IN LAST week's leader on India's economy we referred to the government as acting with Brezhnev-grade complacency. That was probably a bit too harsh. In the last few days I've listened to two energetic government bigwigs—officials rather than politicians—talk about the slowdown and what to do about it. Here's what they had to say. The first official shall remain nameless. He was certainly complacent at times. So for example, the latest GDP figures showing year-on-year growth of 5.3% were probably a statistical error, in his view. “These numbers are probably going to be revised. But it's too late. What matters is the first number [released], which make an impression.” The scandal over the award of the 2G licences in 2008 was a storm in a tea cup and exaggerated by a “jackass media who are constantly after your blood” (anyone who has read the Supreme Court's judgment on this scandal is unlikely to be nearly so forgiving of the scandalous parties). The graft scandals surrounding the government were “mostly misrepresentations”. And the government's medium-term growth targets are likely to remain in the region of 8%. That is well above private economists' view, which is nearer 6%, and the Reserve Bank of India's too: it reckons trend growth is probably at about 7%. But there was also realism. Asked what he would do if he had a magic wand, this official replied, “go back to 2009 and start again”. Several things started to go wrong at that point, he said. There was a poor monsoon, hurting farmers. Rather than cutting the fiscal deficit it had run up in to offset the effects of the global financial crisis, the government kept spending freely. “We left it in the system when it wasn't needed,” the official says of the stimulus. That helped keep inflation high and stubborn. By mid-2010, the official went on, a series of scams had become public which left the government in an “effective state of siege”. That meant reforms were harder to pass and the machine was too distracted to operate the levers of government properly, or to solve bottlenecks such as a shortage of electricity. The final straw came in 2011 with the balance of payments ballooning, thanks to higher oil prices but also Indians' purchases of gold (reflecting their fear of inflation and mistrust of banks), and then the budget in 2012 which carelessly messed around with the tax rules for foreign investors and scared some off, making funding that deficit harder. What now? This official's premise is that India should try to kick-start growth with a surge of spending on infrastructure. That might spur private firms to invest more generally, which would in turn get the economic show back on the road. The government is trying to bang heads together, and enjoying some success with the easier bits of infrastructure development, such as roads. A bigger challenge will be the power sector, where the entire supply chain, from digging up coal to the sale of electricity to consumers, is riddled with problems. As well as on energy, he said, the government would have a “surge” on building ports, airports, railways and urban infrastructure.

The official was much vaguer on those reforms that require the cabinet to reach agreement, or the government to command parliament. So for example the cutting of wasteful oil subsidies (which help explain India's budget deficit), “will happen sooner or later”, but not for a few months. That's a pretty limp prediction. Likewise, the loosening of foreign-direct-investment rules will happen—at some point. “The politics will clear in the next few months.” Finally, the passing of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), an especially big reform, will happen “not before next year”—and even then may not be possible.

As a member of the jackass media, I left the meeting with the feeling that one part of the state machine, the politicians, was still not working. However another part, the bureaucracy, was trying to raise its game. The big question is whether the old levers, which the highest bureaucrats so like to pull, are still connected to anything. The economy stands halfway between a command-and-control system and a free market. That means it probably cannot be revived by clever officials alone.

The second official whom I heard talking about the slowdown is typically brilliant—Kaushik Basu (pictured above), the chief economic adviser to the government of India. But he is also a believer in markets and free trade, which is less common. After a stint in the government hot-house, which has not been without its controversies, he is due to return to Cornell University, where he is a professor. On Friday evening he was in Mumbai, at an event convened by Exim bank. Mr Basu, an independent soul, began bluntly. Domestic problems, rather than the global economy's woes, explain much of the slowdown he said, and “it is not responsible for us to shy away from that…we owe it to our country to point out that fact.”

Mr Basu called for the Reserve Bank of India—whose top brass were represented by a pair sitting in the front row, on rather fetching white sofas—to cut interest rates. But beyond this he simply stated that just as “spirals of optimism” take place in markets and economies, so to do “spirals of despair”. India is suffering from the second type of spiral today and it is not clear what might break it. But eventually something will come along—“India is going to come out on top. Give us a few years,” he said.

The bulk of Mr Basu's comments were aimed at the medium term and amounted to a staunch defence of opening up the economy. “Openness and growth for India have gone hand in hand…globalisation for India has been for the better.” To reap the benefits of trade, it is essential to concentrate on contracts, trust and integrity, things that India tends to “give short shrift to”. Reading between the lines Mr Basu's speech can be seen as a defence of reform as a means to raising living standards—and a call to India to clean up its act. “At the top level the leadership understands these principles very well,” said Mr Basu. If so, what a shame the top politicians are so terrified of saying the same thing aloud. The failure of India's leaders to advocate reform before its citizens is one reason why there is so little consensus in favour of it among the public today.

(Picture credit: AFP)