Somnathji,
Let me say this before answering your points. "All of us want progress to reach four corners of Bharat."
The difference of opinions are on
- Definition of progress; for some it is "modern" education, "modern" amenities, and so on. For others it is "quality" education, "eco-friendly" amenities etc., It is up to the poster to present what "education" and "amenities" the s/he considers part of her/his definition of progress.
- Methods to implement this vision.
- Role of Government.
***
Earlier most of the discussion used to be around availability of funds. Apparently it stopped becoming a problem now as everyone talks about throwing few billion Rs here and trillion Rs there. If the economy and inflation grow at proportional pace, where did Bharat cross that critical mass? in 1947 or 1970 or 1980 or 1998? The average inflation date since 1969 is 7.99%. What does that mean?
It is interesting to note that while the onus of developing India is put on the Government, the execution responsibility is being taken away from the Govt; the popular reason being private sector's efficiency. While it is convincing to use the efficient aspect of the society in the short term, the long term success of any vision cannot be achieved without instilling similar efficiency processes and structures in Govt sector.
Coming to Cash transfers. On one hand people argue that this as the best solution (short-term focus); while complaining about the absence of supporting infra - UUID and Banking. So what is the efficiency loss in current NREGA program that is in place for past 5 years and distributed > Rs 100,000 crores? Is it 30% or 50% or 70%?
Who is responsible for this stupidity? Even an entry level project manager knows that dependent tasks must be completed before taking up high-value and high-risk activities. Who is fooling whom in PMO? Who is responsible for this oversight? Why coudn't they spend few thousand Rs to ensure that
- All BPL families got a cell phone
- All BPL families were given a UUID linked with their ration cards
- All BPL families are educated to use nearest post office or govt office or PDS center to convert their SIM card balance into Cash/Food grains?
and so on?
Where are these NGOs all these days? If they have been serving
the BPL families day and night, why aren't they tagged along to remove duplicate entries in the list?
And finally, who is tracking the key metrics to get feedback on all these schemes and processes? The key metrices being
- Amount spent on Food security; Daily calorific intakes; associated HDI indicator
- Amount spent on education, access to quality education; associated HDI indicator
- Amount spent on economic security that is employment; access to vocational training and employment opportunities.
Kindly do not tell me that UUID will address this issue. UUID project scope doesn't include this. It just allows such eco-system to develop. It is up to the corresponding public/private/service/NGO sector to determine how to integrate UUID into their service models and what gets contributed (this is where vested interests come into picture) into the feedback mechanism.
***
This doesn't mean I am pessimistic about all this action. I appreciate this action (as chaos is Dharmic
); but I don't think that all these pieces come together, especially in the time of need, to enhance Indian Interests. By the way, Indian Interests is not some fashion statement nor an idea for uber-nationalists. Indian Interests is the word that encompasses the long-term well-being of all Indians; including the religious minorities.
Another ayatollah from Mylapore School of Economics
)...