The verdict is out and people chose Dr.Manmohan Singh and his team over others with a decisive mandate. In the backdrop of the recession and the dreams of the country’s youth, an agenda of stability and inclusive growth based on issues like infrastructure, rural and urban development, agriculture and food security, education, amongst others is already set. But the most important issue that should be addressed is the reforms in governance, which I believe is crucial for this agenda to be successful.
In a recent survey conducted by an Hong-Kong based consultancy ranked Indian bureaucracy as least efficient in Asia and termed as “slow and painful and a power center in their own right”. After the economic reforms in 1990’s, liberalization has improved the climate for investment in India. However, the world has moved on and we are perhaps not keeping pace. Civil service was set up in colonial times, when its function was to assert control over a vast subcontinent on behalf of the British Raj. They created a bureaucracy, which exists even today, but its outlook hasn’t changed much since.
Many say “administrative processes and procedures are cumbersome and create hurdles in the process of harmonious development”. For investors (FDIs, FIIs, etc) their biggest frustration about investment in India is the bureaucracy. The so called babus failed miserably in delivering public services and basic essentials of life like electric power, drinking water, schools, hospitals, transport and municipal functions continue to remain out of the reach for many Indians even after 60 years of independence.
Not reforming the bureaucracy and the governance and minimizing the political interference and the corruption, it wouldn’t make much sense pouring out thousands of crores on various welfare and developmental schemes. This way aam admi would “still” get just 19 paisa out of every rupee spent.
Of the many lessons of the recent mandates, one thing is clear, if change is not quickly visible to an impatient new India, governments will be dumped faster than they ever have, and the only agenda is “to Perform or Perish”.
-Vikranth
In a recent survey conducted by an Hong-Kong based consultancy ranked Indian bureaucracy as least efficient in Asia and termed as “slow and painful and a power center in their own right”. After the economic reforms in 1990’s, liberalization has improved the climate for investment in India. However, the world has moved on and we are perhaps not keeping pace. Civil service was set up in colonial times, when its function was to assert control over a vast subcontinent on behalf of the British Raj. They created a bureaucracy, which exists even today, but its outlook hasn’t changed much since.
Many say “administrative processes and procedures are cumbersome and create hurdles in the process of harmonious development”. For investors (FDIs, FIIs, etc) their biggest frustration about investment in India is the bureaucracy. The so called babus failed miserably in delivering public services and basic essentials of life like electric power, drinking water, schools, hospitals, transport and municipal functions continue to remain out of the reach for many Indians even after 60 years of independence.
Not reforming the bureaucracy and the governance and minimizing the political interference and the corruption, it wouldn’t make much sense pouring out thousands of crores on various welfare and developmental schemes. This way aam admi would “still” get just 19 paisa out of every rupee spent.
Of the many lessons of the recent mandates, one thing is clear, if change is not quickly visible to an impatient new India, governments will be dumped faster than they ever have, and the only agenda is “to Perform or Perish”.
-Vikranth
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