Politics and economics have different priorities.

Politicians cannot resist the charm of controlling prices, wrote A Ranade. "Farmers have been assured a higher minimum support price (MSP) for 23 crops, no matter how low the market price may drop." To protect farmers against low prices and encourage cultivation, the government has a list of crops that it buys at higher than market price at the Minimum Support Price. This year the government has promised to buy 23 crops at a rate 50% higher than the cost of production. But this is a sham, wrote Prof Himanshu, because the government buys only wheat and paddy and its system of calculating costs is lower because it does not take into account the family labor costs of farmers. "The state of Maharashtra toyed with an innovative trick. The state government said that any trader found to be paying less than MSP to a farmer would be sent to jail for a year. This is innovative because it passed the monetary burden of MSP from state exchequer to the wholesale or retail buyers." This was never going to work, wrote Prof A Gulati and S Saini. If traders are to buy at MSP rates and prices fall due to excess production who will they sell to? They will suffer heavy losses. What is to stop them from buying in neighboring states at cheaper prices and selling in Maharashtra? Or they can just shut shop."If they purchase zero quantity, then they pay zero price, whatever the diktat." The government is to impose an import substitution policy to reduce imports of inessential goods and support domestic industry. Customs duty on over 400 items has been increased. How will the nation benefit when other countries impose duties on our exports is retaliation? Mobile phones are a must have these days, especially for the poor, so why is it inessential? The government is investigating deep discounts offered by e-commerce companies to see if this is a case of 'predatory pricing'. On the other hand, when a new telecom company offered its services at near zero rates "The order of the Telecom Regulatory Authority clearly said that entrants cannot be guilty of predatory pricing." While the government wants to increase prices of goods and services that we buy it is offering ridiculous rates to hospitals for its health scheme Ayushman Bharat. Airlines industry is looking at losses of between $1.65 and $1.90 this year because fuel prices in India are the highest they have ever been. "Price controls have an irresistible charm for policymakers. Even after learning the hard way that they don't work (ask Richard Nixon about his wage and price controls), they are always in fashion." They may not work economically, as long as they get votes. Different priorities.