Author: Bimal Jalan
Translator(s)/ Edito: Ashok kumar
Publisher: Penguin/Yatra
Year: 2007
Language: Hindi
Pages: 214
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0143103679
Description
In this volume Bimal Jalan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, takes up the formidable challenge of examining the nuts and bolts of this proposition. In his thought-provoking, clear-sighted analysis, he argues that the key factors to success are three: politics, economics and governance.
It is the interface between these, and their combined effect on the functioning of our democracy, which will largely determine India¹s future. An understanding of this interface will help explain the swings in India¹s political and economic fortunes over the past decades, and why the promise has been belied.
In the light of experience, argues Jalan, there is no certainty that the present euphoria will last unless there is the political will to seize the new opportunities that are available. He proceeds to suggest steps that can be taken to smoothen our path to progress: ways to strengthen Parliament and the judiciary; a series of political reforms that would, among other things, see greater accountability among ministers; and effective ways to curb corruption and enhance fiscal viability. In all these there is an emphasis on the pragmatic, born of Jalan’s experience as an administrator, economist and member of Parliament.
Contents
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
ONE
THE TRIUMPH AND TRAVAILS OF DEMOCRACY
The Rewards of Freedom
The Functioning of India’s Democracy
The Shrinking Role of Parliament
The Politicization of the Bureaucracy
An Overburdened Judiciary
TWO
THE ECONOMICS OF NON-PERFORMANCE
The Deadweight of the Past
The Power of Distributional Coalitions
The Disjuncture between Economics and Politics
THREE
The Crisis of Governance
The Poor in Shining India
The Myth of Collective responsibility
The Failure of Administration
FOUR
THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF CORRUPTION
The Economic Effects of Corruption
The Need for Institutional Reform
Supply-side Measures
Demand-side Measures
FIVE
THE REFORM OF POLITICS
The Economic Role of the State
The Role of Small Parties
Elections to the Council of States
The Reform of Parliamentary Procedure
EPILOGUE: A RESURGENT INDIA
INDEX