Mr. President, Sir, I agree that every act of borrowing is an executive act. But the power to borrow need not necessarily be regarded as an Executive power exclusively, subject to such limits, if any, as Parliament may from time to time place. From this point of view I would like to suggest that the borrowing power, or the use of the national credit, is a very delicate matter. Under the Conditions under which we are now living, it cannot be treated too scrupulously or too carefully if we would bear in mind the interests not only of the present generation, but of generations to come. As we know, the security of the revenues of India-as the clause speaks here-is at the present time any rate, and judged strictly from purely economic considerations, a very thin security. That is to say, we have been, in the last ten years or so, habitually living in a deficit economy, and that deficit, considered in its budget aspect as well as in the aspect of the aggregate national economy, shows so far no sip of abatement. The various projects we have, undertaken promise to remedy these deficits within ten or fifteen years. At the present moment, at any rate, and for some years to come it seems to me that our economy being a deficit economy, borrowing would be a necessity for years to come, and, as such, we cannot too carefully regulate, limit or restrict this power.
