China's manufacturing share is over 27%. The NCLT vacancies matter directly: over 3,000 cases are pending, delaying corporate insolvency resolutions that affect lender recoveries and investor confidence. The next signal to watch is the Q3 GDP data release, which will show whether manufacturing has finally ticked up. ## Coverage - indiatoday.in Straight interview transcript with no editorial framing or sensational language. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Atmanirbhar Bharat, Make in India, manufacturing, National Company Law Tribunal, P Chidambaram Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/chidambaram-slams-economic-model-rule-and-regulation-raj/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/chidambaram-slams-economic-model-rule-and-regulation-raj/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/