India’s parliament begins its winter legislative session today—and will begin debating economic reform. Narendra Modi’s six-month-old government has so far liberalised cautiously. The economy needs more foreign capital so the finance minister, Arun Jaitley, favours letting foreign investors hold 49% of any local venture in the insurance industry. Mr Jaitley also wants to reform land-purchase laws, blamed for slowing industrial and infrastructure projects. Harder, and more important, will be the introduction of a national goods-and-services tax, aimed at integrating India into a single market. Progress on that will be slow because a two-thirds majority in Parliament is needed to change the constitution, and powerful state governments must agree. Easier to achieve will be breaking up the near-monopoly of the state-controlled coal giant and encouraging states to ease labour laws. India may not accomplish all of this in one session, but it can make a good start.