Atal Bihari Vajpayee- The Economic Reformer

While P.V. Narasimha Rao and Dr Manmohan Singh are credited as being the architects of India’s economic reforms, it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who rolled out the economic template and policies that would be followed by prime ministers who succeeded him.

- Prosenjit Datta

While Vajpayee is known for his dignity, his unfailing courtesy, his wit and oratorical skills and ability to take opposition parties along, the economic contribution of his government is often overlooked. He attracted some brilliant, committed and highly educated followers, gave them critical portfolios and set about fixing many of India’s long-standing problems. So you had Arun Shourie rolling up his sleeves and chalking out a blueprint for selling off ailing PSUs, which the government should never have been running. You had Yashwant Sinha moving to simplify taxes and free up businesses even further and creating an atmosphere conducive for attrac