Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Wednesday said the decision of the West Bengal government to invite the Tatas to set up their small car project in the state is in tune with the changing time, which recognises the importance of market forces.
Buddhadeb Bhattarcharjee government's move is a mere expression of its willingness to play along with market forces without totally relying on them, he said.
"The function of a market is important. Unless we live in a society where we produce and consume everything, we need the market," the noted economist said.
He, however, hastened to add, "there are times when the market economy fails, but we cannot completely deny its contribution towards development."
Underlining the significance of market forces, the Nobel laureate cited the success of organisations like Grameen Bank and people like Muhammed Yunus and Abid in Bangladesh.
Their knack of playing along with market forces led to their success, he said.
"Yunus and others have been able to succeed with schemes like micro-credit because they knew how to play along with the market economy. They, however, never relied on it."
"They are market-friendly and not market-dependent," Sen, who won the Nobel prize for his development work in economics, said at a book launch.