Commission an ERG (Workgroup)

  • Atul Sobti
  • India
  • Sep 05, 2014

It’s no secret that a ‘field’ person (say in corporate life or the armed forces) often thinks little of ‘staff’ people – and their role. Why should it be any different in politics or the governance of a State/Nation? The field commander of Gujarat has probably already had more than his fill of central babudom and has decided to strike at the national apex of the staff function – the Planning Commission. He has reportedly called the alternative the National Development Reforms Commission (surprising that he has retained the last word – though he usually has it anyway).


Someone will have to bell the cat. Planning (long and medium range) – more aptly, envisioning - is critical for a country, and especially one so vast and diverse as India. It may be a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) or a Scenario, but dedicatedly plan we must. And the people doing so would invariably be ‘staffers’. They provide a diversity of opinion and ideas (maybe due to reading more), which is so critical in helping chart an innovative way forward. This group of people should not be bound by any metric or 'logic', and must be composed of the most diverse of specialities and personalities.  They must be charged with only envisioning a fairly distant future - thinking of 10 and 25 years ahead. They need to as independent a body as possible – and definitely not HMVs (His Modi’s Voices). This is all the more important and relevant in the current context, as the Cabinet does lack ‘relevant experience’. Members of this Envisioning Group, about 20, should be from among academia, scientists, the Cabinet, Parliament, legislatures, judiciary, press, industry, armed forces, NGOs, artistes, doctors, doctorates and civil society. They should maybe meet 6 times a year, across different destinations in the country, and refresh the 10 and 25 year plans about every 3 years. Their outcomes should be about Scenarios & Sensitivities, Visions & Goals – to help the PM and key members of his/her Cabinet take some critical decisions as and when felt right.


To complement this broad and deep envisioning, for the more ‘mundane’ 1, 3 and 5 year ‘plans’ the PM can and should have his fill of ‘reformists’, or field-sensitive personnel, helping him track and ensure delivery of his Namo-nama, including National Priorities(see Box). The monitoring of a majority of the plans, projects and schemes should be delegated to the respective ministries, with this Reform Group only coming in where they see deficient performance (say, when a Ministry reviews with the PM – preferably quarterly) or there are inter-Ministry disputes. This Group should have the expertise to help a Ministry evaluate any of its programs or initiatives, or suggest reforms to existing ones.  ‘Standard’ Task Forces and Committees (always doing or reviewing ‘something’) need to be disbanded. This Group does not need to spend most of its time on ‘managing’ national resources (material, capital and human) or distributing Central resources to States ‘equitably’ - some ‘key’ functions of the current Planning Commission. The first should be the domain of the individual ministries, and the second is best undertaken by the ‘neutral’ Finance Ministry. 


So, Modiji, let’s set up of an Envision & Reform Group (ERG) in place of the Planning Commission. Thodi aapki baat…thodi hamari. Aap bhi lambe race ke ghode hona chahenge na?


Namo-nama

  • Ek Bharat – Shreshtha Bharat 
  • Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas 
  • Minimum Government, Maximum Governance
  • Poverty elimination…not just poverty alleviation
  • Youth Development to Youth-led Development
  • Beti Bachao – Beti Padhao
  • Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana 
  • Swachh Bharat Mission 
  • Har khet ko paani 
  • Jal Sanchay, Jal Sinchan
  • Per drop - more crop
  • Har haath ko hunar
  • Skilled India
  • Digital India
  • Skill, Scale and Speed
  • 5Ts – Tradition, Talent, Tourism, Trade, Technology
  • 3Ds – Democracy, Demography, Demand
  • India’s ‘softpower’ potential – Spiritual, Cultural and Philosophical heritage


National Priorities

  • National Education Policy
  • National Multi-skill Mission
  • National Sports Talent Search System
  • Swachh Bharat Mission
  • National Health Assurance Mission
  • National Energy Policy
  • National Land Use Policy
  • National e-governance plan
  • National e-Bhasha Mission
  • National Mission on Himalayas
  • National Mission on Pilgrimage Tourism
  • National Madarsa Modernisation Programme
  • PM Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
  • Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana
  • National Maritime Authority
  • National War Memorial

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