Each week, we (livemint,com) ask people working in the field of public policy what they would do if they were given a billion dollars to spend on projects. What policy initiatives would they fund, and how would they spend this money?
This week, we spoke to Osama Manzar, founder and director of Digital Empowerment Foundation.
If you have your own billion-dollar plan, send it to mintonsunday@livemint.com. Selected entries will be published online.
Here. Take a billion dollars. So, is that enough money to do anything substantial in public policy in India? Why or why not?
Actually, public policy does not need money. If we want any new public policy, we need sustained advocacy after having identified the public issue, and provide policy options. If there is an existing public policy that needs meticulous implementation then, yes, a financial allocation can be used to partly fund the entire implementation in a particular area or a region or a state.
Incidentally, in India, there are several public policies and they often suffer from bad planning and implementation to make an adequate impact. For example, take the case of Right To Information (RTI). It is a great public policy and it is also something extremely desired and people-driven, yet it has been suffering challenges of adequate implementation.
On the one hand, RTI hasn’t even reached the last woman in a village—beneficiaries of RTI applications is estimated at barely 8 million citizens a year. At the same time, governments and the bureaucracy have relentlessly complained about too many “undesirable RTI applications”.
Another public policy that really bothers me a lot for not having been meticulously implemented is right to education (RTE). If I have a chance to look at just one policy and one area of public good that must not be compromised, I would choose 1.4 million government schools in India and ensure they deliver what they are meant for.
Coming to what a billion dollars can do for a chosen public policy. Let me start by looking at what $1 billion means to India. A billion is a 100 crore, which is the population that is yet to be connected to the Internet. A 100 crore dollars converted into Indian currency would somewhere around Rs6,500 crore. Interestingly, if I want this money to be used for connecting the unconnected India, I will have just a dollar, or about Rs65, per person to connect them. Which is not a lot.
However, if I choose to use it for the purpose of RTE, it gives me just about Rs46,000 per school to make all the changes that is desired. So, then the issue is what can Rs46,000 do for a school in a village in India?
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Showing posts with label initiatives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label initiatives. Show all posts
Monday, 8 February 2016
Wednesday, 3 February 2016
How Will Startup India Help You?
In order to give a boost to the culture of entrepreneurship at a mass scale, Prime Minister launched the Startup India program on 16 January with a number of initiatives and perks for startups.
In last few years, India has witnessed boom in the etail or ecommerce sector. Thanks to the startups which manifested risk-taking ability and defied the tradition by adopting innovative ways to run business. Because of their unprecedented feat, India could surpass China for the first time in the race to garner the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Ecommerce is one part of the story which certainly boosted the morale of several individuals to experiment. As a result India has seen a wave of startups in many areas. Until now startups took the risk on their own, with little help from the government. Of course, venture capitalist have begun to invest and promote Indian startups. Largely young entrepreneurs have embarked upon the entrepreneurship on their own. However, it is important that this culture is preserved, prevailed and promoted. There is no one better than the government to do so.
The Startup India – a visionary program of the Narendra Modi government – can succeed in giving the much-needed boost. The Startup India includes new policies and initiatives that are aimed at making it easier for investors and startup founders to incubate their venture in the country. It is expected that the initiatives can bring a wave of innovative startups in the country.
Startup India: 12 Big Announcements
In last few years, India has witnessed boom in the etail or ecommerce sector. Thanks to the startups which manifested risk-taking ability and defied the tradition by adopting innovative ways to run business. Because of their unprecedented feat, India could surpass China for the first time in the race to garner the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Ecommerce is one part of the story which certainly boosted the morale of several individuals to experiment. As a result India has seen a wave of startups in many areas. Until now startups took the risk on their own, with little help from the government. Of course, venture capitalist have begun to invest and promote Indian startups. Largely young entrepreneurs have embarked upon the entrepreneurship on their own. However, it is important that this culture is preserved, prevailed and promoted. There is no one better than the government to do so.
The Startup India – a visionary program of the Narendra Modi government – can succeed in giving the much-needed boost. The Startup India includes new policies and initiatives that are aimed at making it easier for investors and startup founders to incubate their venture in the country. It is expected that the initiatives can bring a wave of innovative startups in the country.
Startup India: 12 Big Announcements
- Rs. 10,000 crore fund for startups
- single point of registration for startups
- simplified regulatory regime based on self-certification
- fast-track mechanism filing patent applications
- credit guarantee fund for startups
- Three year tax exemption
- Startup India Hub
- Relaxed norms of public-procurement
- Faster exits for startups
- Atal Innovation Mission – Sector specific Incubators
- Encouraging Innovation among students
- An annual incubator grand challenge
Sunday, 19 July 2015
Old but not gold
Is India prepared for 300 million seniors in 2050? With the government's safety net for the elderly in a shambles, their sunset years don't look promising.
India now has over 100 million citizens over the age of 60, five times the number in 1950. Seniors now make up 8.6 per cent of the population. By 2050, India will have nearly 300 million seniors and make up about a fifth of the population, as per projections from the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat.
Old but not gold
India now has over 100 million citizens over the age of 60, five times the number in 1950.
Joint families used to offer a support system for the aged
Several companies have launched retirement homes across the country.
'Just increasing pensions is not enough'
Retirement homes are now big business, with even big realtors venturing into it.
Poor quality of care
Mumbai’s homes are plagued by problems such as lack of financial resources, shortfall of care-givers, and poor quality of care.
Most homes in Delhi are run by NGOs
Most homes in the capital are run by NGOs, with several getting grants from government agencies.
Lower middle class left out
Interestingly, the elderly males prefer to use one of the 28 Corporation-run night shelters rather than join a home.
Filled to capacity
Kolkata has about 100 centrally funded homes, with an average capacity of 25-30 persons.
Read the feature in The Hindu dt. 5th Apr 2015
India now has over 100 million citizens over the age of 60, five times the number in 1950. Seniors now make up 8.6 per cent of the population. By 2050, India will have nearly 300 million seniors and make up about a fifth of the population, as per projections from the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat.
Old but not gold
India now has over 100 million citizens over the age of 60, five times the number in 1950.
Joint families used to offer a support system for the aged
Several companies have launched retirement homes across the country.
'Just increasing pensions is not enough'
Retirement homes are now big business, with even big realtors venturing into it.
Poor quality of care
Mumbai’s homes are plagued by problems such as lack of financial resources, shortfall of care-givers, and poor quality of care.
Most homes in Delhi are run by NGOs
Most homes in the capital are run by NGOs, with several getting grants from government agencies.
Lower middle class left out
Interestingly, the elderly males prefer to use one of the 28 Corporation-run night shelters rather than join a home.
Filled to capacity
Kolkata has about 100 centrally funded homes, with an average capacity of 25-30 persons.
Read the feature in The Hindu dt. 5th Apr 2015
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