GOVERNANCE IN INDIA: VISION 2020

M.C. Gupta Director, IIPA, New Delhi 54 years after independence and 51 years after the establishment of the Republic there is a widely shared desire in the country to evaluate the ains made as also to assess our future! "ndoubtedly, the people of the country and the mana ers of society can be con ratulated on many counts for India#s achievements since independence which include self$sufficiency %in fact surplus eneration& in food$ rains, a stron industrial base, a risin e'pectancy of life, a hi her percenta e of literacy, a united and better inte rated India and a rowin reco nition by the world of our capabilities and potential (n the ne ative side, one could count the na in problems of unemployment, illiteracy and poverty accentuated by an ever increasin population! Also, a low per capita income, inade)uate infrastructure, feudalistic tendencies and worst of all a pathetic contempt of rule of law and ethics in public life! *inally, an administration which is perceived as self see+in and citi,en unfriendly!

All these factors impact

overnance! -he policy re imes, public

investment, and approach to overnance have contributed in a lar e measure in +eepin the country to ether, in stren thenin public administration, in reali,in social and economic oals, and in the amelioration of the conditions of the people

to an e'tent! "nfortunately, at the same time, the ma.or sections of overnance, namely the political administrators, the le islature, the .udiciary, the civil

services, and the civil society have to ta+e the blame for many of the ills of society and the unfulfilled promises that we made to ourselves in November 1/4/ when we adopted the 0onstitution! It is worthwhile to recall the Preamble to the Indian 0onstitution in its ori inal form1

234, -54 P4(P64 (* INDIA, havin solemnly resolved to constitute India into a 7(84R4I9N D4:(0RA-I0 R4P";6I0, and to secure to all its citi,ens 1 <"7-I04, social, economic and political= 6I;4R-> of thou ht, e'pression, belief, faith and worship= 4?"A6I-> of status and of opportunity= and to promote amon them all= *RA-4RNI-> assurin the di nity of the individual and the unity of the Nation1 IN ("R 0(N7-I-"4N- A774:;6> this twenty$si'th day of November, 1/4/, do 54R4;> AD(P-, 4NA0- AND 9I84 -( ("R746847 -5I7 0(N7-I-"-I(N!2

7ubse)uently, some words were added to the Preamble which hardly add to its loftiness or substance! -hese could even be i nored for our present

discourse! -he essence of our commitment to the nation stands encapsulated in the ori inal Preamble to which one reverts a ain and a ain! A common refrain, particularly when the people ta+e a critical loo+ at the state of affairs in the country, has been that the )uality of overnance needs much to be desired! -hose in the overnment, continue to feel that they are doin a fine .ob and nothin could be better! -he citi,en clearly feels otherwise! -his

mismatch in the perceptions of the people and the overnment is reflected in the credibility ap which e'ists between the citi,en and the overnment! ;y now, the eneral feelin outside the overnment is that the overnment is hu e, it lac+s direction, it is unmana eable, is wasteful and it is uncarin of the citi,en! -he overnment on its part +eeps on reassertin itself with new policy prescriptions from time to time in a bid to #win friends and influence people#! A sta e has been reached when the people ta+e with a pinch of salt whatever the 9overnment says or claims! -he total scenario is chan in very fast! In this settin , it would be interestin to as+ as to what would be the shape and contours of overnance in India twenty or twenty five years from now1 overnance in its comprehensive form encompassin the transnational and national, the state level and at the

cuttin ed e i!e! the district and below! It is appropriate and timely to put such )uestions to ourselves because the time$cloc+ is movin fast and we have already lided into the third millenium! -he process of lobali,ation also demands that we have a )uic+ loo+ into the future and assess where one hopefully would be say in

@B@B or @B@5! In the life of a Nation 5B years is not a very lon period but for an individual even 1B years ma+e a difference1 certainly @B! 7o, let us loo+ at the li+ely scenario of overnance in India in @B@B!

As we start loo+in at our future, it would be useful to ta+e into account the ma.or factors which are li+ely to impact the Indian society and the overnance in the comin decades! -hese can be enumerated below1

3e crossed the one billion mar+ last year! ;y now, we have added another @B million! :ay be, by the end of the year, we would add another few millions to our population! 0ompare this with the total population of a country li+e 7wit,erland which has no more than C million people! (ur annual addition of 15 million plus would match the total population of a country li+e Australia and many others! Risin population throws up new challen es and problems of its own! 7ome wise men say that 1 2Pelple are an asset2! >es, they are! ;ut it depends on the )uality of the asset, the characteristic and traits they have and the capacity of the society to +eep them ainfully employed! "nfortunately, it does not seem to us that such ever increasin numbers can be fully utili,ed, can be properly educated and trained, and can be really turned into an asset! -he social pressures enerated by the ever$increasin population are enormous and so also its massive burden on civic amenities and the socio$economic infrastructure!

-he latest literacy levels indicate that we still have over A5B million illiterates in India! -his number is lar er than the total population of any other country in the world e'cept 0hina! Illiteracy causes many ills and it enerates its own problems!

Poverty and unemployment are the other two critical problems which are inter$related! 4ven if we assume that the number of people below poverty line has dropped to @CD or so %as per the lastest 7ample 7urvey& or even to @5D, @5B million people or a )uarter of population is still livin below poverty line or say 5B million families are livin in ab.ect penury! "nemployment also continues to be hi h! (r more

precisely, the under$employment, low wa e employment and the poorly compensated self employment! In fact, literacy, poverty and

unemployment present an inter$related syndrome which is depressin and worrisome!

-he avera e life e'pectancy is around E5 years now and the way health care facilities are e'pandin with better income levels and access to medicare, the life e'pectancy may rise between CB and C5 by @B@B! If India#s population reaches 1!A billion by @B@B, the number of people above EB years of a e, which is normal a e for retirement, would be a few

hundred million! A hu e army of old and retired people will have its impact in social, economic and financial terms! Pension liability would increase, particularly when we do not have the culture of maintainin separate pension funds! 5ealth care administration would claim more important! 7ecurity of the elders, and their leisure utili,ation will be critical issues! -he present trend of 9!D!P! rowth of ED plus is sou ht to be raised to CD per annum or even more! 4ven with the present levels of domestic savin s, it can be raised to FD or more if the efficiency of investment improves and the incremental capital output ratio %I0(R& become more favourable! 3e must wor+ for in ideal I0(R for A11 and if that happens, even by @B@B, we will be throu h!

-he 6ast decade has witnessed a new phenomenon which in the absence of a better term could be called Gmandali,ation of politics and society#! -he basic ob.ective in conferrin special benefits to certain

sections of society was une'ceptionable, but its fallout in the shape of social tensions and hostilities between different castes has been rather disturbin ! 3hile special benefits to the socially handicapped would lead to social inclusion yet the ne ative impact of these new policy pac+a es have to be watched and carefully modulated! :ay be the Indian society

would be more fractured in @B@B unless we are careful! -he process of social churnin is oin on castin its shadow over overnance! -he last 15 years have seen a radual but sharp decline in the health of public finance at all levels, i!e! the "nion 9ovt!, the 7tates and the local bodies both urban and rural! *iscal deficit has been runnin into double di it as a percenta e of 9DP! -he 7tate is crippled by repayment liability and interest payment liability! 6ocal bodies particularly PRIs are enerally incapable of raisin ade)uate resources! (n top of it, public funds continue to be s)uandered! In 1///$@BBB alone the states incurred a net additional debt of Rs!EC,BBB crores raisin it to Rs! 4,B1,5CB crores! -he indebtedness of the 0entral 9overnment is in addition! -his mindless overspendin is nothin short of cheatin our future enerations of their le itimate resources and opportunities, because it will be their liability to repay tomorrow what we are borrowin today!

-he last few years have seen a massive e'plosion in information technolo y the world over! -he heavy duty computers have iven way to slee+ devices and the 6aptops! -he confluence of electronics and tele$ communications has opened new vistas of transmission, stora e and retrieval of information as never before! -hese are bein increasin ly used for decision$ma+in not only in the 0orporate 3orld but even in public administration! -erms li+e 4$0ommerce and 4$9overnance are the

new bu,, words! -his phenomenon will become even more critical as years roll by!

9lobali,ation is becomin a critical factor not only in trade and commerce, in financial services, in entertainment electronics, in cultural e'chan es but also in more serious areas of public administration! No country can remain insulated from the outside world! If we can#t fi ht them, we have to .oin them! -he presence of lobali,ation is bein felt in India as never before! 3ith the passa e of time it will only increase!

All the aforementioned factors are impactin the Indian society, posin rave challen es but offerin new opportunities to those who are

associated with the overnance of the country! In the matter of interface with the citi,en there is an enhanced accent on transparency and ri ht to information! It is in this conte't that one has to analyse India#s overnance in the present tense and the future of the overnance in our country in the year @B@B! (f course, it is not possible to #predict# the future because unanticipated developments do ta+e place both in technolo y and human affairs! A former Prime :inister of <apan once said1 26ife is li+e a ru by ball1 >ou do not +now which way it will bounce2! It is difficult to state with total assurance as to what would be the picture li+e in @B@B but one can certainly envision the li+ely scenario two decades from now!

India shall continue to be a union of 7tates as envisa ed in Article 1 of the 0onstitution! 5owever, as the present trends su est, our )uasi$

federal structure is very li+ely to become more and more federal in character implyin that the 7tates and the constituent units of the "nion may ac)uire reater muscles! -he demand for autonomy may not be acceded to in the way it is understood! ;ut of the three concepts $$ #autonomy#, #devolution# and #decentrali,ation# $$ the latter two will become more pronounced! (ne ma.or achievement of the last *ifty years is a better inte ration of the constituent units of India and this process of inte ration is li+ely to become even more effective! 3ith reater maturity in the political overnance of the country, with a more ima inative

administration, with a more astute .udiciary and with an effective civil society, the basic structure should remain un$affected! N!9!(!s will have a reater role in self$ overnance! It is another matter that the number of states of the Indian "nion may increase! As a ainst @F 7tates as of now e'cludin Delhi, we may have A5 to 4B 7tates by @B@B, than+s to the process of brea+in down of lar er 7tates! -his may happen irrespective of lac+ of economic viability since the political aspirations of the people and the social pressures would lead to the formation of new 7tates! Also, the number of districts which presently is close to EBB is bound to increase! Rou hly, the same factors as lead to the creation of new states will stren then the demand for the

creation of new districts and even lower administrative formations! -hat bein so, one may not be surprised to find the total number of districts in the country touchin a fi ure of FBB by @B@B! If one oes by the

population criteria, even FBB districts for a total population between 1!A and 1!4 billion would mean an avera e population per district of over 1!E million which would still be si,able! 7econdly, with smaller states and smaller districts the

administration is bound to be better networ+ed!

Identity cards,

information technolo y hoo+$up, a nation wide computeri,ed drivin license stora e system and similar other devices and facilities would certainly lead to a much better networ+in hori,ontally and vertically! At the ape' national level, amon the departments and the win s of

overnment and the units of civil society= similarly at the state level and at the district level, and vertically as between the central overnment, the states and the district level includin Panchayati Ra. Institutions and urban local bodies, there would be much reater and )uic+er e'chan e of ideas and information! Ima inatively handled, it should lead to reater

efficiency in administration! -hirdly, the si,e of overnment and the fre)uency and intensity of its intervention in the life of the citi,en shall drastically reduce with a reater assertion of the civil society and with reater decentrali,ation and devolution! 9overnment should be leaner and smaller! Presently, 1/ to @B

1B

million people are employed in the

overnment %includin

P7"s,

autonomous ;oards etc!&1 at the national level, at the state level and at the local level! -his comprises almost @D of India#s population! *or the reason of reater efficiency and because of the pressures of financial limitations, the number of employees should shrin+ both in nominal terms and certainly as a percenta e of India#s population! I do not envisa e overnment havin a stren th of more than 15 million by @B@B or so and certainly not more than 1!5D of India#s population! It should happen throu h divestment of public sector enterprises, throu h decelerated recruitment in overnment and by transferrin many of the 7tate

responsibilities to the civil society! -he impact of such reduction will be phenomenal1 overnment will be leaner and more streamlined, public

e'penditure as a percenta e of 9DP will decline and decision ma+in will become )uic+er! -his brin s me to the ne't issue namely the assertion of the civil society! -he last couple of years have witnessed a risin in demand for stren thenin of the civil society! -his emphasis emanates from a number of factors and is lobal in its e'pression! -he main factors in support of civil society include the failure of the overnment to deliver efficiently, ade)uately and in time, the radual stren thenin of the components of civil society, easy access to information, and near impossibility of the 7tate to sustain its activities in all spheres! -he policy functions of the

11

7tate shall remain with it but in a lar e number of areas particularly education, health, transport and communications, human resource development, etc!, the operational aspect will pass on to the civil society! In fact, one can visuali,e a reater interface between the civil society and the overnment in the years to come! -he citi,en shall and should

influence decision ma+in because therein lies the essence of democracy! Another corollary of the down$si,in of the overnment will be the

simultaneous decentrali,ation of authority and devolution of powers and the removal of the present ambivalence of the 7tate 9overnments in empowerin the urban local bodies and the Panchayati Ra. Institutions! -he constitutional amendments in this behalf were made many years a o! After the adoption of the CArd and C4th amendments to the 0onstitution the 7tates have enacted follow up le islations for the settin up and

functionin of the Panchayati Ra. Institutions and the urban local bodies, the settin up of the 7tate *inance 0ommissions and of the District

Plannin 0ommittees! Althou h almost a decade has passed since this 7tate sponsored movement be an, it has not athered full momentum and is .ust limpin alon , so to say! -he 7tate overnments enerally have been half$hearted in rantin financial and functional powers to these local bodies which is rather unfortunate! -he 4leventh and the -welfth

7chedules of the 0onstitution contain @/ and 1F items respectively for the Panchayati Ra. Institutions and the "rban 6ocal ;odies but in the absence

1@

of the le islative powers, financial powers and e'ecutive powers not much has really happened! -he issue is receivin attention of the 0onstitution Review 0ommission and hopefully some effective recipes would be recommended! (ne thin , however, loo+s very li+ely and that is that well before @B@B, say by @B1B or so, the Panchayati Ra. Institutions and the "rban 6ocal ;odies would have been vested with ade)uate powers and responsibilities to dischar e their functions effectively in the areas entrusted to them li+e civic amenities, health, education, and local area development! 7imultaneously, with the empowerment of the "rban 6ocal ;odies and the Panchayati Ra. Institutions and the stren thenin of the civil society, the empowerment in the people would be a ma.or factor in the overnance of the country! -he move for transparent administration, accountability and citi,ens# charters are steps in this direction! All win s of overnance namely the political masters, the .udiciary, the permanent civil service and the le islatures will have to respect the ri ht of the citi,en to mana e his affairs! And this will be possible only throu h people#s empowerment! Reluctantly but surely, people#s empowerment would

come and will be one of the assets for self$ overnance by @B@B! 8iewed in this conte't, I do foresee that the civil services shall still be there1 in the present form or in a modified form is the )uestion! -he ma.or responsibilities of the civil services are not li+ely to chan e much in the ne't few decades! 5owever, what is bound to chan e, and that is

1A

already happenin , is their internal composition, the ob.ectives set for them, their orientation and their interface with the civil society! -he accent on their s+ill formation and s+ill up radation will become even sharper! As re ards the recruitment to the services, the initial trainin and the pre$re)uisites for entry into service are bein loo+ed at very closely by a hi h$powered 0ommittee set up by "P70! 3hether the IA7 itself retains its pre$eminence, could be debated but there will have to be a fast trac+ service which ma+es its impact on the overnance of the country! 5owever, the relationship between the civil servants and the political masters, be at the local level, be at the state level, or be at the national level, needs a very careful reloo+! -here has been a su estion that as in

the case of members of the <udicial 7ervices the views of the civil servants should also be publicly +nown and should pro.ect beyond the views of the political master! It would, at the first si ht, appear to be a ma.or departure from the present practice but if we are loo+in for a stron , fearless, efficient and dedicated civil service, some such concept will have to be evolved! -hat will ensure better accountability and transparency! -o ensure that public servants behave as public servants, and this includes all of them namely the political administrators, the civil servants, members of .udiciary and the elected representatives of the people, they will have to be sub.ected to full accountability not only for misfeasance but also for nonfeasance! And this will have to be ensured strictly, even

14

ruthlessly! 7ome of the pillars of democracy lac+ accountability while they see+ accountability of others! -his will have to be rationali,ed! I have no doubt in my mind that the ne't @B years will witness the stren thenin of the process of accountability not only of the different win s of overnance but even the Press and the :edia, the 0ontroller and Auditor 9eneral, members of the .udiciary and the components of civil society! In most of these cases the concept of accountability will have to be informali,ed! -he ne't @B years shall witness an era of smoothenin rationali,ation of ta' administration which would and

et more citi,en$

friendly! -he oppressive approaches of ta'ation which we inherited from the colonial masters 54 years a o is slowly chan in in character! 7ome initiatives have been ta+en by the Income$ta' department and the 7tates 7ales$ta' departments! -his process shall continue! In re ard to the indirect ta'es, a comprehensive 8A- system should be in place by @B1B, if not earlier, which should subsume the central e'cise duty, 7ales$ta' and octroi etc! 7ome ma.or constitutional, le al and administrative issues will have to be sorted out before introducin a comprehensive 8!A!-!! *or e'ample, which a ency would collect the ta', whether there would be a ta' sharin between the 7tates and the "nion and who will have the authority to rant e'emptions, if any! Perhaps, it could be a better idea if the central e'cise duties are transferred to the states for their collection and

15

appropriation! 3hile that could ta+e time, in the interre num we could ensure a countrywide uniform sales$ta' system startin 1st April, @BB@ with @ or A slabs of ta'es and only a few items en.oyin e'emptions! A 0ommission could be set up by 9overnment to ensure a smooth transition to a comprehensive 8!A!-! 3hile tal+in of ta'es and public finance mana ement, one is apt to thin+ in the direction of the present dispensation which admits of both the Plannin 0ommission and the *inance 0ommission! 3ith the passa e of time, the Plannin 0ommission itself has lost much of its relevance and there is hardly need for two separate institutions decidin on the vertical flow of resources to the 7tates and down below! 6oo+in at @B@B, one would say that by then there should be an inte rated body which could underta+e some basic plannin functions and provide the formulae for devolution of funds to states! -he compartmentali,ation between GPlan# and GNon Plan# should also because less ri id! I do envisa e that by @B@B the tendency which has been noticed in the last 1B$15 years of doles bein offered by the Prime :inister and other senior functionaries in overnment would have abated! As a conse)uence of the I!-! revolution and other support systems, runnin overnment offices in the traditional manner would under o a

chan e! :ay be, the employees will have to observe certain core hours, say from 1B!BB a!m! to 4!BB p!m! and in addition they could either come

1E

early in the mornin

or stay on in office in the evenin

ma+in

an

a re ate of at least F hours a day! Present day meetin s would also under o a chan e! -ele$conferencin and video$conferencin at all levels should be possible! It would not only save lot of time and money but would also lead to )uic+er decision ma+in ! As an e'tension of the earlier mentioned aspect, it would be necessary to drastically cut down the holidays in overnment! Apart from 7aturdays and 7undays as holidays, there would be .ustification for hardly E or C more holidays in the year which would include A National holidays! -he rest could be put on the list of #Restricted 5olidays# of which every employee could ta+e A or 4 in the year! -here should be no eneral holiday for any reli ious or denominational event! -he different types of leaves obtainin today is a relic of the past! A comprehensive leave system, say AB days in a year would be in place! (f course, in addition, the periods of hospitali,ation because of illness or accident etc! and in the case of women employees for their confinement and delivery would be admissible! 3e must move towards a modern system of overnance! -he public sector, as we +now it now, will under o a radical chan e in the ne't two decades! Not only most of the commercial

underta+in s of the overnment at the national and state level +nown as Public 7ector "nderta+in s would have been disinvested but even the

1C

functions presently dischar ed by some public authorities could be passed on to the private sector! -he process of disinvestment is already on! -he economic, political and social compulsions would lead to a leaner and more mana eable public sector which should not re)uire bud etary support! :any of the services presently rendered by the public service a encies would et transferred to private initiatives! -here are already serious moves to privati,e power and water supply! -ransport and health services are also in for a ma.or chan e! 4ducation increasin ly should pass on to private hands! (nly the core functions should remain with the 9overnment and the Public 7ector! -here is a critical need to rationali,e the public services at the rass root level Particularly at the villa e level, the conver ence of services is called for! -he present arran ement by which different

departments of the 7tate overnments e! ! Development and Panchayats, 7ocial 3elfare, Revenue, A riculture, etc! have their separate officials at the villa e level is an anachronism and a waste of resources! (ne sin le functionary representin the overnment and facilitatin the life of the people in the villa e would be a much better substitute! In fact, this should happen well before @B@B!

(ne ma.or aspect on which so much will depend, as far as the country#s overnance is concerned, relates to the political ad.ustments for

1F

runnin

the political

overnment!

-he last two decades have seen a

radual wea+enin of the 0on ress Party and the emer ence of the ;!<!P! and some of the re ional parties! -his has led to many variations of coalition politics! Political behaviour apart, the impact of coalition

overnance needs a closer study! 5istory reminds us that a stron 0entral 9overnment which has its impact felt in different parts of the country has performed better than the wea+ re imes in Delhi! In the conte't of

decentrali,ation and devolution of powers, emer ence of the civil society and people#s empowerment, one does not loo+ for an autocratic central overnment! At the same time, a national overnment which is at the mercy of constituent units of a democratic alliance sub.ect to the whims of re ional party leaders does not enhance the country#s ima e nor does it provide affective overnance! People also perceive the ne ative

implications of a wea+ coalition! -hat bein so, it is not unli+ely that well before @B@B there is a ma.or political churnin resultin in the emer ence of a couple of stron political parties one or the other of whom will command a ma.ority in the 6o+ 7abha! New political relationships are li+ely to emer e!

Apart from the above, reater homo eneity and cohesiveness in the mechanism of overnance is called for and will have to be ensured well before @B@B! -he political e'ecutive, the civil services, the le islature and

1/

the .udiciary do not, as of now, seem to convey an impression of homo eneity mutual understandin and mutual support! (f course, on occasions, there are alle ations of some nefarious collusions! (therwise, there is an air of confrontation and adversarial relationship! -endencies which dama e the harmony amon the ma.or players will have to be .ettisoned! 5opefully, by @B@B, in fact well before that, a smoother and more cohesive pattern of overnance should emer e!

As part of the process of de$bureaucrati,ation and de$concentration of authority, the process of entrustin decision ma+in responsibility of 9overnment to Re ulatory 0ommissions is in evidence! It is )uite li+ely that such 0ommissions shall be set up in many more areas of overnance! *or the recruitment of civil servants we already have the Public 7ervice 0ommissions! In addition, we now have the Insurance Re ulatory Authority, the -elecom Re ulatory Authority and the Power Re ulatory Authorities at the 0entre and in the 7tates! It is )uite li+ely that by @B@B the process of decision ma+in and enforcement of such decisions in many more sectors will be in the hands of Re ulatory 0ommissions over which the overnment will have little control! 3hether this would be for the better or it will have adverse implications for overnance will depend on how these 0ommissions function and are allowed to behave!

@B

As far as the functionin of the civil services is concerned, I do envisa e that by @B@B they will ac)uire a sharper ed e in their delivery! -his would be made possible throu h ac)uisition of better s+ills, reater professionalism, better networ+in and reater opportunity for

performance! -he concept of lobal overnance is bound to become a reality in the ne't @B years if not earlier and the overnance of the country will be reatly influenced by lobal phenomena! Not that India would lose its soverei nty or that our laws will become inoperative in the land! Nonetheless, the lobal order would dilute the effect of some of the

national policy pac+a es and certain laws and procedures! 9lobal policin will be a stron er possibility as one does not see an end to trans$border terrorism and other trans$border e'chan es! 5owever, the police

administration itself would re)uire a ma.or transformation to be able to meet the challen es of policin and maintenance of law and order!

As far as the structure of overnment is concerned, one does not envisa e any ma.or chan e! -he basic structure of the 0onstitution and the basic features of the 0onstitution, vertically and hori,ontally, shall remain intact! (f course, the civil society will have a reater share in the mana ement of the affairs of the society! -he mar+et thou h, will not be able to overwhelm the state! Nor it should! In fact, there are already voices heard for the rollbac+ of the mar+et! In other words, the state, the

@1

mar+et and the civil society shall co$e'ist in a more cohesive manner in @B@B! -he national and lobal forces also will have to find an acceptable wave len th for co$e'istence!

3hile one does perceive many bri ht features in the scenario of overnance in India in @B@B, some of the ma.or problems that confront 9overnment today may still, unfortunately, persist! (ne is the cancer of corruption which has severely debilitated the system! It can be tac+led but only if we ta+e decisive measures for eradicatin corruption, includin transparency and accountability! -he other problems are unemployment, poverty and illiteracy superimposed by a risin population! It would be possible to tac+le them if we have a clear policy on family plannin and family welfare! -he ains of socio$economic development would occur in a substantial measure when numbers are contained! -here is encoura in news from some parts of India but a national consensus, a national will and a national effort is needed!

-he other problems which will become even more rave are those relatin to availability of power and drin+in water! Already these are in short supply! Indiscriminate use, non$economic tariffs and wasta e are compoundin the problem! If the present trend continues, while mil+ and li)uor may be available in plenty, drin+in water would run in short

@@

supply! -ransport could cause a ma.or ha,ard, particularly road transport! Air traffic and rail transport may be better or ani,ed! communications will be one of the bri hter futures! -ele$

-he Public

Administration in the country will still be bedeviled by some na in problems and lots of pulls and counter pulls will be e'erted on it! It would, however, be better e)uipped to meet the challen es of overnance than it is today!

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@A