Two of India’s most seasoned policymakers draw upon their expertise to present an authoritative account of India’s economic and policy history | Books and Literature News,The Indian Express
As India celebrates the 75th anniversary of its Independence, bureaucrats NK Singh and PK Mishra present a valuable analysis of India's economic course since 1947
Wednesday, Aug 31, 2022
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HomeBooks and LiteratureTwo of India’s most seasoned policymakers draw upon their expertise to present an authoritative account of India’s economic and policy history
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Two of India’s most seasoned policymakers draw upon their expertise to present an authoritative account of India’s economic and policy history
As India celebrates the 75th anniversary of its Independence, bureaucrats NK Singh and PK Mishra present a valuable analysis of India's economic course since 1947
Written by Surjit S Bhalla
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August 27, 2022 6:00:16 pm
Balancing the books: A file photograph of then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee going to present the budget in Parliament in February 1983 (Express Archive)
A good book has three important components: idea, execution, and inference. Recalibrate – Changing Paradigms, by NK Singh (hereafter NK), and PK Mishra (hereafter PK) has all three in abundance. The idea (remember that one definition of genius is something that is obvious ex-post) is to present Indian economic and policy history over the 75 years from the vantage point of two very knowledgeable and experienced practitioners of policy. The two authors have been senior policymakers practising their craft for the better part of the last 45 years.
We are in our 75th year of Independence, and there is likely to be (there already is!) a steady outpouring of reviews, books, and articles about our journey. Why not have an authoritative book on economic policies right at the beginning of the 75th year? Policies have two essential collaborative elements – the micro and the macro. With NK emphasising the macro and PK the micro, the book is the synthesis of the two. Recalibrate provides many insights into what happened in these 75 years – why it happened, and what the future might (and, in some instances, must!) hold. I will not hesitate to say that books on economic policy will have to be judged with reference to the execution benchmark set by Recalibrate.
In a highly engaging and informative chapter, “People, Politicians and Bureaucrats”, PK narrates his initial experiences as an assistant collector. What PK correctly stresses is that his job provided for a two-way joint relationship of people and power. We all have been critics of the Indian Administrative Services (IAS), as of every institution in India – all being part of a healthy democracy. In his low-key impeccable style, PK provides, in 30 pages, an informed (even nostalgic) sense of India in those early days of development. The lack of electricity, the non-availability of clean water, the fair allotment of contracts for potato farming. The chapter also contains a gem of a definition of corruption: “managing the system with networking and connections”! There are many more insights, including a revealing one about single women teachers demanding equal rights in pay, promotion, and transfers – equal to married teachers. One single woman was bold enough to say that if there were single men in the audience (PK was one!) then they should come forward and marry the single women! Idea, Sirji, circa the mid-70s, Gujarat.
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As PK himself confesses about his early experience: “I realise that today, I have more insight and a better understanding of the dynamics of development administration at district and subdistrict levels: the interplay of people, politicians and bureaucrats in real-life situations”. As does the reader. Let me confess – I wanted to take the IAS exam circa 1971, looked at the sample tests, and decided I would never make it. But PK brings alive as to why several of the best and brightest in India took the IAS path.
Rating: 5