Citing Hitler's example, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday cautioned that a strong
government may not always move in the right direction, while suggesting a
middle path between unchecked powers to the administration and a "complete
paralysis".
Giving a lecture on 'Democracy, Inclusion
and Prosperity' in Goa, Rajan said India has strong institutions like the
judiciary, the Opposition, media and NGOs, but the government and regulatory
capabilities need to be strengthened.
At the same time, the country would have
to resist the "temptation to implant layers and layers of checks and
balances even before the capacity has taken root," he said.
"We must choose a
happy medium between giving the administration unchecked power and creating
complete paralysis, recognizing that our task is different from the one that
confronted the West when it developed, or even the task faced by other Asian economies,"
Rajan said.
While stating that a strong government
should be led by those who have expertise, motivation and integrity and can provide the
needed public goods, Rajan warned that "strong governments, may not,
however, move in the right direction".
"Hitler provided Germany with an
extremely effective administration -- the trains ran on time, as did the trains
during our own Emergency in 1975-77.
"His was a strong government, but
Hitler took Germany efficiently and determinedly on a path to ruin, overriding
the rule of law and dispensing with elections.
"It is not
sufficient that the trains run on time, they have to go in the right direction
at the desired time," the RBI Governor said.
The economic inclusion, he added, should mean
easing access to quality education, nutrition, healthcare, finance and markets
to all citizens for ensuring sustainable growth.
He further said that in many areas of
government and regulation the country needs more specialists with domain
knowledge and experience.
"For instance, well-trained
economists are at a premium throughout the government, and there are far too
few Indian Economic Service officers to go around," Rajan
said.
Observing that
democratic accountability is very strong in India, he said "we may have a
long way to go (as far as) the capacity of the government, by this I mean
regulators like RBI also, to deliver governance and public services".
//COPY// DNA (20-02-2015)
