The government is likely to tell our corporate tycoons to reconsider their “ostentatious lifestyle” and practise austerity, according to a report in the Indian Express. This, of course, will be the second round of austerity – finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had called for a similar drive within the government.

The last couple of years have seen prices going through the roof and it has become increasingly difficult for a common man to make ends meet (see the series of reports Governance Now has carried). In such a scenario, it probably made some sense if people's representatives abstained from flaunting their lavish lifestyle. However, the debatable point here is, whether the government can preach to the corporate sector what it itself has failed to practise (remember comments of the cattle class travel?).

Moreover, if the government is so concerned about the aam aadmi, it should try inclusive and equitable policies. This ostentatious austerity cannot fill the bellies of the poor though it can signal a certain sensitivity.

Will this new austerity drive help us?