Expectation is that reforms will continue, but it may not be as simple as that: Ketan Dalal

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Will reforms take a backseat?
We now have a BJP/Modi-led coalition Government in place, and several key ministries are in the same hands as they were earlier, including finance. The reality, however, is that this is a coalition Government with the support of JDU and TDP and other allies, and the question is whether, in this context, several critical and long pending reforms will take a back seat.

The general expectation is that reforms will continue, but perhaps the answer is not as simple as that, because there could be fiscal implications of some of the reforms, which also may have differing perspectives of coalition partners, and most importantly, the relative compulsion to be consultative and accommodative, at least to some extent. One would hope, of course, that this new dispensation would lead to well-thought-through decision-making, but the next year or so will provide the answers.

Let’s take a look at some key areas where reforms are needed, but could be impacted; a crucial area of reforms is that of land reforms, given the need to promote India as a manufacturing hub and to leverage the China + 1 opportunity.

In fact, before the elections, the Finance Minister had indicated that reforms in all factors of production, including land, labour and capital would be a crucial aspect that the Modi Government would be addressing. It has also been widely reported that before the election results were out, several reforms have been planned to rival Chinese manufacturing, and one of the big challenges is acquiring land, which obviously one hopes will be addressed expeditiously even in this new political dispensation also; however, the issue is whether this initiative will slow down.