Another issue that needs to be discussed and addressed is the governance model for India. This is a much deeper discussion since this will be harder to change, even though we may decide that the country is on the wrong track. UPA 2 needs to understand that the old rules of top-down, maximum government cannot work any longer.
India needs a government that empowers its people, that provides people true economic and personal freedom, and for the most part, gets out of the way of people. Instead, what we have is a government that provides entitlements of all sorts to ensure that the upward mobility of people at the bottom of the pyramid is restricted. All that this does is create dependency on handouts, rather than increasing opportunities for people.
This formula has worked well for the Congress in creating votebanks, but aspirations have changed. Entitlements are damaging the economy and hurting the same people they are supposed to help.
What UPA 2 needs to do is a sharp course correction in its governance model. That is unlikely to happen because of the world view the Family has. But the time is not far when economic shocks will force drastic action – like what happened in 1991. Incremental change or tweaking what exists will not cut it for lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty and giving the middle class a better future.
Continued tomorrow.
