Ease of shooting ourselves in the foot

India has been improving its position in Ease of Doing Business, and is now at #63 out of 190 countries. If there was a ranking on Ease of shooting oneself in the foot, we would probably be #1. Consider two recent examples of asinine decisions and policies which seriously dent our competitive abilities as well as our carefully cultivated image as a country that welcomes investment.

Lines crossed in telecom: In order to understand the foolishness of the mess in this sector, we must first be clear in our minds about how we view spectrum. Is it, as both government and the judiciary believe, a scarce resource of the Centre, which must be sold at the highest price, or is it a ‘commons’, to be sold at a reasonable price, for common good, to benefit the people.