Tryst with Governance

It’s almost 4 days since I heard Prime Minister Modi address the nation from Red Fort on 15^th August 2014. I must confess that as a Government servant, for the first time, I am feeling enthused and excited that I am working for a Government that is headed by a leader who has a vision and  a roadmap for the nation. It’s not that this was the first speech that I was listening to an Independence Day – though this was the first time I had gone to attend the 15^th August function at Red Fort. One reason for this was obviously the buzz that it was mandatory for us to attend. However, the more compelling reason was my Dad, who was very keen to attend and had asked me almost a month back if it was possible to get passes. I have seen my Dad transforming from an online enrolled AAP member to a die-hard Modi Fan. Many a dinner conversations we have had regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the leaders we have and over a period of time, I have found myself getting to agree more with his beliefs in the new leader.

So we went, early morning and were lucky enough to get seats which gave us a view of the podium as well as the feel of the surrounding ambience. What impressed me most was the tone of the speech. It was so very different from the Lalan College, Bhuj speech that he delivered last year. That was of course an election mode speech but the tone was too adversarial. As compared to that, this year there were no negative sentiments. He began by acknowledging previous Prime Ministers and thanking the opposition for the support in getting important legislation passed. This was a changed Prime Minister – it appeared as if a true leader and a statesman is in the making.

However what made me his fan was the simple ideas. The thoughts on Bureaucracy, Sanitation, Women, Manufacturing, Skills and E Governance were music to my ears. The icing on the cake was the decision on Planning Commission. I have myself endured the tyranny of the Commission which has caused delays of at least 9 to 12 months for the EFC and Cabinet proposals mooted by my Department. The problem with Planning Commission has been that it gets into an executive role and starts taking decisions for the Departments which is totally a transgression of authority as Departments must be free to conceptualize their schemes within their planned and budgetary outlays. Role of Planning Commission needs to be to bring in synergies between Departments and come up with long term vision and plans rather than tinkering with the day to day functioning of the Departments. It would have been wonderful had the ideas regarding merger of Departments like Steel-Mines-Coal and Power-New and Renewable Energy et al came from the Planning Commission. Even the experts on PPP in Planning Commission are so convinced of their own points of view that they would refuse to entertain any alternate perspective and would even refuse to share soft copies of documents. The institution had become truly archaic and if what has been announced is implemented it would cut the internal red tape of the Government by a great deal.

Another notable feature of the Speech was that it was not presented as a certificate for the greatness that we normally bestow upon ourselves. There was no mention of our rockets and missiles, our super power status, our potential economic might or how we stalled an agreement at WTO. There was no thumping of chests for the Gujarat model or what all the Parliament just achieved in the Monsoon session. The Speech had elements which read like the To Do list of a serious CEO of the nation. The issues identified and the ideas espoused are so very relevant. The take on rape and crime against women was so very different than the ‘Boys would be Boys’ mindsets. The target of all schools with toilets for girls is so very achievable. Similarly the model village concept gave an action plan for all the elected MPs and will definitely have a trickle-down effect if the Rural Development Ministry works out the minor details. The ideas on Financial Inclusion and insurance for the poor are similar. I doubt if any previous Independence Day speech had so many time bound quantifiable targets.

The focus on Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship are key to take India back to the growth cycle. The Mantra of Come, Make in India will of course require much more action on infrastructure and regulatory issues – but the idea is that once the goal is defined, efforts can be made to resolve the roadblocks. This will be the biggest challenge as the retro tax measures and the New Land Acquisition Act will require a lot of tweaking if the Made in India tag is to become a reality.

The ideas on Skills, Digital India and E Governance are so very critical for us to reap the benefits of our demographic dividend. All this was like the things that we always talked about with friends becoming the priorities of the Government. I am happy to be part of this change. Am willing to do my bit to make India a better place. This hour on the 15^th was a true Tryst with Governance moment.

A treasure I found - My hand written assignment I wrote in 1996!!!

What do I feel proud of about India?

What do I feel proud of about India?

Over last few months Whatsapp chats have made communication with friends easier and more convenient – much better than emails or the social media tools. So we have now school groups and college groups which allows us to be friends with old friends again and share jokes, thoughts and ideas.

In one of such chats, last night, one of my IIT friends, whom I have not met for years asked  me : Having seen America, what do I feel proud of about India?

That led me to think. Yes, I am proud of my country. But what is it specifically?

When I thought deep, I felt that even though most of us despise our politicians and polity a lot, it’s our democratic values and the Constitution that we adopted some 64 years ago, that has stood by us. We are not a simple nation. We are actually a commonwealth of nationalities – more akin to the European Union – than to the US. We have distinctions of castes, religion, regions, languages and cultures. Yet, we do survive as a nation with a strong Centre, like we have never done in history. Every region – Every State is represented in our polity and that gives us the strength to survive. Regional aspirations have led to growth of regional political parties and fall in strength and influence of national parties – but then, it’s fair. And come to think of it. The countries in our neighborhood - Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar - are all struggling. Given that, we have done pretty fine.

I am truly proud of our democracy and polity.

The other thing that comes to my mind is our family system and the focus on hard work and honesty. Even though, we don’t rank very high on corruption indices, there is a great deal of focus on honesty, integrity and hard work in our day to day lives. We have a strong family system which teaches children to respect elders and to speak the truth. Parents want their children to be hardworking and sincere. That has led to the growth of a very dominant and strong middle class in India which will help guide our future growth. It’s one of the key strengths that we have.

I am proud of our family values and focus on hard work and sincerity.

The other key feature of our nation is our youthful population. Last week a friend shared some insights into our census data. As per the census data almost 39% of our 1.21 billion population is below 18 years of age and that’s a huge 472 million people.  Another key feature is that almost 25% of our population lives in UP and Bihar. The proportion of population below 18 is around 45% in UP and 48% in Bihar. These two States have been slow to grow. However, the youthful population is expected to drive growth in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and that will help us grow faster in the years to come. Such a youthful population, full of energy and enterprise is unique to us and holds a great potential for us in future.

I am proud of our youthful population and its energy.

So I would list these three as the top three things that I am truly proud of India.