Now Reading: Sunil Mittal Recalls 1991 Reforms as Freedom Day for Business
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Sunil Mittal Recalls 1991 Reforms as Freedom Day for Business
Bharti Enterprises founder Sunil Mittal has described Manmohan Singh’s 1991 Budget and the easing of import and industrial controls as a turning point for Indian businesses. In an interview with Business Standard,…
The Story in Brief
Bharti Enterprises founder Sunil Mittal has described Manmohan Singh’s 1991 Budget and the easing of import and industrial controls as a turning point for Indian businesses. In an interview with Business Standard, reported by Rediff.com, Mittal recalled restrictions on telephone components, production limits and repeated applications to officials. He said the abolition of the Directorate General of Technical Development and the expansion of Open General Licensing opened space for new firms to grow. Telecom liberalisation from 1992 helped clear the way for Airtel, which now serves more than 480 million subscribers in India, according to the report.
Mittal said India does not need another large economic shock, but needs further changes. He backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of making India a rich country, while saying growth of 6 to 7 per cent over the next decade could make a major difference. He also said the government must create opportunities for India’s young population.
The Indian Opinion
The easy story is that 1991 alone liberated Indian enterprise, or that every later gain came from one political camp. Mittal’s account points to something more practical: rules that blocked imports, scale and competition hurt smaller firms, while telecom reform created room for investment. But liberalisation did not remove the need for sound regulation or jobs. The useful test now is whether new reforms let more firms grow, not just whether existing leaders become larger.
Source: rediff.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
