These combine to give India an institutional strength, a kind of immune system that defies the basic Third World paradigm. We have seen this system kick back, break out in rashes and sneeze several times over the past few years. And each time we have won. So has, mostly, the principle of free market. We have not had to drive out the MNCs, nor have they seen the need to bolt to a more pliable Africa.
Telecom is an interesting example.
After many hiccups and much heartburn we have been able to create a consumer-friendly regulatory mechanism where we have better services, more phones, cheaper calls and many choices. In the process the MNCs have prospered, reasonably, and even the domestic PSU monopoly has changed for the better. The Insurance Regulatory Authority should be able to similarly maintain sanity when that sector opens up. No, because modern regulation of this kind not only creates a level playing field, it also reduces heavily the babu and the politician's discretionary powers. Discretion is the mother of corruption, it is also the hallmark of the dictator.