Government should do only the policy making part and leave the rest to others while providing services: World Bank
Updated: Mar 17, 2018 08:39:06am
Government should do only the policy making part and leave the rest to others while providing services: World Bank
New Delhi, Mar 17 (KNN) The Government should not get involved in providing actual services and rather should leave it to third party agencies working in a corporatised manner under the supervision of an independent regulator.
This comment was made by the World Bank Country Director in India, to a news agency recently, on the management of public services like water supply.
In fact the situation is same almost in every areas of providing public utilities; in Railways, Power, where the Government is the monopoly supplier and at the same time the regulator and the policy maker.
Even in public transport, there is predominance of Government in almost in all states.
While these were normal during the era of socialistic administration, they are clearly anachronism, when the avowed policy of the Government is liberalisation and further liberalisation.
While the economists will talk about inefficiencies of such systems the common man is more concerned about the poor value for money and absence of any independent grievance redressal under such a system.
Not only services, even in core commodities, the omnipresence of Government is clearly visible. In foodgrains, Iron &Steel, Aluminium and many other commodities Government is the dominant supplier and make the rules of the market themselves. So the Government changes the rules to make the consumers pay higher prices for Iron and Steel so that the inefficient Government producers do not become bankrupt.
Besides the consumers such approaches also affecting the growth and competitiveness of MSME sector.
Being largely dependent on Government orders, Indian MSMEs cannot venture for higher technology and cost effective items as they will not be acceptable to Government buyers, who set their own standards and procurement systems by whims or as some people allege, by design.
The situation is vividly described by Dinesh Singhal, a leading MSME supplier of power sub stations and Chairman of subject committee on public procurement at FISME, the leading federation of MSMEs..
"Today why public works and public goods are of poor quality ? Because the Government neither promoted quality suppliers nor weeded out the unscrupulous 'Government Suppliers'" commented Singhal.
He also wondered why not a single MSME supplier dedicated to Government orders could not grow to a reputed brand, while in auto sector a number of MSME vendors have grown to become global suppliers.
The crucial factor behind such a situation is the Government being the policy makers, the regulator and also the monopoly buyer / supplier, Singhal opined, where do one can complain and expect impartial judgement.
As the World Bank Head in India recently quipped ' In effect the Judge and the Jury is same'. (KNN/DB)