Bureaucracy and Liberalisation

After license the newly emerged Indian State was characterized by the dominant exercise in completely the spheres of society. It was a welfare declare whose objective was to secure political, kindly and frugal justice to all the sections of Indian population. The Westminister model of parliamentary commonwealth with universal adult franchise was adopted. In social field, various evils in the society were sought to be eradicated by the State.Untouchability was abolished and social reforms were undertaken. In the economic sphere, the state not only regulated the market, it also emerged as the major(ip) employer providing employment opportunities to the people. India adopted the policy of mixed economic system/a aright national empyrean was created. For Nehru, the public sector undertakings were the temples of modern India. Their objective was to process in the rapid economic suppuration and industrialisation of the country.Over the old age their deem and investments hav e grown in size and quantity. While in 1951, thither were five central public sector undertakings (PSUs) with an investment of Rs 29 crores, this instant there are as many as 243 enterprises with a tot investment of Rs 1,78,628 crores. The private sector was also to play an important role in the mixed economy. However it was highly regulated and controlled economy as far as the private sector was concerned. Rightly it was called the licence-quota permit Raj.However the expose of socialist political and economic system in earstwhile Soviet Union and other socialist states led to the emergence of a global economy which meant introducing competitive markets, liberalising conflicting trade and opening up the economy for foreign investment. According to Marina Pinto Liberalisation is the policy of removal of restrictions, trade barriers and protectionist measures to enable the apologize flow of capital, technology and services. It is generally seen in the context of globalization a nd privatization. In eighties liberalisation process started taking place in India economy.But the unappeasable foreign exchange and fiscal crisis in early 1990s compelled India to take colossal loan from IMF and world Bank which as critics point out, dictated India to change its economy. This was done under the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Finance Minister in P. V. Narsimha Rao Government. The brisk Industrial Policy of 1991, stated that Foreign investment and technology quislingism will be welcomed to obtain higher technology, to increase exports and to expand the outturn base. The Licence-quota permit Raj has been given a good-bye and the economic system has by and large become competitive.Even in the public sector the nine major public sector undertakings or NavratnasBharat Heavy Electricals curb (BHEL), Bharat Petroleum stack extra (BPCL) Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC), Indian Petrochemicals Corporation L imited (IPCL), National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC), OilNational Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), mark Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) have been given considerable pecuniary and functional autonomy.The Government was also considering to include more public sector undertakings in this list. However this does not mean that the role of the State would pull away and it would only concentrate on the maintenance of law and order. The state continues to be a welfare state. It will continue to ameliorate the conditions of poor and down-troddens. The economic policies are to be realistic. Jagdish Bhagwati, one of the leading economists says that the first fifty years of independence has been half a century of foolish policies, which cost her (India) growth and hence a significant opportunity to ameliorate poverty. Now sage policies are to be drafted and implemented with due regard to monitoring of policies in stages. This also means t hat the generalist administration will either be substituted by the experts or they be given their due place in the administration. The bureaucracy will have to be responsive and transparent and infact the good work ethos has to be changed. It also means maximum possible commission of authority and sufficient decentralized control. Ultimately it may lead to debureaucratization of the administration.The 73rd and 74th innate Amendment providing for local self government is designed to transfer the developmental functions to the local self government. We may be witness to gradual shrinking of the state and its administrative machinery. But this does not mean that state would recede in the background. It may be a scenario where we have a reoriented, purposive responsible and transparent administration as a friend, philosopher and guide. The essential condition for all this is poliucal will, integrity and honesy at higher levels of politics and de-criminalisation of politics.