Prez chants good governance, innovation mantra
The Economic Times, June 5, 2009, Page 1
PR Ramesh NEW DELHI
PRESIDENT Pratibha Patil on Thursday indicated the government’s determination to bring the curtains down on the “chalta hai” approach that has characterised governance all these years. Addressing the joint session of the two houses of Parliament, Ms Patil reiterated the new government’s resolve to dump old ways and encode a new governance principle for those in charge of the levers of power, both political and bureaucratic.
The new regime’s plans for radical changes in governance constitute a big shift in outlook. If the President’s address is anyth
ing to go by, the new government does not believe that merely throwing money at problems or offering fantasy panacea across the board from poverty to healthcare to education will stand it in good stead. It has rightly acknowledged the need for institutional changes in governance.
The address to Parliament talked at length on the government’s pro-poor policies, and moves to strengthen welfare schemes and boost the economy. The consolidation of flagship programmes was only expected as they had paid rich electoral dividends to the Congress in the just-concluded elections. There were promises to enlarge the scope of NREGA, which has proved to be an effective social protection measure; introduce a new right to food Act; address the challenges in the health sector such as infant mortality, nutrition and pre-emptive cure; make quality education a right through the enactment of a new law; set up a national literacy mission for women; raise the target of rural housing for the next five years to one lakh twenty crore units; introduce a major housing scheme for the urban poor; and take up initiatives for skill development.
In line with the promises, the coming budget is set to earmark Rs 50,000 crore for the proposed right-to-food scheme.
That the government was anxious to adopt a new governance matrix was evident when it said it would focus on the delivery of public services, need for a model public services law, public data policy, and ombudsman for schemes such as NREGS.
The youth could find the new government’s agenda more attractive as it has vowed to reform regulatory institutions in the education sector. For long, regulators in the sector such as UGC and MCI have become licence-dispensing machines. “We will set up a National Council for Higher Education as recommended by the Yashpal Committee and National Knowledge Commission for reforming the regulatory institutions,” the President said.
That there would be concentrated efforts for another important voting block—women—was clear when the government put the women’s quota bill on the top of the legislative heap. It has also promised to initiate steps to reserve 50% seats in panchayats and urban bodies for women in the next 100 days. The latter was an initiative of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar that paid handsome dividends to the NDA government in the state.
The Congress will have to get closer to the urban poor as the new government has promised to assign property rights to those who live in slums.
The Economic Times, June 5, 2009, Page 1
PR Ramesh NEW DELHI
PRESIDENT Pratibha Patil on Thursday indicated the government’s determination to bring the curtains down on the “chalta hai” approach that has characterised governance all these years. Addressing the joint session of the two houses of Parliament, Ms Patil reiterated the new government’s resolve to dump old ways and encode a new governance principle for those in charge of the levers of power, both political and bureaucratic.
The new regime’s plans for radical changes in governance constitute a big shift in outlook. If the President’s address is anyth
ing to go by, the new government does not believe that merely throwing money at problems or offering fantasy panacea across the board from poverty to healthcare to education will stand it in good stead. It has rightly acknowledged the need for institutional changes in governance.The address to Parliament talked at length on the government’s pro-poor policies, and moves to strengthen welfare schemes and boost the economy. The consolidation of flagship programmes was only expected as they had paid rich electoral dividends to the Congress in the just-concluded elections. There were promises to enlarge the scope of NREGA, which has proved to be an effective social protection measure; introduce a new right to food Act; address the challenges in the health sector such as infant mortality, nutrition and pre-emptive cure; make quality education a right through the enactment of a new law; set up a national literacy mission for women; raise the target of rural housing for the next five years to one lakh twenty crore units; introduce a major housing scheme for the urban poor; and take up initiatives for skill development.
In line with the promises, the coming budget is set to earmark Rs 50,000 crore for the proposed right-to-food scheme.
That the government was anxious to adopt a new governance matrix was evident when it said it would focus on the delivery of public services, need for a model public services law, public data policy, and ombudsman for schemes such as NREGS.
The youth could find the new government’s agenda more attractive as it has vowed to reform regulatory institutions in the education sector. For long, regulators in the sector such as UGC and MCI have become licence-dispensing machines. “We will set up a National Council for Higher Education as recommended by the Yashpal Committee and National Knowledge Commission for reforming the regulatory institutions,” the President said.
That there would be concentrated efforts for another important voting block—women—was clear when the government put the women’s quota bill on the top of the legislative heap. It has also promised to initiate steps to reserve 50% seats in panchayats and urban bodies for women in the next 100 days. The latter was an initiative of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar that paid handsome dividends to the NDA government in the state.
The Congress will have to get closer to the urban poor as the new government has promised to assign property rights to those who live in slums.
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