‘Public sector lacks responsibility, accountability

PRASHANT PRAKASH, 57 Founding Partner, Accel, India

Prashant Prakash has not only led investments in 30 Indian tech start-ups, he is also the chairman of the government’s Vision Group for Startups, acting as a bridge between babudom and entrepreneurs. Being an old Bangalorean, he is not only concerned about where the city is headed but also deeply involved in its upliftment. “If there is one cause for Bengaluru’s failures,” he says, “it’s the lack of capacity to design solutions and contract them for implementation that ensures outcomes.” In many major projects, he says the design is given by a consulting agency that doesn’t have skin in the game and implementation is by an agency that has no interest in making it cost-effective. “The city bears the brunt of the mistakes, especially environmental ones. The government sector is all about authority, but lacks responsibility and accountability.” Prakash recommends setting up a coordinating body to govern infra across stakeholders and PPPs to ensure outcomes.