A coalition govt provides greater political capital for deeper reforms: PPRC Director

The Public Policy Research Centre (PPRC) is a Delhi-based think tank close to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Talking to Bizz Buzz in an exclusive interaction, PPRC Director Sumeet Bhasin said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term brings with it the promise of policy continuity. Bhasin suggests revisiting the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), reforms in the areas of health and nutrition, school education system, skill development, and fiscal prudence. Regarding providing employment opportunities to the youth in the country, he advocates focusing on mapping areas where there are chronic skill shortages, and suggest there should be an effort to address them in a systemic manner. Bhasin also throws light on right from primary education, and role of artificial intelligence (AI) in education

When PM Modi took oath for the third time, there were concerns about the fate of reforms, as he had to rely more on the constituents of the National Democratic Alliance. How correct are the concerns?

Totally incorrect. In fact, a coalition government provides greater political capital for deeper administrative reforms. As they say, third time lucky. The new mandate brings with it the promise of not just a stronger Opposition but also policy continuity.

We should not forget that it is a clear mandate in favour of the pre-poll coalition, the NDA, reaffirming the faith of voters in Modi. Therefore, the process of reforms undertaken by the government will continue. There are several items on the reforms agenda that can further help India emerge as a Viksit Bharat.

What are these items?

Among these reforms would be revisiting the MNREGA that provides guaranteed employment in rural areas. These programmes were initiated at a time when the Indian economy was weak, so they are not suitable for what will soon be the world’s third largest economy.

A comprehensive unemployment insurance programme instead would work better that provides some form of income support to those who are struggling to find a job but are actively searching. Such a programme, while desirable, may be too costly; this is the reason that many countries provide such support only for a limited period.

In the Indian context, an appropriate unemployment insurance programme would be one that provides wage subsidies to firms in exchange for them absorbing a part of the unemployed workforce. This would take the form of providing a quarterly payment to the employer to hire a worker for a year. The programme can cover wages for up to 100 days of employment for unskilled workers irrespective of whether they are skilled or unskilled.

How will this be helpful?

This programme would decrease the government’s burden on providing employment under the MNREGA in the long run while, at the same time, providing a wage subsidy to firms which would assist in improving productivity. To ensure that the policy is not misused, the programme could be extended only to the MSMEs with an active Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) number. This would check fraudulence. Besides, any firm that fires more than half of the workers hired as part of the programme in the immediate next year could be made ineligible for benefits.

Which are other areas that call for reforms?

Health and nutrition. India’s food security law was ill-advised as it imposed a carbohydrate-intensive diet on people. In addition, even as the then Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government claimed roughly 11 per cent poverty, the programme was extended to two-thirds of the rural population and half of the urban population.

The mandate that the NDA has received for the third time provides another opportunity to revisit the idea of providing free carbohydrates. It is time we asked if this law is consistent with our nutritional and other development objectives. A more balanced diet should be the target, especially for those who genuinely need it. We need a better programme than an open-ended subsidized carbohydrate distribution one.

PM Modi, in his first term, had initiated an opt-out programme, ‘Give It Up!’ under which many people willingly gave up the cooking gas subsidy. Perhaps, a similar programme should be launched for the Food Security Act, urging eligible but non-deserving households to opt out of the programme. Once a critical mass of households decide to opt out, as with the LPG program, the government can re-examine how to calibrate India’s existing food security law to a more modern income and nutritional support programme.

There is unemployment, and yet industry often faces problems in getting workers with the requisite skill sets. How to address this issue?

We need a skill census, but that would be extremely difficult and expensive to conduct. However, it should be possible to let greater industry participation in designing and developing vocational courses that could be integrated as for-credit courses in the existing curriculum. Such vocational courses can combine the benefits of modern skill training along with traditional formal education, thereby providing students with the best of both. Focus should be on mapping areas where there are chronic skill shortages, and there should be an effort to address them in a systemic manner. Skill shortages may exist within different States, and therefore each State and its educational institutions have a unique opportunity to truly specialise.

But that will call for reforms in education?

Yes, and that would begin right from primary education. India’s school education system, along with its curriculum, does not align well with the aspirations of modern India, nor does it serve our economy. Several life skills and critical reasoning skills that should be developed during formative years are often ignored as emphasis is on the reproduction of knowledge rather than its application.

Recent studies have shown that large language models and artificial intelligence or AI are exceptionally good in the reproduction of knowledge but extremely poor in critical reasoning. It is, therefore, desired that schools focus more on critical reasoning, which is far more crucial than in memorization of material.

Further, there is a need to train India’s future citizens with the important life skills of how to absorb information in an information-rich environment. Students these days are bombarded with information from different sources, but they may not be well equipped to recognize the credibility of sources. How to form an informed opinion using the abundant information available is another challenge. This is crucial for any democracy given that informed citizenry is critical for its smooth functioning.

Other important skills, such as the ability to do their own tax calculation, importance of savings, financial accounting and some preliminary knowledge about healthy financial habits are crucial in cultivating good habits from an early age. Prudent citizenry is the best line of defence against fiscally irresponsible policies and unfulfillable electoral promises; it can check or eradicate the dangerous revadi culture that flourishes at the time of elections.