Chidambaram’s wish list: Editing a newspaper, writing a book
23 Jan 2014 11:01 PM GMT
Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting here on Wednesday, Finance Minister Chidambaram said, ‘I hope I get to edit a paper like yours,’ sending the audience into peals of laughter.
Chidambaram was asked by Financial Times Editor Lionel Barber on what he would he like to do beyond politics. ‘Besides, I would like to try my hand at teaching and writing,’ he said.
Chidambaram said he was not interested in an autobiography as he found it too narcissist. ‘I want to write about things that I am passionate about,’ he stated, adding that his diary contained only engagements.
‘We did put together a book of my columns, but it remains to be seen what kind of book I want to write now,’ Chidambaram, also a senior Congress leader, said.
On a lighter note, he also asked Barber, who was moderating the session, whether there was a position for a visiting editor at Financial Times. When asked why he chose politics and not any other profession, Chidambaram said he chose law as a profession and began practising as a lawyer.
‘But when Congress party split and Indira Gandhi appealed to the youth to join politics, I got attracted to the call and joined youth wing of her party,’ he said.
Even after joining politics, I continued my law practice for many years, Chidambaram said.
Listing out the capabilities that a Minister needs to have, Chidambaram said the first thing to do is to enjoy the confidence of his or her Prime Minister.
Then comes subject knowledge and the ability to work with different kinds of bureaucrats. In India, a minister cannot get things done if he does not know how to get them done by bureaucrats, Chidambaram observed.
‘Every elected government gets only five years and you have to get things done in this period,’ he said.
‘We are well equipped to face US Fed tapering, to grow 5% in FY14’
DAVOS: Assuring global investors that India is prepared to face the impact of US Fed tapering, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said that the country is poised to clock 5 per cent growth in the current fiscal and over 6 per cent a year after.
The Indian economy, he said while addressing the World Economic Forum meeting here, has 'stabilised and it is poised to return to high growth path and step by step we will go back to 8 per cent growth rate'.
In the current financial year, Chidambaram said the country would see a growth of about 5 per cent, 'but next fiscal we will cross 6 per cent'. India's growth rate slipped to a decade-low of 5 per cent in 2012-13 fiscal.
Talking about the impact of calibrated tapering of bond purchases by the US Federal Reserve, Chidambaram said: 'We have done a lot of preparatory work. There will be some consequences on emerging economies but I think we are better prepared now to face the taper'.
The Federal Reserve has announced trimming of its USD 85 billion monthly stimulus after US economic indicators improved.
'Fiscal consolidation has taken place, there's more FDI flowing into India. We've added to our reserves, the rupee is stable and a number of other measures have been taken to bring stability into the capital market,' he said.
On what should be the priority of the next government to be formed after general elections later this year, Chidambaram said the focus should be on fiscal consolidation. 'There should be a clear declaration that the government will not allow its fiscal position to weaken,' he added.
The next government, he said, would need to take steps to take fast decisions and expedite mega projects.
Talking about the two terms of the UPA government and his two tenures as Finance Minister, Chidambaram said that during 2004-2008, 'we were able to win back the confidence of investors... which was a big feat given the state of affairs in rest of the world'.
Commenting on the report of the RBI panel on monetary policy, headed by Deputy Governor Urjit R Patel, Chidambaram said, it was good that the committee suggested an inflation target of 4 per cent.
'If the RBI (panel) is suggesting a 4 per cent Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation target, then that is a reasonable target,' the Finance Minister said.
Chidambaram was asked by Financial Times Editor Lionel Barber on what he would he like to do beyond politics. ‘Besides, I would like to try my hand at teaching and writing,’ he said.
Chidambaram said he was not interested in an autobiography as he found it too narcissist. ‘I want to write about things that I am passionate about,’ he stated, adding that his diary contained only engagements.
‘We did put together a book of my columns, but it remains to be seen what kind of book I want to write now,’ Chidambaram, also a senior Congress leader, said.
On a lighter note, he also asked Barber, who was moderating the session, whether there was a position for a visiting editor at Financial Times. When asked why he chose politics and not any other profession, Chidambaram said he chose law as a profession and began practising as a lawyer.
‘But when Congress party split and Indira Gandhi appealed to the youth to join politics, I got attracted to the call and joined youth wing of her party,’ he said.
Even after joining politics, I continued my law practice for many years, Chidambaram said.
Listing out the capabilities that a Minister needs to have, Chidambaram said the first thing to do is to enjoy the confidence of his or her Prime Minister.
Then comes subject knowledge and the ability to work with different kinds of bureaucrats. In India, a minister cannot get things done if he does not know how to get them done by bureaucrats, Chidambaram observed.
‘Every elected government gets only five years and you have to get things done in this period,’ he said.
‘We are well equipped to face US Fed tapering, to grow 5% in FY14’
DAVOS: Assuring global investors that India is prepared to face the impact of US Fed tapering, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said that the country is poised to clock 5 per cent growth in the current fiscal and over 6 per cent a year after.
The Indian economy, he said while addressing the World Economic Forum meeting here, has 'stabilised and it is poised to return to high growth path and step by step we will go back to 8 per cent growth rate'.
In the current financial year, Chidambaram said the country would see a growth of about 5 per cent, 'but next fiscal we will cross 6 per cent'. India's growth rate slipped to a decade-low of 5 per cent in 2012-13 fiscal.
Talking about the impact of calibrated tapering of bond purchases by the US Federal Reserve, Chidambaram said: 'We have done a lot of preparatory work. There will be some consequences on emerging economies but I think we are better prepared now to face the taper'.
The Federal Reserve has announced trimming of its USD 85 billion monthly stimulus after US economic indicators improved.
'Fiscal consolidation has taken place, there's more FDI flowing into India. We've added to our reserves, the rupee is stable and a number of other measures have been taken to bring stability into the capital market,' he said.
On what should be the priority of the next government to be formed after general elections later this year, Chidambaram said the focus should be on fiscal consolidation. 'There should be a clear declaration that the government will not allow its fiscal position to weaken,' he added.
The next government, he said, would need to take steps to take fast decisions and expedite mega projects.
Talking about the two terms of the UPA government and his two tenures as Finance Minister, Chidambaram said that during 2004-2008, 'we were able to win back the confidence of investors... which was a big feat given the state of affairs in rest of the world'.
Commenting on the report of the RBI panel on monetary policy, headed by Deputy Governor Urjit R Patel, Chidambaram said, it was good that the committee suggested an inflation target of 4 per cent.
'If the RBI (panel) is suggesting a 4 per cent Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation target, then that is a reasonable target,' the Finance Minister said.
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