As Ashwini Vaishnaw takes charge, revisit his first big interview

He is said to be the big surprise catch! His formidable academic credentials and rich professional experience are his calling card. Meet the man of the moment: Ashwani Vaishnaw, IAS-turned entrepreneur-turned politician-turned mega minister. It has been a grand entry into the corridors of power for this Rajya Sabha MP. He has been entrusted with the responsibility of manning three crucial ministries in the new-look Modi Cabinet.

These include the core infrastructure ministry – Railways- said to be the nation’s lifeline and consumer-facing ministries of Information Technology and Communications (the sector has been in news for the social media controversy involving the Union government and the big global tech majors).

Vaishnaw made an early impression articulating the merits of Modi government economic policy on the floor of the House. But his ability to connect economic policymaking with the common man was evident during the Budget presentation this February. Often seen as a complex document that fails to strike a chord with the vast majority of the population given its enormous data offering, Vaishnaw decoded the Budget for the ‘Aam Aadmi’ explaining the import of key economic policy documents for the ordinary citizen.

A gifted orator both in Hindi and English, Vaishnaw cited day-to-day life examples to illustrate the impact of budget policy announcements. Now that he is at the forefront of policy-making administering key economic portfolios, the biggest beneficiary is slated to be the citizen.

Keeping this in mind, we revisit the interview with him conducted just after the Union budget presentation in February where he explained the rationale behind the budget proposals and how the common man would benefit from these announcements.

Since no additional tax benefits were announced in the budget for the common man, Money9 then approached Vaishnaw to explain the granular details of the exercise in a manner fathomable to our readers.

“If the tax exemption did not reach the pocket, then any new tax or cess also did not pick anybody’s pocket. If the government spends on rail and road, then it opens the way for many jobs from long to short time. When a tall building is constructed, even a key maker gets work,” he told Money9.

He averred that economic matters should be explained in a manner that even a student of the eighth standard could understand. To elaborate, he compared GDP with a train engine and said consumption, government expenditure, investment, and exports are four engines of growth that should work in sync with one another to achieve the desired result.