This refers to the interview with author Thomas Piketty (‘Business’ – “ >Rich must open their wallets more to remove inequities: Piketty ”, Jan.22), with its focus on inequality in the Indian context. For a couple of decades now in India, the thinking at the highest level has been in favour of reducing the role of the public sector in core sectors of the economy. We were also not able to make the private sector responsible enough in taking care of spending in the social sector commensurate with its share in public resources. This has created an imbalance. In addition to defence and internal security, the government has to take up responsibility for social security. Economic development alone will not ensure this; this is the context in which economists make comparisons in terms of public spending for certain purposes as a percentage of GDP. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s recent comment on the government’s right to plough back surpluses from PSUs for the common good of people also needs to be discussed. While this will not be disputed, it is also the responsibility of the government to ensure that the private sector earns profits only after meeting its social responsibilities.
M.G. Warrier,
Mumbai
