Crises often force difficult decisions. In 1991, India that followed the socialist model till then was on the verge of bankruptcy.
The country’s foreign reserves were so depleted that they could cover imports for barely a week. At the Centre was a fragile coalition government, led by Congress leader P V Narasimha Rao.
Recognising the gravity of the crisis, Rao launched India on the path of liberalisation. To drive this, he brought in economist-bureaucrat Dr Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister. Singh was initially hesitant, but Rao reassured him: “Don’t worry! If this fails, I will take full responsibility.”
The rest is history. Every Indian today owes a debt of gratitude to P V Narasimha Rao, who paved the way for India’s economic transformation.
Fast forward to the present. With tariffs imposed by Donald Trump straining India’s trade dynamics, the country realised it must rely more on internal consumption.
This gave fresh urgency to the long-delayed Goods and Services Tax (GST) reforms — reforms now being hailed by the BJP and its allies as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “gift to India.”
Global consultancies, companies, and economists had long called for GST reform as essential to India’s growth story.
In fact, many of the key proposals had been raised earlier by leaders like Mamata Banerjee, the Congress, and other prominent voices. Yet today, it is Modi who is reaping all the credit.
Meanwhile, the true pioneer of India’s reform journey — P V Narasimha Rao — has faded into the shadows, even as Modi is worshipped as the architect of “GST 2.0.”
This is the tale of India — then and now.
