Many of his predecessors have similarly been at their wits' end in dealing with politicians who do not seem to understand how the marketplace works or what makes the economy tick. Such shortcomings never stopped anyone from obstructing the government or expressing opinions on everything including macroeconomic policy. Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee asking for disinvestment as a substitute for closure of the eight public sector undertakings in West Bengal, which are deep in the red, is a case in point. Or remember Sushma Swaraj pronouncing on the rupee-dollar exchange rate a few months ago?

Sure it is a free country and politicians are at liberty to say what they think. They would do better by the country to think through theconsequences of their assertions on economic issues. And those who make policy and manage the economy would be far better served if their interlocutors were better informed.

Half the battles that the last three governments at the Centre have waged in pushing through reform have been with politicians who lacked knowledge or understanding of the way the modern economic world works. Party leaders have given insufficient attention to this problem. Indeed many of those leaders themselves have had to learn by trial and error.

It is not enough to put Manmohan Singhs and P. Chidambarams at the helm and assume partymen all the way down the line will somehow absorb lessons in economics or high finance. In this age of globalisation and integrated economies, no country can afford to be led by politicians, the majority of whom have not taken the trouble or had the chance to familiarise themselves with the basics leave alone get a grasp of the complexities.

The world and the ideas and institutions that drive economicgrowth and development are all changing rapidly. Old mantras are no substitute for hard, informed thinking about what India needs to do and where it should be going as underscored by L.K. Advani on Tuesday. Nor is leaving economic decisions to be made by a few political and bureaucratic experts the healthy way to proceed.

And yet, as any debate in Parliament or state Assemblies shows, the majority of MPs and MLAs rarely make worthwhile contributions. Budget debates are notoriously short with the result that the bulk of allocations are passed without discussion. The more MPs know about capital flows, non-performing assets in banks, interest rate fluctuations as well as arcane government accounting systems, the more rigorously they can call the government to account. The days of brilliant wit and desk-thumping are gone. It is time for practical intervention on the economy.

This is not to argue that India needs legislatures filled with economic experts. That may in fact be even more problematic than asituation of a paucity of expertise. A formal and continuing education for politicians on economic issues is the answer. Party offices should provide the resources in the way of data and specialist advice. At present few, if any, have the sort of economic cells that would help MPs and MLAs do their homework.