File Photo: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
The last decade under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was "wasted decade" like that of 1970s and 80s because decision making had shifted out of PMO unlike now, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.
There was no outside interference with the working of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, he said.
"The Prime Minister unquestionably has the last word. No government, no Finance Minister or any other ministers can ever implement series of changes and reforms without full backing of the Prime Minister," he said at India Economic Convention in New Delhi.
He further said that it is a tribute to the electorate that they elected a majority government after 30 years.
"After 30 years, India got a single party majority government though we are still a coalition government and we will probably continue to be one," he said.
This had made the Prime Minister's Office the final arbiter in decision-making, in stark contrast to the policy paralysis witnessed during the past decade due to the marginalisation of the PMO, where decision-making lay with those outside the government, he said.
Taking a dig at the previous UPA regime, he said: "The political model of the governance in India had got skewed up because the Prime Ministerial Office itself, which should be the last decision making body in the country and must have the final say, had been marginalised."
As a result, the impact was obvious on the policy making, he said, adding, "the last one decade had gone back to those wasted decades of 1970s and 80s."
The Finance Minister said that the present government was totally clear on the direction that economic governance of the country needs to take.
"We have sought to restructure the model of governance which takes the burden of employment off a fragile agriculture sector; one which forces the pace of development of the services and urban sector and builds a vibrant manufacturing sector," he said.