Let us acknowledge that the world economy has fallen off a cliff and we are teetering at the edge and this is THE TIME when we should have realized that even the "vote-on-account" should be invested with the sanctity of "constitutional proprieties" (which in any case has not been upheld by the present Government after having inducted as many as 7 tainted ministers in the Council of Ministers), on unreasoned basis. With the world economies hurtling downhill and each country trying to provide substantive and substantial packages for revival of the economies, it was incumbent- and more importantly judicious-to make virtue of a vice of failing to recognize as to what is so very critical to the economy. Even the suggestion that going beyond the "vote-on-account" would have attracted criticism from the Opposition, is equally misplaced, since the discussions on the "vote-on-account" revealed willing readiness to on the part of main Opposition party i.e. BJP to support the Government on any effort to push up the failing economy. However, the Opposition cannot be blamed for lack of communication between the Government of the day and the Opposition.

Coming home, the textile and garment sector has shabbily been treated, without realizing that this sector has been the goose that has been laying golden eggs, till recently and no speech of any minister would not be completed without glowingly reference to the role that this sector has been playing in the matter of employment, GDP and export earnings. Now all of a sudden, the sector feels like an abandoned child. The readers of The Stitch Times would recall that recently a press conference was held, where all trade bodies related to the textile and garment sector had gathered together to express their serious concern over the crisis in which the textile and garment sectors have landed because of pathetic indifference or callous withdrawal of the small mercies in terms of small and utterly inadequate sops granted earlier at some point of time. It was pointed out that only if the Government of India could be considerate enough to offer a total package of Rs.5, 500 crore, the textile and garment sector would not only be pulled out of steep and continuing downturn, but would also help the economy, in a small way, to perk up in terms of falling employment and export levels besides accretion in GDP. This amount, it should be clear, would have been only a very small portion of the expenditure proposed in "Splurging provisions" of 2009-10 Budget Proposals.

I, like most of you, have heard the repeated announcements before the presentation of vote-on-account in all news bulletins that export sector is most likely to get sops in view of falling trade figures. This did raise lot of expectations, but ended in a whisper with the announcement of interest subvention of 2% beyond March, 2009 to last till September, 2009. This, as has already been pointed out earlier in The Stitch Times was only 50% of the subvention that was granted earlier to the export sector but was completely chopped off, only to restore to 50% level, as a part of Great Stimulus Package II.

I must say that there has been universal feeling of perplex as to why, in the face of huge recessionary trend, which is the sharpest since the Great Depression of 1930s, the Government has chosen not to recognize and assess the gigantic need for a real and genuine stimulus package and provide a robust and adequate revival plan, before our economy in general and exports in particular collapse. In fact, in the Cover Story of our last issue of The Stitch Times, we had listed out the action points, which did in need merit serious consideration on the part of the Government, but the Government on its last leg has no time for national issues, unless these have serious political advantages in the forthcoming elections.

Originally published in "The Stitch Times" March 2009