E-Paper
Adding weight to ministries
The PM has taken into account performance of allies and accordingly rewarded them, writes Deepak Joshi.
The first major reshuffle of the Cabinet by Manmohan Singh is significant for the clear message it sends out by inducting veterans Sushil Kumar Shinde and Murli Deora to key economic ministries.
The decision to strip Mani Shankar Aiyar of the heavyweight Petroleum Ministry and bringing in Murli Deora in his place alongwith induction of old warhorse and administrator Sushil Kumar Shinde as Power Minister indicates that the government would be giving a clear policy thrust to these economic power houses.
The elevation of PC Gupta to Cabinet rank as Company Affairs Minister along with Heavy Industries Minister Santosh Mohan Deb shows that the Prime Minister has taken into account the performance of allies and fellow partymen and accordingly rewarded them.
The need to give a push to energy security, specially at a time when global crude oil prices are on the boil, is apparent from the induction of Deora.
Aiyar, who often had a public spat with the public sector oil companies’ honchos, looked out of place in an era of market economics. His well-intentioned initiative to keep domestic oil prices under control left the oil companies bleeding.
The state-owned public sector behemoth Indian Oil Corporation, which operated nearly half of the petroleum products’ business, had to suffer the ignominy of posting losses in two of the three quarters of the current fiscal.
Worse was the effort of standalone marketing companies like IBP. The cross-subsidy provided by upstream oil companies, at the instructions of the petroleum ministry, often created problems for the public sector enterprises as many of them were listed on the bourses.
To many, Aiyar was a 'control freak' out of sync with the liberalisation mantra of the government. With his favourite Panchayati Raj Ministry under his belt, along with sports and youth affairs, Aiyar may now make a niche in these areas.
A graduate in economics from University of Mumbai, Deora was chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on finance. He was also member of the parliamentary committees attached to key ministries like planning, energy, science and technology and also became chairman, parliamentary sub-committee on fast track power projects.
He brings to the ministry an understanding of the issues pertaining to the industry as well as his ability to provide inputs on economic policy in a dynamic market.
Shinde, the first Dalit chief minister of Maharashtra, will be bringing his acumen to the Power Ministry, which has been neglected due to long illness and demise of PM Sayeed. Shinde holds the rare distinction in Maharashtra of being the only finance minister to present nine successive budgets.
