India Today Editor Prabhu Chawla (third from left) and Saran (extreme right) with the panel of economists

By the time you read this, the results of the four state assembly polls will be known. The fate of governments is important, especially if there is no clear mandate. But while politics may matter to Indians, politicking remains a relatively non-productive dimension of our lives. A more immediate concern is Thursday’s Union budget. Compared to the 1970s and ’80s, the importance of the budget may seem to have lessened. No longer do we witness wild fluctuations in excise and taxation rates or have consumers queuing up outside petrol pumps or shopowners hoarding goods. Yet, the budget remains the most important statement of government policy on the economy and a good time for us to focus on its state. It is critical when India is coping with global recession.

Economics is a highly specialised sphere of activity that produces a cacophony of voices. We remain a baffling country: one billion people, 350 million bank accounts, and only 50,000 people with declared incomes of over Rs 10 lakh per year. It takes an expert to explain it all. To make sense of the state of the Indian economy, we assembled the first india today panel of experts. Leading economists met in Delhi for an interactive session that lasted three hours. Given the propensity of economists to disagree with each other, the panel produced, if not a meeting of minds, at least a lively divergence of ideas.

Our cover story this week is the essence of that stimulating dialogue, put together by Senior Editor Rohit Saran, who says, “The quality of economists in India is inversely proportional to the state of the economy.” We plan to assemble a panel of experts on a regular basis in the future. The purpose of these panels will be to translate rarefied expertise into an idiom that is both easily understood and, more importantly, relevant to our daily lives.

(Aroon Purie)