India to reduce budget deficit through asset sales – another area of struggle with the communists 
Sonia Chopra, Special Correspondent
January 13, 2005

India is faced with a fiscal budget deficit and based on the balanced budget law passed last year India must reduce the budget deficit by 0.3% of Gross Domestic Product every year till Year 2009. 

The Government has little ways now to reduce the deficit especially with the Tsunami hit. 

The Government plans to reduce the Government’s stake in Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd. from 68% to 63%. A similar reduction is also desired in case Maruti, one of the car manufacturers primarily owned by Suzuki of Japan and the Government owns approximately 18%.

Reducing Government owned assets is something the current Government promised they would stop, however, it seems they just cannot.

The Communists who keeps the Indian Government in power with 65 valuable seats in the Parliament are dead against it. Communists want the Government to leave the Public Sector alone so that no more jobs are diluted to mergers and acquisitions.

This new proposed sale of assets has become another area of tussle between Manmohan Singh’s UPA Government and its allies specially the Marxists in India.

While BJP did the major privatization in India, the current Finance Minster and the Prime Minister are from the school of privatization for efficiency and productivity. The Communists may be losing patience and may not tolerate the Government’s plans.

They opposed the decree by the Commerce Minister to implement Product patent laws that will increase the price of some essential products in India.

This time they are threatening covert confrontation. One good news is that Communists still believe Manmohan Government is better that Vajpayee Government.