Micro Thinking for Macro ScheMeS STunTing india’S growTh
What’s the benefit of technology if its application is only empowering a few lives while millions still happily stay in the dark ages? The government needs to do a lot more to ensure the benefits of its various digital schemes reach out to the bottom of t
The making of public policy for a country as large, populous and diverse as India is a complex task. India remains not only a developing nation but one usually regarded as an underperformer. One of the main problems with policy making in India is extreme fragmentation in the structure. Lack of autonomy in decisions related to costs is cited as one of the biggest obstacles followed by lack of coordination between the stakeholder agencies.
Development can only be real if the poorest are truly represented in policy making. The Indian system believes in “trickle- down economic theory” according to which as per capita income rises, there is a “trickle down” and everyone becomes better off.
In the West, the theory was endorsed by Ronald Reagan in the US and Margaret Thatcher in Britain. Both strongly believed that granting concessions such as tax cuts to the rich will benefit all levels of society by invigorating the economy. However, with the rise in income inequality across the globe, we need to find a new solution of bridging this huge gap.
Digital India & technological empowerment
What’s the benefit of technology if its application is only empowering a few lives while millions still happily stay in the dark ages? Science and technology has made our lives easy or more precisely those of certain sections of society!
Research and development (R&D) is one of the key policy areas that can secure technological potential and, therefore, innovation and economic growth. In order to reach the income levels of high-income countries, low and middle-income countries need to expand their access to technology and their capacity to use it.
According to the Global Innovation Index, India ranks 48 in University/industry research collaboration. Similarly, it performs poorly in other key areas. –
However, in present day India, jugaad is one of the most cost effective solutions for rural populace. We use transport powered by diesel engines originally intended to power agricultural irrigation pumps. People travelling to Gurgaon will notice sugarcane vendors using a similar kind of machine to power the crusher and to move around localities, albeit slowly. Now, life hacks can be useful but not at the cost of the people using it.
Initiatives like Make in India, Skill India or Digital India can only be successful if they reach each and every corner in India like the Non- Cooperation and Swadeshi movements did.
Make in India, SMES and creating jobs
Make in India is all about manufacturing locally. We do need foreign players for investment but then the condition of SMES here must improve as well. The reality, though, is that the SME sector plays a vital role in boosting the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is still overlooked by the government, corporate sector and the financial sector. It’s tough for the Indian SMES to find easy finance and credit for their setup. Also, regulatory policies in India vary from state to state and there is no uniformity in their structure.
In many key interactions with leaders of the IT industry, some common things to the discussion