To realise ‘New India’ vision, States too must pitch in: PM

To realise ‘New India’ vision, States too must pitch in: PM: Modi makes a case for shifting the financial year to January-December...

Modi’s vision of ‘New India’

Prime Minister Modi has taken forward his commitment to rebuild the Planning Commission given from the ramparts of Red Fort in his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2014 with all sincerity. There has been visible effort from GOI side to professionalize governance at various levels and across  institutional structures. The inadequacies being felt emanate more from the stagnant status of reforms for decades.
In the Sunday (April 23) meeting of NITI Aayog, in addition to the development agenda with long term perspective, keeping a 15 year timespan, issues like change in financial year from April-March to January-December and simultaneous elections to Parliament and state assemblies were mooted. It is comforting to see that serious discussions over issues on which difference in perceptions across states and political denominations are inevitable are happening at NITI Aayog in a cordial atmosphere. Perhaps one significant takeaway for representatives of Parliament and state legislatures who attended the meeting could be the manner in which deliberations can take place in an orderly manner, back home also, if there is a will.
The dissents expressed by two CMs by deputing representatives and the criticism of NITI Aayog by Kerala CM in particular are pointers to more efforts needed to make Modi’s dream of ‘cooperative federalism’ in governance to come true. Hopefully, coming days will see NITI Aayog revisiting ‘concurrent subjects’, considering legislative reforms in administration of justice to fast track reforms in other sectors to support economic development and social security and ensure overall improvement in governance. Three other important issues awaiting attention are professionalizing management of political parties, mapping of nation’s ‘hidden’ resources and reforms relating to production, pricing and marketing in farm sector. All
issues are inter-related and disentangling may need unreserved support from citizens who are the ultimate beneficiaries of all reforms.
M G Warrier, Mumbai












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