Having proved his mettle as a lawyer and as a politician, P Chidambaram would like to try his hand at teaching, writing and even editing a big newspaper! Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting at Davos 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. 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.
He further said that RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan is a "fine economist with a fine mind". The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is slated to come out with its quarterly monetary policy on January 28 amid demand for rate cut by the Indian industry to boost sagging growth.
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