PM asks NITI Aayog to work for ‘drastic policy reform’

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 28

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while chairing a meeting of the NITI Aayog here today, said India cannot wait for incremental change. He said, the need of the hour is "transformational change" which can be done only with "drastic policy reform".

Addressing a meeting with top Niti Aayog officials to finalise the 15-year vision document for accelerating all-round development of the country, Modi said technology driven governance was also required urgently to ensure "speed, transparency and accountability" in governance.

While stressing on several areas that need transformation, the Prime Minister said, "India needs futuristic planning to develop its natural as well as human resources."

Meanwhile, in his presentation during the meeting, Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya explained the mistakes in previous planning efforts in the country and how to avoid them. "Good intentions of past efforts in planning have led to numerous unintended negative consequences," Panagariya said.

Moreover, Panagariya batted for inclusion of more experts in the government and placing the long-term vision and strategy documents in the public domain for extensive discussion. "Increased complexity of the economy has meant that as a general rule, it is no longer possible for generalists to learn any subject within a matter of weeks or even months, he said, adding that only proper analysis and assessment of proposed policies by experts and specialists can help us anticipate "unintended consequences" of these policies.

The policy research arm of the government also underscored the importance of giving "adequate hearing" to "internal criticisms" of proposed policies. "Without this, there would be no incentive for critics to offer constructive criticisms, which can play a crucial role in formulating sound and relevant polices," Panagariya said in his presentation.

The Prime Minister, who is also the Chairman of NITI Aayog, took stock of the economy and progress of various government programmes that are monitored by the official think-tank.

The body has been mandated to come up with a 15-year vision document for a period up to 2030, which will be co-terminus with sustainable development goals. The panel is also working on a 7-year strategy starting from 2017-18 to 2023-24 to convert a vision document into implementable policy. It will also prepare a 3-year action plan for 2017-18 to 2019-20 as part of the Agenda, which will be aligned with the 14th Finance Commission award period.