Mathur Ritika Passi

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is little option except to pursue a common agenda for optimising outcomes. India is also at the cusp of emerging as a leading economic power. Projected growth rates in the Indian economy over the medium term are higher than the seven economies of US, China, Japan, Germany, France, UK and Italy, which are bigger than India in terms of current Gross National Income. By 2030 India could be the third largest economy after the US and China. It will most certainly be the most populous country by then. This is why India matters in the global economy and polity. There are two imperatives that will drive India to do more than be just an active participant in the metrics of the SDGs over the next 15 years. Define World Development Practice for the 21st Century The SDGs are a complex set of goals, with conflicting objectives, which need to be balanced. The need for rapid economic growth to end poverty and the conflicting objective of reducing inequality are examples. But the contradictions they present are not the outcome of poor or fanciful drafting. They represent developmental challenges which have defied resolution. Inequality, accretions of wealth and income at the very top seem to be the natural outcome of the most effective market-driven model of growth we know today. India should embrace such challenges. The developmental path that we adopt can provide valuable lessons, not least in Africa, which is expected to be the growth leader post 2050. By then India would have peaked, just as China is peaking today. Resolve Domestic Institutional Gaps Despite India’s robust institutional framework, an experienced and relatively effective bureaucracy, and our embedded commitment and preference for a democratic polity, we suffer from significant gaps in our institutional architecture. These gaps include: (a) Institutional resistance to work in teams across silos resulting in functional INDIA SHOULD EMBRACE THE DEVELOPMENTAL CHALLENGES THAT HAVE THUS FAR DEFIED RESOLUTION: THE DEVELOPMENT PATH THAT WE ADOPT CAN PROVIDE VALUABLE LESSONS TO AFRICA FOR INSTANCE—AFRICA WILL BE A GROWTH LEADER POST 2050, BY WHICH TIME INDIA WILL HAVE PEAKED. duplication, territoriality and a preference for hierarchical structures over efficiency. This is an outcome of “soft” budget constraints, which permit inefficiencies to persist; centralisation of powers, which stifles initiative; and low levels of accountability, which provide no incentives to pursue tough reform measures. (b) Over reliance on legislating a solution rather than solving problems upfront. The low productivity of government employment is a good example. Low access to good quality electricity supply despite two legislative attempts in 1998 and again in 2003 is another. (c) Less than adequate innovation and misdirected research and development. This reflects in our failure to indigenise international quality products and partner in global supply chains. The SDGs are an opportunity to tackle these institutional gaps head on through the following measures. Use the NITI Aayog Productively The responsibility of monitoring the SDGs is likely to be vested in the newly formed NITI Aayog—the successor of the erstwhile Planning Commission—which has been seeking a definitive mandate. This would be sub-optimal. The NITI Aayog was formed as a high-powered think tank providing targeted expert advice to the Union and state governments. Monitoring the SDGs is a clunky task, which requires systems, qualified professionals and a great deal of coordination within the ministries of the Union government, for which the Aayog is an unsuitable institution. This task would best remain with the Ministry of Statistics, which already monitors the MDGs. 80
Where the Aayog could add value is to be an Independent Evaluator of the performance of the Union and state governments versus the SDGs, and to suggest policy and process change, including on the technology used for monitoring the indicators and the manner in which resources are allocated and used for achieving the goals. Leverage the strength of Non-State Actors India has 70,000 non-state actors, which have volunteered to partner with the Union government in various developmental projects. But the extent to which decisionmaking and consultation in government is functionally participative needs to be assessed better, so that partnership becomes more than a “ticking the box” activity. domestic, public institutional architecture and processes for effective delivery of complex goals whilst simultaneously charting a new path on which other developing countries could innovate local solutions. We have the human and fiscal resources and the leadership skills. What we need is to adopt the PAMS approach— Prioritise efforts, Allocate resources strategically, Motivate employees and make Systemic changes. Someone needs to walk through this wide open entry point to convert today’s “aspirational” goals into real achievements by 2030. Benefit from ‘Digital India’ The Digital India initiative is an effective entry point to enhance access to information, evoke broad participation, ensure transparency and increase accountability. The power of digitally connected social media was illustrated by the one million comments received by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on its April 2015 consultation paper on net neutrality. The depth of the response is reported to have clogged up the agency’s work for weeks. It is unfortunate, in this context, that the digital medium has not yet been universally incorporated into the functioning of the Union government. Reliance on hard copy as the medium of communication and decision-making continues. In developed economies it is the use of technology by government that enables adaptation to suit local conditions, and provides the scale for generating the revenues required by the private sector to provide services and products at competitive prices. In India the wider public sector has lagged, rather than led, this process. India is well placed to implement the SDGs. We have the economic and demographic scale and the historical momentum to our benefit. How productive this process proves for the world and for India will depend significantly on the government’s perception of its role and responsibilities in this multilateral effort. We can use this opportunity to reform our 81
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GP-ORF Series Edited by Vikrom Math
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GLOBAL GOALS, NATIONAL ACTIONS Maki
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( EIGHT Providing Water and Sanitat
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ONE Sustainable Development: Emerge
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esearch and activist organisations
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Financing the SDGs: The Global Conv
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An international framework notwiths
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implementation that could be explor
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with the perpetuation of poverty an
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There is likely to be a lack of com
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INDICATOR BASE YEAR (1990) LATEST S
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Despite schemes like MGNREGA focusi
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have significantly high PHCRs. In f
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However, the MDGs failed to address
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37056-013: Chhattisgarh Irrigation
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Page 37 and 38: SIX Quality of Education for All: C
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Page 43 and 44: SEVEN From MDGs to SDGs: Mainstream
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Page 47 and 48: national priorities. However, it mu
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Page 51 and 52: sanitation. Regarding the former, t
Page 53 and 54: for expanding international coopera
Page 55 and 56: In India, a variety of policy measu
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Page 59 and 60: ance prerogatives to increase clean
Page 61 and 62: Figure 1: India’s Annual GDP Grow
Page 63 and 64: forces people to take up employment
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Page 67 and 68: was that it did not take into accou
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Page 71 and 72: A funding gap of over $400 billion
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Page 77 and 78: FUNDING SHORTAGES, INEFFECTIVE IMPL
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Page 85 and 86: This is followed by a ‘norm casca
Page 87 and 88: 17. “India’s Homemade Food Cris
Page 89 and 90: 6. “Women in National Parliaments
Page 91 and 92: working-papers/WP126.pdf. 7. Ming Y
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Page 96: The world has formally adopted the
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Mathur Ritika Passi

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