Arun shourie, India's minister for disinvestment (the preferred Indian euphemism for privatisation), did not conceal his frustration at a Supreme Court judgment on September 16th. Collared by the press on a visit to Berlin, he lamented that the ruling, which scuppers for the time being the privatisation of two state-owned oil companies, was "a major setback with huge consequences". The court ruled that the sales required explicit parliamentary approval, which the government cannot be certain of securing. These sales were the centrepiece of its privatisation plans for this year (as they were, in fact, last year), and the ruling will also affect some other asset sales. Worse, it helps foster the impression that the system has an institutional bias against economic reform. "This is the difference between India and China," complained Mr Shourie. "In India everybody has a veto."
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