Act in haste, recant right away — that seems to be the policy
When the Planning Commission was envisaged, the idea was to plan for
progress, research the steps to be taken to achieve goals, and implement
a programme systematically over a five-year period. If a deadline was
missed, the state was expected to review why that had happened and how
this could be rectified. In short, policymaking was a well-defined
process and a work in progress.
Today, though we keep harping on
good governance, it is clear that policy announcements are made
arbitrarily and in haste without thinking them through or reflecting on
possible outcomes and impact. Neither is the best route to follow given
due consideration. Take the case of the policy on Electric Vehicles.
Till just a week ago, the domestic auto industry, foreign players, the
Government and all allied stakeholders were quoting the 2030 government
deadline for an all-electric ecosystem in the country. The entire Delhi
Auto Expo that took place this month was geared towards this with
auto-makers showcasing future trends, designs and visions.
And
then, 24 hours after the expo concluded, came the news that the Centre
was putting its ambitious plans on the back-burner. Manufacturers were
told they were free to go the EV way on their own initiative. It is not
just the EV policy that has been impacted by the rollback culture. Take
the case of GST. Just before the Gujarat elections, the Centre reduced
the percentage of levies on a clutch of products. The move was obviously
dictated by political compulsions. As a result, the GST policy went
through a process of dilution. Rewind to demonetisation. Once again, a
hasty monetary policy decision without sufficient forethought saw chaos
across the country. Ditto the ban on cattle sale for slaughter which had
to be finally revoked.
The ever-growing list of partial or
complete u-turns is cause for concern. It reflects poorly on any
government as it shows lack of maturity and clarity in framing policy.
Clearly, more time needs to be spent on the drawing board.
24 Feb 2018, 04:36 AM