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National Advisory Council II
National Advisory Council II
Lot of claims have been made about the success of NAC I during UPA I
government and number of schemes like NREGA, Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojna, RTI Act etc. have been credited to erstwhile NAC. The
members of the new NAC have not yet been appointed. The constitution was
amended to exclude the office of chairperson of NAC from list of office of
profit to accommodate Sonia Gandhi. However, the role, usefulness and the
need for the NAC still remains questionable.
There are other informal groups which are tapped frequently by PMO as
well as by the ministries for expert inputs. Some of them are bodies like CII,
FICCI, Assocham, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Indian Institute
for Public Policy, JNU, ASCI, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, India
International Center and others which are very often roped in for their
considered & studied views on projects & policy formulations. I am told
FICCI has the largest number of highly qualified economists under a single
roof! And very often they prepare position papers on various strategic issues
of national importance for the government authorities on requests. So there
is no dearth of expertise at the disposal of the Prime Minister to be able to
implement any programs.
So where is the need for NAC? Does it mean that NREGA or RTI Act would
not have been implemented but for NAC? In fact Right to Education Act
comes into effect today. And Prof. Yash Pal has contributed significantly to
the efforts of the Ministry of Education under Kapil Sibal towards reforms in
education systems. Prof. Yash Pal is now reportedly tipped to be a member
of the NAC II. So irrespective of the NAC, the government pushed for the
significant reforms in education with same expertise which will now be
repackaged.
Coalition Politics?
Dichotomy:
Royal Plunge:
Either Sonia should right royally plunge to take on the mantle of the Prime
Minister or be constitutionally sensitive & politically correct to run the party
leaving governance to the Prime Minister. Even in this role, the PM
reporting to Congress President within the party set up would be politically
acceptable to all and yet PM can be seen to be functioning without undue
dilution of the august office of the country and earn respect of the people of
the country and the international community as well. And of course Sonia
would have her place under the sun as a politician who quietly delivered the
promises as she shunned the power in the interest of the nation, the people
and the constitution of the country which should be supreme.
Vijay M. Deshpande
Corporate Advisor,
Strategic Management Initiative
Pune
April 2, 2010