Ashok Mitra, the former finance minister of West Bengal, is a well known economist.

• The hoopla is over
'Of the 925 medals won in the Sydney Olympics, India's share is just one -- 0.1 per cent of the total -- and that too, a measly bronze. Would it be unkindness to remind ourselves that, in stark contrast, we constitute almost 20 per cent of the world's population?'

Invest in a dream
'FDI, still shy of India, may not turn out to be the magic key to prosperity.'

Nowhere to go but down
For multinationals, skilled IT professionals are available a-plenty in India at very low wages. However, once these graduates hike their supply price, MNCs will turn to other nations. If this happens, it could lead to a declining growth rate, encompassing agriculture and industry.

Home and the world
'In the changed economic and political situation in the country, foreign and domestic relations are in danger of coming to clash with each other, leading to confusion in the formulation of basic issues in both arenas.'

Monopoly equilibrium and all that
'The Microsoft story is a setback for those who have strongly invested in the new horizon. Bill Gates will not be allowed to exploit the possibilities of the free market to the hilt. The US administration has inserted a spoke in its standing legislation; untramelled human endeavour, howsoever brilliant, is out. The freedom of one cannot impede the freedom of the multitude.'

Patriotism is not enough
'The debate on the Union Budget proceeds along predictably wrong lines. Basic issues are not allowed to raise their heads. For instance, no MP or political party will have the temerity to draw attention to the glaring fact that were the defence budget be reduced by as little as even five per cent, some resources could then be made additionally available for poverty alleviation and other such programmes.'

Private sector is no angel, so govt has business to be in business
'Through liberalisation and privatisation in the early '90s, the Russian economy all but collapsed. The great Russian people have transformed themselves into a nation of blackmarketers and pimps. The privatisation process in India could have even worse consequences.'

The hero as anachronism
'Under the World Bank and IMF, the colonials returned as development advisors of various descriptions. They prevented the Nyereres and Mugabes to coalesce in order to build self-reliant bridges reaching out to a prosperous golden future.'