BIMAL  JALAN

India Ahead 2025 and Beyond by Dr.Bimal Jalan; Published by Rupa ; Pages 161 ; Price Rs 495/-

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                 Dr.Bimal Jalan was a highly respected member of Parliament from 2003—2009, Chairman of the Expenditure Management Commission. He was India’s representative on the Boards of the I M F and the I B R D. He is one of the distinguished Governors of RBI and he was the Consulting Editor of the Fourth Volume of RBI History.

 Dr.Jalan has several books to his credit—the latest two books being : “India’s Priorities for the Future” and “Politics Trumps Economics”—(Both reviewed by me).

The book under review is aimed at promoting India’s interest in the long run—irrespective of whichever political party holds power. The book is a testament of a hard core nationalist committed to putting his country on a high pedestal in the comity of nations.

There are very few developing countries that are as well-placed as India to take advantage of the fundamental changes that have taken place in production techniques, international trade, capital movement and employment of skilled manpower to realise the full potential. India should take decisive steps towards deeper reforms and reduce the pervasive and procedural political and administrative hindrances.

The book deals with priorities that result in high growth combined with alleviation of poverty. There is an imperative need to generate sufficient political will to pursue appropriate policies and jettison the dead weight of the past.

The inaugural chapter “Definitive Agenda for Political Reforms” emphasises the priorities to ensure that the present system becomes more accountable and results in enhancing the working of the different agencies, especially the Parliament and the Government to ensure expeditious implementation of public policies.

The National Commission to review the Working of the Constitution ( 2002) had stressed the mounting concern in the Media and the Public about the decline of Parliament’s standards of debates, erosion of the moral authority and prestige of the supreme tribute of the people. Dr.Jalan asserts boldly, “Since then, there is very little doubt that the functioning of the Parliament, if anything, has worsened and disputes between the leading party and coalition parties have increased substantially”.

Dr.Jalan devotes one chapter to the working of the Parliament. He highlights the developments that took place in the Parliament on five days—18 to 23 March—during the Budget session of 2006. These reflected the diminishing role of the Parliament in the conduct of the Nation’s affairs and the power of the Government to do what it wishes to do, irrespective of the actual outcomes of the Group. He makes a stirring call for making necessary constitutional amendments to confer adequate powers to the Chairs of the two Houses to control the unruly behaviour of the Opposition parties or Members. The Learned Banker  wants the Anti—Defection Law to be made applicable to the small parties and not just individual members.

We have a trenchant discussion on “Criminals in Politics”. According to a Survey of recent elections—as observed by Dr.Jalan “ Nearly 20 per cent of the candidates of  the Lok Sabha had criminal antecedents. In the present Lok Sabha, which as 543 seats in all, over a hundred members, elected  in 2014,had criminal cases pending against them.” According to him,there is a need to reduce the incentives for convicted criminals on bail, such as contesting elections.

 The chapter on “Corruption Multiplier" is an acute analysis of the consequences of high corruption on India’s economy and what steps can be taken to combat it. What is required is Transparency in the decision making process and full disclosure of decisions actually taken by different ministers to implement policies, especially those with financial implications.

Dr.Jalan writes eloquently on the need for “ Enhancing the Quality of Life” and lays emphasis on three crucial parameters. These are “Nutrition” ; Life Expectancy” ;and “Literacy”. These parameters are used to measure the ranks of different countries on the H D I. There is a crying need to widen the reach of the PDS among the poor and make it more cost-effective and equitable . In the field of literacy, priority ought to be given to substantially increase financial support by the Centre for elementary education rather than higher education in colleges and universities. For effective decentralisation of public service, Government must provide adequate financial authority to local bodies to implement social programmes assigned to them.

The Asian Financial Crisis ( 1997—99) held out important lessons to all of us. The chapter on  “ New Paradigm for the Financial Sector “ deals with issues relating to the substantial growth in the depth and widening of the financial sector and the policy framework for the future.

Dr .Jalan has something  important  to say on the vexed problem of  “ NPAs”. To quote him--  “A vigorous effort has to be made by all banks to strengthen their internal control and risk management system and to set up early—warning signals for timely detection and action. Henceforth, the resolution of the NPAs problem also requires greater accountability on the part of the corporates, timely disclosures in the case of defaulters and an efficient credit information system with the help of stricter accounting and prudential standards, the problem of NPAs could be effectively contained in the future”.

Dr.Jalan analyses the role of Government and administrative reforms. Recasting the role of the Government in the economy and introducing some important administrative reforms in the coming years would ensure substantial opportunity for India to achieve in the first quarter of the 21^st century what could not be achieved in the previous fifty or hundred years.

The chapter “ The Twenty-First Century is India’s Century” and the Epilogue “The India of Our Dreams” emphasise some significant issues  that have to be tackled for us to realise the Nation’s full potential and rightful place in the global economy and in the comity of nations.

On an optimistic note Dr.Jalan concludes, “In future, by 2025, if there is sufficient will and cooperation  among different branches of the Government—i.e  Legislature, Judiciary, Executive. It should be potentially less difficult to find solution to the problem faced by the country. Like never before, India’s destiny is now truly in the hands of its people, With the determination to realise the country’s vast potential, India’s economy can become one of the strongest in the world in the not too distant future, Widespread poverty, illiteracy and disease would then largely disappear and democracy would have given the people their just rewards.”.

P.P.Ramachandran.

14/10/2018.