Facebook Pixel Code

Off Target

Even though former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian makes a few good points for improving governance, his new book fails to keep the promises made in its preface

The VidyaGyan School system, established by the Shiv Nadar Foundation, has pioneered a new method of discovering talent in rural areas and providing opportunities for it to blossom. The programme is underway only in Uttar Pradesh. Ten students are selected from each district every year, to be taught in two residential schools from class VI to class XII. The boys and girls are given free boarding, lodging and quality education…?

Given the state of education in the country, there is no doubt that experiments like this can radically change the scenario. Former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian, who is also associated with this programme, has explained the need of such initiatives in an interesting manner in his second book, India at Turning Point: The Road to Good Governance. The author, who has put 37 years in government service and retired as cabinet secretary a decade-and-a-half ago, has begun the chapter on how education sector can be revamped, with this relevant quote of Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie: ?Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, you feed him for life?.

That the education system has only deteriorated over the past few years is no secret, and the Actual Status of Education Report (ASER) has brought out how teaching quality is below par in the schools. Subramanian says Nadar?s Shiksha programme is the way to go.

And then, it is the skill development which will be the key to taking care of the rising youth population?s employment and skilling requirements. Not that these points are new, but at a time when government schemes have failed to deliver results in this area and a fresh election is due, those looking for a change can surely take note of his suggestion.

But if you leave out the portions of the book where Subramanian writes on education, the rest of it is, more or less, an effort to portray how everything has gone wrong in the country since independence, and especially during the last decade or so. The only exception, according to him, has been the years when he was cabinet secretary, and HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral were the prime ministers. Whether it is Right to Information, the Lok Pal Bill, Delhi Metro, New Exploration and Licensing Policy in petroleum, or even Women?s Reservation Bill, the credit goes to them.

?In retrospect, the key to the ?achievements? of the United Front coalition governments of 1996-98 rested on their having agreed on a Common Minimum Programme, constructive meetings every week among the political parties under the chairmanship of Harkishan Singh Surjeet and very positive and dynamic leadership provided by Deve Gowda initially, followed by Gujral. There was clear recognition that political support and clearing policies was with the coalition partners and thereafter, all implementation was totally left to the senior bureaucracy to supervise, and follow through on the decisions. Thus, there was clear division of labour between the coalition parties, the ministers and the senior bureaucracy,? he writes.

Subramanian says despite so many achievements, there has not been a single major case of favouritism or crony capitalism during this period.

The claim, no doubt, would appeal in the current context replete with corruption charges against politicians and bureaucrats.

Had the book focused only on the critical issues, and as a seasoned bureaucrat, how Subramanian would like the changes required to take place in different areas, it would have made a better read. Indeed, the book fails to keep the promises made in the preface about providing workable solutions. In the initial chapters, the author has mainly talked about how there has been a complete lack of understanding of the ground realities in the government, and how the three economists?Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and the PM?s economic advisory council chairman, C Rangarajan?have miserably failed to handle the economy. The way senior bureaucrats in the country danced to the tune of the government has also been ridiculed in the book, especially the Baba Ramdev episode.

Subramanian has tried to capture the general mood in the country?clearly manifested in the rise of first, the Anna Hazare movement and then, Aam Aadmi Party?over handling of issues in the UPA regime which snowballed to meet swelling public outrage.

That infrastructure is poor in the country and there is shortage of good roads, power, and other amenities are issues that were there even when the author was a part of the government and their handling is as good or as bad as it was then. Subramanian has also talked about misuse of government funds and of institutions like the CBI by those in power, based on his personal experience.

Then, he casually sweeps through topics from classical arts to cricket, throwing in his carefree school and college days somewhere in between, and ends with a call for reforms.

The book would have served its purpose better if he would have focused on his own argument on the last page??Governance is 5 per cent policy and 95 per cent implementation?.

On the whole, the book adds to the understanding of how the government machinery functions?Subramanian has mixed personal experiences with facts to do that.

Get live Share Market updates, Stock Market Quotes, and the latest India News and business news on Financial Express. Download the Financial Express App for the latest finance news.

First published on: 02-03-2014 at 02:57 IST
Market Data
Market Data
Today’s Most Popular Stories ×