In times of global economic distress when the Indian Government
ought to deal with a heavy hand with defaulters and swindlers among
profit-driven private players in the oil and natural gas sector, it is
strangely caught supping with the devil. Instead of getting its act together
in the Krishana-Godavari oil exploration deal with the country’s
economic major Reliance, the Government is faced with sort of sanctions
by the former as it is seen running with the hare and hunting with
the hounds. The developed economies of the West, including the US and
Europe, have been suffering an unmitigated crisis due to lack of government
control over the capitalist system. India may have managed to
come out unscathed by the global recession, but the endemic corruption
in dealings both in the Government-managed and private sectors reflects
poorly on the nation’s economic health. The government’s role –
both in its UPA 1 and UPA 2 avatar – reveals more than it conceals the
formal internalization of corruption in the system. The 2G spectrum allocation
and CWG scams and the gigantic KG-D6 row have left the ruling
coalition with the egg on its face.As oil prices around the world may further soar in 2012, it is imperative for the Union Government to check corrupt practices in all fields of economic activity, especially in exploration and exploitation of scarce natural resources, including oil and natural gas. Moreover, with Assembly elections in five States in the offing and the rising prices of petroleum products and other essential commodities for which the common man has to bear the brunt the Government at the Centre must pull up its socks if it has to avoid biting the dust at the hustings. Year 2012 rings in with the alarm bells set for 2014.
Suhaib A. Ilyasi
Editor-in-chief
