Several Central Government secretaries have expressed their views to the Prime Minister about the possible disastrous effects of populist schemes announced by some states, already in deep financial trouble, on the economy of the state and by extension of the nation. The secretaries were responding on cue given by the Prime Minister during a meeting where he implored them to provide feedback and suggest loopholes in the policies of the government.
The meeting, the Ninth such since 2014, of high-level interaction with the top bureaucrats, held at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, on Saturday went on for four-hour-long hours. Along with the secretaries of the central government, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister PK Mishra and Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also remained present in the meeting.
Several secretaries expressed their views that some of the populist schemes are economy unavailable and can lead the implementing state and nation to the same disastrous path as Sri Lanka. It is pertinent to note that India’s southern neighbour Sri Lanka is facing an unprecedented economic crisis and an emergency is declared to curb the public unrest.
PM Modi asked the bureaucrats to adapt to the challenges of managing surplus and move out of the mentality of shortages. He told them t look at the bigger perspective and give up citing “poverty” as an excuse for not taking up major development projects. He also informed them to act as secretaries of the government of India instead of merely as secretaries of their respective departments.
