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Online one-week National Faculty Development Program on (One of the domains of IKS – Indian Knowledge Systems) “Arthashastra: Understanding and Application of a Holistic Civilizational Approach”
Dates: 12 to 17 May 2025 (7:00pm to 8:00pm IST)
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/niEb15Bi1Mh42KuD6
Equity is one of the four pillars of a policy other than protection, labor and benefit (National Academy of Social Insurance, 2022). The world today is rooted in diversities which exist at all levels ranging from ethnicity to education. Hence, the agents of the governments today all across the world aim at making policies equitable and inclusive along with the constant eye on its implementation.
Socio economic disparities are double-edged sword. While on one hand, they can provide an opportunity for innovation & wealth creation, on the other hand, they often perpetuate inequality & poverty.
One of the foremost areas for equity in policy making is gender. Despite significant progress, gender disparities still persist across the globe, with women and gender minorities facing barriers in development. The recent Taliban’s oppression of women is prime example. Hence, policies like equal pay legislations, paternal leaves, gender quotas make a way for development. India’s Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 sets an example of women reservation in the legislature.
Education is another cornerstone of equity. Access to quality education is often the first step in achieving social and economic mobility, yet disparities in educational opportunities based on socio-economic status, geography, and gender continue to hold back millions. To ensure equitable education, policies must focus on providing inclusive curricula, addressing gaps in access, and ensuring that all children, regardless of background, are given the tools they need to succeed for example the Right to Education (RTE) under article 21 of the Indian Constitution
Equitable access to healthcare is a fundamental human right, but unequal distribution of resources and services continues to create vast disparities in health outcomes. Addressing health equity requires improving healthcare access, reducing financial barriers, and ensuring culturally competent care for all populations. Norway’s healthcare system promotes equity through universal coverage and equitable resource distribution.
At the workplace, equity is critical to creating environments where all individuals can contribute and succeed. Discriminatory practices, unequal pay, and lack of diversity in leadership roles are just some of the challenges that persist. Implementing policies that promote inclusive hiring practices, provide equal pay for equal work, and ensure safe and supportive work environments are essential steps toward achieving workplace equity. Canada is known for prioritizing equity laws supporting inclusive hiring practices.
Another form of equity that needs to be determined is in land leasing. For instance, post-independence India faced significant inequities in land and tenancy, as efforts like the abolition of zamindari and land redistribution were unevenly implemented, benefiting large landlords while marginalizing tenants and landless farmers. Land leasing acts are required to improve agricultural efficiency and equity, access to land by the landless and semi-landless poor, occupational diversity and for accelerated rural growth and transformation. The most prominent example can be of the Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act, 2016 prepared by NITI AAYOG in India. It serves as a guide for the States and UTs to draft their own piece of leasing legislation on the basis of the model law, keeping in view the local requirement.
Hence, countries today have been trying to include the sustainable development goals like Gender Equality, Good Health & Well Being etc. for policymaking. As it is rightly said,
“Equity is the soul of public policy; without it, just remains a distant dream”
Invitation: The Bhikshavritti Utsav!
27-28-29 December, 2024
Jeevika Ashram, Indrana, Jabalpur, M.P.
Dear friends,
In India every region has had a world of performing arts. It is said that in our country, ‘har kos pe paani badle aur chaar kos pe vaani.’ Similarly, the style and flavour of dance, song and story also varied with geography, producing thousands of artistic traditions including some widely recognised names like the Manganiyar, Patta-chitra and Behroopiya. And unlike the modern economy, where the artist must struggle for survival, there was also a different kind of economic order in which these traditions thrived.
This is a warm invitation to the Bhikshavritti Utsav at Jeevika Ashram later this month, which will celebrate the performing traditions and the socio-economic order that helped them thrive. Artists from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Rajasthan, Bengal and MP will be gathering for this three day festival in the heart of rural MP, half an hour from the city of Jabalpur. Elders who have worked with the artist communities of these traditions will also be present to help us understand the historical and present contexts of the traditions.
To see more information, including the tentative schedule, and register for the festival, please see this link:
https://forms.gle/SqT9PH1MmcRQUFd37
Greetings to one and all!
The bureaucrats in India are called "Babu" in Hindi which also means father in the same language. They enjoy a father-like status across the country since the colonial era. In the independent India, they are credited with holding back the Indian economy for more than four decades by curtailing the entrepreneurial spirit of many Indians.
In fact India has been performing very poor until recently when it comes to economic freedom. People do enjoy the freedom to speak but not to start their own business. Politicians come and go after five years or so with few exceptions but a "Babu" retires after his full term and no one can fire him without running a trial at one of the lengthiest judicial court of India where one case may take 20 years to be disposed.
When China was liberated in 1949 it almost got rid of the old system and totally created a new bureaucracy from top to bottom. As the famous saying of chairman Mao goes: xian da sao fang jian. zai qing ke". Clean the house before inviting guests.
But the case was just the opposite in India. The country inherited an administration which was created by its British rulers to serve the interest of their Queen and the British parliament. The whole set of Indian Civil Services was designed and trained by the British with the aim of extracting maximum revenues from the local Indians. The same was the case with the Indian army which was trained to sing the song "Long live the Queen".
India's red-tapism started under the colonial rule when then British government held competitive examination in London to select some of the smart Indians to work as servants of British government. Now after 63 years of Indian independence, the country's native rulers have not much tempered with the colonial legacy gifted to them which was known for its "rule of law" and centralized administration.
Unlike China, the one thing good about India's bureaucrats is that there is no foreign worship when it comes to foreign nationals. They are equally good at curtailing foreign investment coming into the country.
A project may take years to get approval in India which would have been done in a month in China. In some cases the concerned minister (local or central) has to be approached to get the project approved. It was only recent reforms that some direct windows facilities were created for the foreign investors just to avoid the bureaucratic hackles.
The point we take back home is that it is difficult to overpass an Indian bureaucrat. After all these bureaucrats are selected by a very competitive examination process which has no parallel in the world. In fact some say that it was implemented by the British in India on the pattern of Chinese Imperial Examination to choose the Mandarin scholars known as "keJu zhidu".
India still practices the so-called" rule of avoidance" practiced in the Qing dynasty of China which required that a bureaucrat will not work in a region where their family lived, or where members of their family were in office. Every three odd years they are transferred which was also practiced during the Qing Empire.
Each year India selects its civil servants through a rigorous examination conducted in three stages: mainly the preliminary exam, the main exam and final interview. Each stage is equally important and the whole examination process lasts for more than a year. One is always advised to check his self-confidence before taking this exam as it may land you in a state of frustration if not successful in the four attempts allowed before the age of 30 years.
Out of hundreds and thousands of candidates each year, only between 200 to 300 candidates are finally selected to be sent for two year training in a hill station located in north India. This is the reason that Indian bureaucracy is still not as huge as China. The country has one of the lowest numbers of per capita officers and it believes in the concept of small government.
The minimum qualification for the exam is to be an undergraduate. But many of the top bureaucrats have higher degrees including doctorates, which they yearn after taking leave from the services. Most of Indian bureaucrats are self-proclaimed intellectuals or even possess a PhD degree or MBA from abroad in what is now becoming a trend in China too. But Chinese bureaucrats are supposed to buy degrees and not supposed to yearn it. If you happen to encounter an Indian bureaucrat you can drag him for a coffee and he will deliver a lecture for hours.
Last year Lant Pritchett, a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University published a manuscript on the efficiency of Indian bureaucracy and exposed the reality of intellectual bureaucrats in New Delhi. He was there to work for the World Bank and found the pathetic situation of the implementation of government policies planned at the Lutyens Delhi. He rightly decided to put a title to his report as "Is India a Flailing State? Detours on the Four Lane Highway to Modernization." His paper concluded that India has all the best policies and welfare major but it exists only on paper.
However I must remind here that what many believe that 'India has failed itself when it comes to governance and it is the private sector and NGOs who are running the show' are wrong. Some people do exaggerate the situation because of their frustration from the system. It is true that some middle class people may get stuck in the system and may not get the work done in time. But things are improving fast and people are becoming conscious of their rights.
There have been some honest officers who can run the one man show and things get moving. As the recent example of the Commonwealth Games in India displayed that despite various concerns the country did display an impressive show to the world.
Another successful example was the construction of Delhi Metro under the leadership of Mr. E. Sreedharan. who was figured in the TIME magazine for his excellence management of the Metro Project. New Delhi today boasts a world class new international airport and also a beautiful well connected Metro rail transport.
Despite all the pros and cons of Indian bureaucracy today each young Indian keeps it as his first choice when he decides his career plan. Some even decline Harvard and MIT offers just to serve the nation. Each year, the topper of the Indian civil services examination becomes a national hero and inspiration for others. Then he gets married with the daughter of a politician and thus the nexus is complete.
The writer is a PhD scholar at Peking University and teaches at Beijing foreign Studies University. He can be contacted at binod@126.com
Courtesy: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2010-11/08/content_11515582.htm
