India's parliament is poised to tackle thorny, though pivotal economic reforms when it reopens next week including bills to trim the tax burden on firms and fast track industrial projects, but political wrangling could strangle hopes for swift progress. Amongst the proposed bills are those to streamline multiple taxes now hobbling businesses nationwide through a goods and services tax (GST) and to bolster payouts to poor villagers from industrial projects developed on rural land. Hopes, though, for an immediate breakthrough are low, according to Reuters. As is often the case in India, domestic political tussles may trump development priorities with the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) likely to disrupt proceedings and instead challenge the Congress-party led government over a slew of corruption scandals and high inflation. The Indian economy, which roared to 8.5 percent growth in 2010/11, is showing signs of a slowdown and analysts say Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government needs to usher in a second-generation of reforms to build on growth unleashed by liberalisation of the economy two decades ago. Despite obvious economic benefits, there remains a lack of political consensus within and outside the ruling coalition, with populist parties worried reforms may alienate its core voter base amongst farmers and the rural poor. Protests and land squabbles have held up major projects from a $12 billion steel mill by South Korea's POSCO to plans for tens of thousands of apartments outside New Delhi. "When we take a bill to the parliament we hope it will be passed but we cannot put a deadline," said Law Minister Salman Khursheed. "We all hope that the bill will be passed as soon as possible, but we cannot anticipate (when)." The land bill, along with other proposals to share mining royalties with local communities and to expand a scheme to give cheap foodgrains to the poor, is pivotal to Congress' chances of cementing its rural voter base ahead of national polls in 2014. -- SPA
