BT India @100: Farm reform can’t be imported, GST fix long overdue, says Montek Singh Ahluwalia

India can’t push agricultural reforms under trade pressure, and it shouldn’t wait for the bureaucracy to blink first. At the BT India@100 Summit, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, called for internal consensus-building on sensitive issues like farming and compliance reform—and made it clear that India's trade path should be deliberate, not dictated.

Responding to a question from Rajdeep Sardesai on bureaucratic resistance to non-tariff barrier removal, Ahluwalia said the bottleneck is not the bureaucracy itself but political clarity. “The idea that the bureaucracy is obstructive—I don’t buy that. If the leadership is clear and encourages open discussion, consensus will follow,” he said, recalling how debate helped shape the 1991 reforms.

On agriculture, Ahluwalia warned against reforms appearing externally driven. “Agriculture is politically sensitive everywhere. Reforms must not be seen as outcomes of trade deals. Consensus must come from within,” he said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if our negotiators are telling the other side: don’t expect agri concessions through trade pacts.”

He questioned the inconsistency in policy on genetically modified (GM) foods. “We’re not letting Indian farmers use GM technology, yet we’re allowing some imports. How does that make sense?”

Instead, he urged an internal debate on long-avoided agri issues: “Too many decisions in agriculture have been kept outside the political discussion.”

Ahluwalia also pointed to India's overly complex compliance regime. Citing a report by Manish Sabharwal, he noted over 16,000 compliances—half of which carry criminal penalties. “The Centre could show leadership by eliminating 90% of the criminal clauses and inviting states to do the same,” he said. “That would build momentum across party lines.”

He called the GST rate structure “inefficient and overdue for overhaul,” despite consensus. “Maybe it’s time for a new commission to recommend changes and open it up for public debate,” he said.

While applauding infrastructure efforts, he flagged outdated logistics procedures as low-hanging reform. “It’s an easy fix—but someone has to own it.”