Considering the growing challenges in front of Government of India in the context of ensuring ‘human development’ for all of its citizens, the crucial role of Planning Commission was, is and will always be at the core of policy making. This was the most significant realization once someone witnesses the actual evidence driven policy making debates in the Planning Commission meetings. Although, we may not agree that the great aspect of strategic planning which is observed in the foresight activities of MNCs and other think tanks is absent in the roadmaps of the Planning Commission, what must not be ignored that it is the only body which compels politicians, bureaucrats and scholarly world of research and development driven civil society to have common frame of reference and serious patience to listen to the compulsions of the each other professionals.
The pressures on the public policy making and creating the thinking space for generating the hope of germination of new ideas is very crucial as far as the feasibility of any new initiative Planning Commission is taking. The performance of each ministry`s spending on the different schemes each year is not satisfactory. Even Planning Commission`s own budget meant for capacity and knowledge upgradation in the areas it is working is not being utilized properly which is meant for attracting proper research and documentation.
The Commission needs a comprehensive research unit of its own to track record and circulate the indicators of development in the sectors of education, health, employment, agricultural and industrial growth, knowledge institutions and knowledge dissemination. The routine administrative work done by officers there cannot be overburdened by the expectations that they alone would be responsible for executing the specialized fields of policy making. Let the bureaucrats and supporting staff working in the Planning Commission be enabler in accelerating the proposals and other urgent priorities of the administrative approvals and let the focused team of ‘knowledge professionals’ be driving the work on carrying out consultations on the new emerging challenges in the fields of e.g. Higher education, Technology deployment in development initiatives, benchmarks for modem, sustainable infrastructure and state of the art ways to conserve the environment.
The grave vacuum of the forecasting unit is being felt in the structure of the Planning Commission. In all macroeconomic or microeconomic planning scenarios, forecasting must be an essential component. It is admirable that Planning Commission always welcomes new reports by global think tanks for detailed discussion, what needed is the dis-aggregated outlook towards the study of the problem and massive stakeholder participation for better, in advance anticipation of the bottlenecks possible in the execution of the schemes being run by the concerned ministries.
Planning Commission has recognized the significance of reception of new paradigms regarding the real time consultations with the different representatives of the civil society through social platforms and technical platforms of social networks. Another significant aspect is the conviction of the Planning Commission to build the network of actors and to work in synergy rather than to continue to languish in isolated silos. This is very significant when the challenges being faced do not depend on one-dimensional assessment and unilateral initiative for enhancement of the possibilities of success in terms of conceptualizing, strategizing, mobilizing resources and executing the utilization of the time available for efficient deployment of the human resources. Having been engaged in the human resources division, the aspect of massive ignorance towards the development of the class of specialized people in the governance demands special attention.
Going ahead, during the meetings of steering committee and working group meetings the lack of preparedness on the front of members was not satisfactory. Very few members were caring for preparing and submitting advance note of their assessment of the situation. It was not observed during the three months tenure of the candidate`s internship that very few members of the committees being formulated discuss or participated in the deliberations in proactive manner. I wish not to utter the word ‘sycophant’ to describe the people not speaking or merely appreciating the established scope of discussions in the meetings, but there seems to be grave lack of leniency towards what already has been set in agenda. With the body like Planning Commission responsible for creating a liberal environment in the government to spark the debates encouraging fearless discussions without muting the capable voices.
The formulation of groups for any new strategy formulations must be very diverse compared to current groups which even though being sometimes little diverse tend to express homogeneous opinions cutting the scope for any nuanced argument to make its way forward in the echelons of the priorities of particular action. The groups normally comprise the people from government but no significant numbers of people are accommodated from academics, strong research background, professional competencies, and people coming from comparative background (other countries and other states).
Considering the vast size and demography of the country like India, strengthening the State Planning Commissions, supporting local universities and research institutions for capacity building in planning and forecasting exercises and having comprehensive discussions about the problems of each sector and each state is very crucial. More decentralized approach in generating reliable indicators and evidences about the problems being faced by that region directed to enrich the consultations will also help to build trust and collate not only disaggregated data but also perspectives and opinions in the context of weaknesses and assets of that state.
Having a professional, state of the art team of the consultant for the Planning Commission studies and tasks is very convenient way to complete the operations and functions being delegated from time to time. The outcomes of these studies and detailed analysis done by these reports of the major policy making areas may be strategically sometimes very crucial and therefore needs immunity from disclosure. However, Planning Commission should take lead in organizing seminars, conferences which promote more open and diversified deliberations on different issues involved in particular study or area of policy making. This will create more tolerant and wise atmosphere around the proceedings of the Planning Commission adding transparency as its major asset. After Indian entry into liberal globalization and in the backdrop of recent financial crisis, the circle is completed. Therefore Planning Commission needs to reinvent its vital role for the betterment of the institutional structure of the historical legacy which is not only responsible for allocating the development grants but the igniting the new development debates, rewarding the sustainable ideas and compensating for the intellectual vacuum present in the ministries and in the governance above all.
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