New Delhi, Sept. 24 -- The passage of the 3 bills on agriculture by the Indian Parliament reminds the 1991 budget of the Finance Minister Manmohan Singh under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. At that time, there was no consensus in his own party let alone across the political spectrum and there was little support for economic reforms. That year is hailed as watershed year that changed the course of India.

Similarly, the year 2020 may go etch itself, perhaps more prominently than 1991, as agriculture is bread and butter of India. So far, no party in Government was willing to take risks that may cause the wrath of the majority voters. Successive governments preferred short-term gains, lopsided and piece-meal, over quantum measures for cu...