Political thoughts of an economist

Rajeev Jayaswal

India has undergone several transformational changes, particularly in the realm of governing institutions and style of governance in the past four years. One of the biggest and most overt changes was renaming of the Planning Commission into the NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India). Even after the name change, the transformation of real India remained elusive. This change has certainly initiated a debate, whether the transformation has brought states close to the Centre or their frictional relationships have worsened?

There are several such examples that exhibit the desire of the system to reinvent, renovate and remodel itself. It is often desirable as institutional changes are necessary to keep the system contemporary, functional and robust. But, such transformations should be well-calibrated on the basis of wider consultations and extensive research. This is the message economist Dr Bimal Jalan gives in his latest book. It is a treatise written for all those political leaders and policymakers who nurse the ambition to become the agent of change. The world’s largest democracy has shown resilience in the past seven decades and getting stronger. The book sets certain long-term priorities for this transformation. The author believes that without a long-term perspective it will be difficult to harness the country’s full growth potential, which is a must if policymakers are serious about creating a society free of poverty and hunger.

Although it is difficult to write a book on political economy without being critical of one government or the other, the author has tried to avoid overt references to any particular regime, government or political ideologies. The book is, however, addressed to incumbents, prospective policymakers and power elites.  

Dr Jalan, a veteran administrator, is full of hope about a better future for India, but, at the same time, he also expresses his anxiety over a possible derailment: ‘So far, by and large, India has been exceedingly fortunate in having persons of calibre, integrity and patriotism in top leadership positions, irrespective of the nature of coalitions to which they belong. However, it cannot be taken for granted that this situation will continue indefinitely in future. While the country still has the good fortune of having highly distinguished leaders at the helm, immediate action needs to be taken on two fronts’.

He not only advocates a strong federal structure to implement reform agenda with efficacy but also suggests creating another federal commission like the Finance Commission that would allocate non-tax central assistance for implementing anti-poverty and development programmes. The second suggestion is to set up a body like the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for all appointments in autonomous institutions, regulatory bodies, public enterprises, banks and financial, educational and cultural institutions in the public sector. The premise is based on the author’s observations of some recent developments and ‘the controversies surrounding them in many of India’s top institutions highlight the need for urgent action to insulate public institutions from excessive political interference in their day-to-day work’. The book is, however, not able to convince the reader that setting up a commission would create a firewall between professionals and politicians. The readers having interest in political economy and public administration may disagree on several suggestions made by Dr Jalan, but they cannot dismiss the issues raised by him.

His argument to make the Council of States (the Rajya Sabha) more meaningful and participatory is a necessary institutional reform. No doubt, the Rajya Sabha is increasingly becoming a backdoor entry point for politicians and lobbyists who have no chance to get elected through direct election. 

‘Neither the people of a state directly, nor their representatives in the state legislature indirectly, have any voice or discretion in electing their representatives to the Rajya Sabha,’ he paints the sorry state of the Rajya Sabha. 

The passage from his book correctly summarises the rot: ‘The choice of members now depends entirely and exclusively on leaders of various parties. Anyone with sufficient resources, organised manpower and access to leaders can be elected from anywhere, depending on the ability of a party to swing sufficient number of votes in the state legislature. A system of quid pro quo among the parties has also developed where one party can provide balancing support to another in one state in exchange for similar support by that party in another state.’

The book picks up such crucial issues that stunt the full growth of the Indian democracy. Some important issues include the state funding of elections, the need to make parliamentary proceedings more serious, role and restrictions on the government in making and implementing economic policies and so on. He also expresses concerns about the diminishing role of Parliament in several crucial issues where the government bypasses the legislator though executive orders and ordinances. The book suggests ways to purge the political system. He says that ‘for every rupee of monetary gain to the corrupt, the aggregate loss to society could be as high as three or four rupees’. It suggests that the national aim should go well beyond economic growth. Priority should be given to good life of the citizen. The financial wizard sets ‘New Paradigm for the Financial Sector’ that suggests ways to take measures to improve the climate of growth and investment. Dr Jalan’s book is like a single man’s commission, appointed to revamp the country’s political, economic and civic governance.