Incredible India

Indian Politics

Indian Politics
Reaching Greater Heights

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

AC Room Policies


India has been a developing country from more than 60 years. We have seen large number of schemes launched by the govt. for the needy and various policies are created in favour of these sections. Then why are we still developing at a slow pace? How long it is going to be that we merely remain a developing country?
Everyone has some or other reason for this slow pace, some would say corruption, Ineffective govt. sector, terrorism, international affairs, politics, etc. India has seen many policy failures. No policy is 100% perfect, but if we can implement it 80% successfully, then that’s something good to achieve. Whether we have analysed why the policies are not efficient at ground? Why such good policies on paper fail in real-world conditions? As I think, most of our policies are framed in a closed AC room, only some ministers with experts sit and frame the policies. The policy when seen on paper seems excellent, but when they are implemented by the government for the common people, it seems not to produce expected results. FDI might be a good decision as expressed by our economist and cabinet ministers, but common people, traders, trade unions were not at all happy with the decision because their bread will be at stake, when 51% FDI would have been allowed on retail sector. Though NREGA was a good policy decision, but there were various issues related to corruption in various states, so the govt. needs to deal with these issues seriously and introduce some changes that can minimize the corruption in NREGA. We have seen large number of irregularities associated with PDS (public distribution system), Why.....? I’ve personally seen that PDS shops are not fair; they use to cheat common people who are entitled for that quantity of grain. If it is not working out in its present form, then introduce some checks so that the grains reach the common people. The Anti- Kudankulam nuclear power project protest is the result of the same AC room decision, the govt. did not talk to the people residing near the project. Though eminent scientists have promulgated the idea of the project, but we need the consent of the common mob.
I think it is a time when our THINK TANK starts framing policies out of AC rooms and visualize the challenges any policy can face on ground. Its time people become an important part of policy development programme and the development takes an interactive look. It shall not remain only govt.’s task to implement policies rather people become an important part of it. We need to talk to common people, take their inputs, and then frame the policy. The time is here when policy development programme makes a shift from AC Rooms to the place of common people.