| Font Size |
For the UPA this is both the good news and the bad news. Good news because the fight has now moved out of the terrain of identity politics where the UPA has historically had limited purchase. Bad news because trust comes with expectations and as Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is learning the hard way, voters can be very harsh when they feel betrayed: Kolkata and its surroundings, home to the new enthusiasts of the Left Front as recently as three years ago, did not elect a single MP from the left.
To make matters worse, the government, not to put too fine a point on it, is broke. Revenue growth has slowed with the global recession, but the commitments made in the expectation of continuing rapid growth — the NRHM and the scaling up of the NREGA being two expensive examples — remain with it.
Worst of all, it is widely accepted that, in terms of delivering human capital to the poor, India’s performance borders on the disastrous. According to the National Family Health Survey, our stunting rates (the fraction of our children who are two standard deviations shorter than the norm) and our wasting rates (the fraction of our children who are two standard deviations more underweight compared to the norm for someone of their height) are twice as high as the average for sub-Saharan Africa. According to ASER, the nationwide survey of children conducted annually by Pratham, 59% of children in Class 4 and 44% of the children in Class 5 in India read below the Class 2 level and 76% of Class 4 children and 63% of Class 5 children cannot do simple two-digit by one-digit divisions). Moreover, despite Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, these fractions have not budged at all over the last four years.
This is not only tragic — we are talking after all, about the future of our children — but also frighteningly short-sighted, given that we have opted for a strategy of development that relies heavily on high-quality man (and woman) power. It might also be the reason we see growing support for Naxalites in many rural pockets — the world over, from Palestine to Pakistan, extremists have always harvested the resentment that state failure brings about. Yet, despite the willingness to throw money at the problem — just NRHM will cost us over 1% of GDP — it is difficult to hold on to the conviction that the preceding governments have taken these issues really seriously. Go down the list of people who have been ministers of woman and child development, human resources, health and rural development over the last decade, and you will see cranky ideologues, prominent regional power brokers and well-connected has-beens, but essentially no one who has a reputation for running his or her ministry well.
Yet delivering to the poor is at least as difficult as anything the government does and plausibly, much harder. Just the scale of the problem, involving lakhs and lakhs of teachers, health workers, ration shops and their like, spread across many lakhs of villages, functioning with very little top-down supervision, makes it unlike almost anything in the world. To add to the challenge, the outcomes of most human capital investments are hard to measure, at least in the short run — the railways, after all, have accident rates and passenger volume and profits which get routinely reported — stunting or wasting rates are only measured when there is a special survey (once in several years) to pick them up. Add to this the fact that most of these primarily state subjects, and any reform has to be mediated by the willingness of the state to go along with it, and you can see why the ministers who want to demonstrate performance may want to stay away from these vitally important sectors.
Unfortunately, the only solution, and the only way for the Congress to secure its future, is to recognize the challenge of really delivering to the poor to be what it is, as the American expression goes, the mother of all challenges. It requires careful thinking backed by good research, realistic assumptions about government capacity, the willingness to shut down many dysfunctional government programs in order to focus on making a few work, and a stomach for taking on what will almost surely be some very painful political battles. And all of that has to start with the appointment of the right ministers. The next few days will tell us a lot about what we should expect.
Abhijit Banerjee is Professor of Economics at MIT. Raghuram Rajan is Professor of Finance at The University of Chicago.
Discuss this story on expressindia forums
|
|
We hope that Mr Praful Patel is not brought back into Aviation Ministry.There was too much of corruption during his tenure. Sonia Gandhi is to be mindful to bring honest politicians as ministers.
People with solid track records are not provided the strong and important ministry because the top key holders in party afraid that these kind of strong people can replace them.You can have an example of Mani Shankar Ayer, He was the petroleum minister, When he started to make changes, he became panchayati raj minister. Though he lost in the assembly election 2009 but what about those who even don't have courage to participate in open election. They come through rajya sabha. Arjun singh and Shivraj patil are the deterrent example.I assure you, Shashi Tharoor who was the candidate for the general secretary of UN, will not be provided any ministry that he deserves.
Nice well researched article. But if you look at the area where the women
The head lines sounds to be a foolish question.The Answer is very simple which is "We don't have any with that kind of Record and character in Congress and UPA(Perhaps in whole polity).Dis-unity,greed and selfishness is apparent cause which is inflicted through Congress'craving of power.Under this kind of alliance(Union)which is based on absolutely on anti-nantion and anti public interests India is cursed to suffer.During these elections there had been internal manipulations and external intrigues and the kind of money spent by Congress could solve some very serious probölems of the Nation.Its foolish to say or imagine that elections were fair because here people are bought who bids high and can afford.People's hopes are tantalizing.
All leaders on these department are very active but not in there fields but in media. they do least work but media highlights them as they are god.
Goa is a congress ruled state - the educational qualification of minister for education is controversial - his son escaped charge of rape, Arjun Singh - Min. in Central Govt. did best to kill institutes like IITs, AIIMS -divided the student community with his foolishness just to score a point over MMS. After this do you say Congress party cares for "EDUCATION"? Are you joking?
Human resource, housing and public health issues need to address sincerely in India now. I think Sonia Gandhi will have focused this part of cabinet. Rahul Gandhi should take in charge of Human Resource Sectored and serve with dynamic performance like Madhavrao Sindhya. Congress should not negotiate with the alliance. What need to be done is to be done and follow discipline. DMK should not give more than 5 positions. Congress should hold more of them and encourage strong discipline to govt. and allies. If DMK not agree Congress should ask RJD and BSP and SP chief to come and share one Cabinet to each of them with the commitment of the strong discipline and honest human empowerment.
CONGRESS IS IN COMMAND NOW. COUNTRY NEEDS DECIPLINE. CONGRESS NOW NEED NOT GET DICTATED AND SHOULD NOT ACCEPT DEMANDS OF THE PARTIES SUPPORTING IT. IT'S JUST A BLACK MAIL AND LUST FOR GRABING POSITIONS AS MINISTERS. 'ELECTED' ARE NOW NEED TO SERVE THE MANKIND AND TAKE THE NATION FORWARD TOWARDS PROGRESS ONLY. THERE ARE NOW LOT OF EXPECTATIONS FROM THE CONGRESS. IF, CONGRESS SERVES THIS TIME SINCERLY- PARTY IS GOING TO HAVE FULL MAJORITY NEXT TIME AND NO BODY CAN STOP THIS OUTCOME.
The sum total of the piece appears to be in reengineering the public service delivery mechanism. In this venture three elements are crucial. They are effective decentralisation as in PRIs enahnced participation and enagagement with ground zero rralities; PRI friendly operating procedure and lastly converting public private participation (PPP)for pelf to progress. The virus of outsourcing has created panic and attained disproportionate influence in pelf seeking behaviour.The common key in all these three elements is held by the field level public functionaries. They need upgradation of capacities so that the RARE (resource allocation by reducing expenditure (government)to enhance market interventions are suitably addressed.The efficiency and equity requirements are complimented by the public delivery mechanism and programme designs. Hence the service efforts and accomplishments will indeed make a SEA change.
Therefore, social priorties such as - housing, sanitation, schools, meals, sports is neither in demand nor expected from the Government. Politics or administrative reforms can not change socual customs. After independence we never had a leader who could motivate society. Only on political front commissions such as OBC/EBC/Minority were set up - but fact is these commisions are nothing but shelter for failed/rejected politicians. Ram Vilas Paswan had once won with record number of votes - now biting dust. He betrayed the people who voted for him -lead no social movement for their upliftment. Corruption, bad governance are also not issues when voting. No civilised society use words like "Seva kiziye - grease palm" or "Mai Baap". Therefore "Yatha Praja Tatha Raja". If masses can be awakened - then only Govts. wil deliver - otherwise politics will remain a profession for self upliftment, shelter for sons, daughters and relatives.