58 SOCIAL SCIENTIST current inflation is unprecedented in its severity. It is acknowledged that it has reached the runaway stage. Following Keynesian traditions, some economists are inclined to welcome a mild inflation as conducive to creating an attractive climate of investment. They are least concerned about the continuous erosion of real income of the masses of the poor and middle classes over the last two decades or so. They even nod approvingly of the earlier price policy. All that they are worried about is that the current inflation has crossed the tolerance limits. Accordingly they seek temporary solutions to deal with a "temporary situation" ! Summing Up In fact, inflation is but a symptom of a deep-seated malady born out of structural deficiencies of the economic system in operation in India. There are enormous wastages inherent in the system. The surplus labour which abounds in the economy could not be utilized for want of a suitable organization. Quite a bit of scarce resources, both internal and external are frittered away to ensure the supply of "incentive goods59 to propitiate the investment gods in the private sector! A substantial part of household saving seeks unproductive channels of investment. Manipulative tendencies result in non-utilization of created or intended capacities. One wonders how s^les promotion through advertisements are consistent with a sellers' market. Even the' government is unable to keep unproductive expenditures under check. Ownership structure in land is not at all production-oriented. Small and medium industries catinot grow under the shade of monopolies and oligopolies represented by large business houses. The absence of adequate voluntary savings imposes a heavy responsibility for resource mobilization on the government sector which it is unable to fulfil* One cannot depend on external resources and yet be self-reliant. The way public sector is demarcated, it is impossible to generate large surpluses in the near future. Not that there is no resource to mobi-lize. The black money which plays havoc in the economy is estimated to be more than Rs 10,000 crores. Taxes that are evaded are more than what is collected. The landlords gloat in unprecedented wealth and prosperity. But the socio-political system does not permit any reasonable dent into their resource potential. It follows that as long as these institutional obstructions are not overcome, production will not pick up to desired levels; resources will defy mobilization; inflation will continue to plague the Indian economy. M J K THAVARAJ