We need to think BIG

 

 

N. Vittal

Former

Vigilance Commissioner The controversy about reservation for OBCs and Gujjars has brought into focus a number of defects in our system of governance. One such issue is number of seats in the institutes of excellence, like IITs and IIMs. Scarcity of seats has led to distortions in the intensity of the competition with its academic and social consequences.

Prof. Pankaj Jalote, Microsoft Chair, IIT Delhi, has recently written an article about how the problems can be solved by thinking big. Each IIT should be as large as Georgia Tech with about 20,000 students, 1,000 faculty members, large research staffs and many programs and disciplines. The problem in our country is the lack of capacity for thinking big.

Having been in government for 42 years, I have had an inside view of how the whole approach to policies gets distorted. Every large project has to be put through the intensive scrutiny of the finance department. Attitude of the finance department is generally skeptical about any proposal. This, of course, is the occupational hazard of the department. I had a boss who used to say: “In finance, you have to adopt an unreasonable attitude.” There was another boss of mine, who as secretary, PWD, recommended a proposal and after being shifted as secretary finance department, rejected it. The process of scrutiny many a times whittles down big ideas resulting in sub-optimal solutions.

I was fortunate to have worked with two sectors where thinking big at the right moment led to dramatic developments. The first was Information Technology whose software exports were Rs.100 million in 1990. I gave a commitment that the exports can go up to $ 400 million within one year, if concessions were given by the finance ministry. It was considered as an outrageous figure at that time but this proved to be a source of inspiration for the industry which is flourishing today.

The second sector was Telecom. As Chairman, Telecom Commission in 1993, I found that the approach was to think in terms of small doses of development. Mobile telephone was conceived mainly for big cities. Even paging was introduced only in 27 towns with more than 10,000 telephones. I suggested drastic action and cover all circles in the country, with the mobiles and the paging facilities. Fortunately, the idea was accepted and dramatic developments are there for all to see now. The idea of dramatically increasing the IITs and IIMs capacity intake is attractive. We must think of a quantum jump in the number of seats in IITs and IIMs. Many of our problems would disappear instantly.

Country’s legal system too needs drastic changes for Thinking Big. The perennial explanation is the small judge-population ratio. Why not go for a dramatic increase in the infrastructure for judiciary both in terms of hardware (buildings) as well as the software (human resources for manning the system)? If we do not increase our current infrastructure and keep on disposing cases at the present rate, it will take 300 years before all the 30 million pending cases are dealt with, given no more cases are registered.

It is fashionable these days to talk about India emerging as an economic super power. Economic development cannot take place in the absence of all round development. The current crises about the OBCs and the delays in our legal system can be the starting points for a new approach to tackle our national problems by thinking big.

But, is it possible to increase quantity without diluting quality? We have seen this happen, wherever the explosion takes place. In the area of educational institutions also, if we adopt right policies we will be able to go in for quantum improvement in the facilities available. In open market competition, the best institutions will survive and the market will decide the successes.

Thinking big alone is not enough. Thoughts have to be converted into action. In public governance two aspects have to be taken care of. First is the government policies and the second is finance. Financial resources can be mobilised from the private sector also. In policy, the government can follow Michelangelo’s advice. Asked how he made beautiful statues out of shapeless marbles, he said, “The statue is in my mind and I go on removing whatever is not part of the statue and soon the statue emerges”.