Imphal, February 27, 2010: We said while discussing the last year's budget that it would be inflationary.

In fact, the major public concern has been the double digit inflation raging the nation today.

But this is only the second year of the new government, and the election time is still long off.

So these issues like inflation can wait to be addressed, so feels the government.

The primary thrust of the government now is growth and even higher growth.

This orientation is well brought out in the budget.

The Finance Minister's speech presenting the Union Budget 2010-2011 presents the economic logic of the government in clear terms.

First, the emphasis on growth is put in unambiguous terms.

This is both economically and politically right.

Secondly, the budget spells out that the county's economic issues are to be addressed by macroeconomic and longer term interventions rather than by ad-hoc measures.

Thirdly, the budget displays that the nation can now afford and needs giving attention to higher form interventions and reforms than she ever did.

Three new things are of especial appeal to me.

For once the government has realised the necessity of behaving competitively while attracting foreign direct investment.

A move in this direction is visible with the effort to have all the regulations relating to it in a single document.

Secondly, the government has announced that a Financial Stability and Development Council would be set up.

This is significant for at least two reasons � one, with the increasing globalisation of the international economic processes, we certainly need an alert financial body, and two, with the increasing financial deepening of the economy, we require now greater vigilance in order to have a more focussed growth.

Thirdly, the move to issue additional banking licences is appropriate as making the reform process move forward.

Well the public today is seized with the problem of rising prices of commodities of daily consumption.

The government seems to have taken it in its stride and not needing to be panicky about.

This is also true in the senses that mainly due to the flagship schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Jawaharlal National Urban Renewal Mission have enhanced the purchasing power of the general public.

Since these enhancements have been mainly for the people whose consumption levels were earlier low, we should expect the schemes to have certain inflationary impact.

But the wisdom of the policy lies in attempting to address the problem of inflationary situation by going for agricultural sector interventions which would lead to increased productivity and production in the long run.

The most important feature, in so far as the perspective of the North East is concerned, of the budget is the open admission of the fact that no attempt should now be made to address the issues of the region through national level macro interventions.

The budget talks of the main macro related matters and the interventions spelt out are those meant for these.

The issues of our region are left to be addressed in a regional way.

In other words, the onus for designing an economic frame and an economic design for the region is now left to the regional leaders.

In fine, I like the return to Economics highly visible in the latest union budget.

After all, I too happen to be a student of economics, and I enjoy whenever my discipline rules.

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