What is your understanding of the hype about the new economy areas like infotech and their subsequent busting?
First of all, I don’t agree that the infotech sector has busted, if that is what you imply. During November 1999, the IT scrips started rising. I said in Parliament, in the sittings of the standing committee on finance, at press conferences and various fora that the boom in infotech stock prices is artificial, manipulated. Experts and stock exchange officials had agreed then that the future of infotech companies would be bright. Even now I’d say the same thing. Profit potential of good companies varies from 100 per cent to 120 per cent. But the share price movement had nothing to do with the functioning, management, performance of infotech companies. It was all the handiwork of some indulgent operators. So what has busted is this racket, not the infotech companies themselves. Even now, Infosys, Wipro, Satyam and others are doing wonderfully well. When we raised a hue and cry about the racket, the RBI appointed a committee to probe the sharp rise in prices and index movements. Every tim
