A Story

One of these days, I had a chance to go and watch the movie 'Kahaani' in one of the old theatres in Nagpur. It was a unique experience for me - the national anthem being played before the movie started and some of my neighbours chewing paan and almost threatening to spit it out in the theatre. Of course he didn't, but I was on edge - the movie itself was engaging and there was the paan tension in the air.
But it felt sweet - I was an unknown. Sometimes it feels good to be a stranger in the society you are living. You are able to appreciate things that you would have neglected if you were a members. There are so many things in life that we take for granted. Indeed, human life would have been impossible without assumptions. The trust we place daily on strangers who work to make our life possible for us, the trust we place on ourselves - what makes us trust so much?
Maybe we will never find out.

Values

How do you define 'social value'? We hear of value based education system, ethics, morality and so on. The truth, we all know, is that these concepts vary from time to time - what we consider as moral today may become immoral today and vice versa. Child marriage was moral when Manusmriti was the law. Is it so now?
Is it reasonable to force others to follow what we think is the moral behaviour? Every person has a different view of ethics and morality. Just because a person has the power to set the rules, is it right that his or her ideals become the standards for the rest of the society? Isn't it the case of 'might is right', all over again?
There is the other side to it too. Psychopaths have a different sense of right and wrong. But accepting their views may be detrimental to the society as a whole. Human society cannot survive without a basic set of rules and an enforcement system. There is this delicate balance between freedom and social order that everyone, every society is trying to find.
But will anyone find it? I doubt it.

Again!

We start again tomorrow for Delhi. The budget has been presented and barring the much expected negative list of service taxes, there are no major changes. Income tax  rates or slabs sam some marginal changes. And unlike the rail budget in which the railway minister showed that he could be a bit bold, this budget was status-quoist.
Well, it may not be what it appears to be. Constituting about 60% of the GDP of India, the services sector's negative list may turn out to have larger implications on the amount of revenue collected than we anticipate.
The biggest surprise is the fact that the government has not announced any subsidy cuts. Though any student of economics can tell you that the subsidies in India benefit the rich much more than the poor and thus increase the inequalities that already exist, our political leadership seems to be waiting for a near economic crisis situation to develop before cutting down. 5.9% of fiscal deficit is no laughing matter. We cannot expect to sustain our economic growth rates with such fiscal irresponsibility. As the PM said, it is about time we 'bite the bullet', if we are not to perish.

My Sorrow

Tears flow down my cheeks
For someone I know not
Thinking of her pain
My heart breaks
My hands want to help
But the distance between us
Is great; and I dare not cross
For the fear of falling
And my battle is different
Yet it pains my heart
To know that she has fallen
Scared am I too
Of falling; and my selfishness
Prevent my feet
From taking those steps
Which might save her life
Yet this battle has to be won
For the rest of my friends
So that we may not fall
So that the pain in her face
May turn into a smile
On the face of someone
My sorrow may never end
Yet I wish that
Tomorrow may never know
What sorrow is.

My New Life

It has been about a month - always on the move. It began with the two week attachment to the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, a premier institute in the country. It was a great experience to learn from the researchers there about the problems our country is facing. It made us think about them in a totally new perspective and made us aware of the dangers of faulty policy decisions and implementation.

Next came the nearly ten day programme in Jaipur - the 12th Assembly of the ASOSAI - the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. Got a chance to interact with the top officials in audit department both of India and of many foreign countries. The exposure we got was simply amazing.

Now here we are on our Planning Commission attachment. Tomorrow is Holi - my first one. This Sunday we leave for Nagpur. Life has been mindbogglingly hectic for the past few weeks but it has been really enjoyable too.

I'm just waiting for more. :)

From The Other Side

After joining the Government of India, I find it very difficult to indulge in my favourite pastime of indulging in criticism of government policies. I envy the guys and girls outside the system who can go on saying that our government is inefficient because now I know that a good part of the government wants to set things right but things go wrong since the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing and vice-versa.

The additional complication comes from the number of variables involved in every calculation the executive has to make. Efficiency vs equity question appears to be easy to solve. But from our experience we see that in real life that promoting equity at the cost of efficiency leads to the negation of the former in the long run. Also, the policies which are good for the country are not the ones which actually garner votes.

Then there is always the problem of scarcity of information - without really reliable data, you can't make reliable policies. Accountability can be ensured to a great extent if there are proper information systems which provide the required information to everyone - including the taxpayer. Transparency automatically curbs much of inefficiency and corruption.

Governments can be really efficient if the public is demanding. Given the level of apathy our public has towards government and the general impression that dealings with different government agencies are activities to be avoided, real reform of the structure does not seem to be very near.

Life in Shimla

Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, is my home now. It has been one month since I've landed here. Though not exactly in love with the place, I like it very much. The only thing that makes me slightly annoyed is the hopelessly cold weather here. The temperature occasionally falls below zero degree Celsius. And it snows. While it is fun to watch and play in the snow, the danger comes when the snow sets. It becomes really slippery then and it is a pain to walk on kilometers of roads paved with dirt and ice and snow.

The main street here, called 'The Mall', boasts of being the longest pedestrian shopping centre in Asia. Though the state government now allows the tourist vehicles to park on the roadside, the Mall Road is still safe enough for pedestrians to walk with closed eyes as long as they don't slip on the snow.

The Jakhoo hill is the highest of the seven hills that comprise Shimla. It has a tall statue of Hanuman that is visible from any point in Shimla. Trekking to the top of the hill in a definite time duration is used as an indicator of health.

The Institute of Advanced Study, formerly the Viceregal Lodge, is another beautiful building here. Once upon a time, whole of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, etc - almost half the globe was governed from here.