Prime Minister emphasises wide ranging policy reform

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has stressed the importance of moving on from the 6% growth era to an era of 8%, or even more. Addressing the Golden Jubilee celebrations at the Delhi School of Economics, here today, he emphasized the need for policy reform on a wide range of fronts. The Prime Minister emphasised the need to renew the commitment to excellence in education, even as the Government focused its attention on questions of access and added that the Government was committed to ensuring that every Indian is literate, educated and skilled. “We are committed to investing in building capabilities in people that ensure that everyone of us can earn a decent living”, Dr. Singh said.

Referring to the present debate on what we must do to facilitate the next quantum leap, the Prime Minister urged the Delhi School of Economics to participate actively in this debate. “Educate our policymakers and parliamentarians. Illuminate the public discourse. Remain committed to excellence, but also remain committed to the nation. Show the way forward so that we can walk that road,” he said. “Being the best in India is good, but not good enough. You must be on par with the best in the world,” the Prime Minister added.

“We need to increase productivity and output in agriculture and manufacturing. We need to promote a pattern of growth, which creates large enough job opportunities to absorb all the new entrants to our labour force. We need more focused attention on social equity, on education, health, environmental and gender sensitive issues, and regional imbalances in level of development. In all these areas, we cannot be satisfied with the status quo or with the tenets of traditional wisdom,” the Prime Minister asserted.

“During the present term of the UPA Government we are committed to pay greater attention to issues of social equity to give substance to the pledge to promote development with a human face,” Dr. Singh observed.

The Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University, Shri Deepak Pental and Prof. Pulin Nayak, faculty members and students of the Delhi School of Economics were among those present on the occasion.

Following is the text of the Prime Minister’s address: “I am truly delighted to be here to participate in your Golden Jubilee Celebrations. Returning to Delhi School is, for me, like undertaking a pilgrimage. This is no ordinary temple of learning. For many of us who have devoted our lives to the study and pursuit of economics and related social sciences, this is the ultimate sanctum sanctorum of Indian economics. For generations, young men and women from across the country have dreamt of being here, like you, to walk through these hallowed portals. Like the IITs and the IIMs and the many other great institutions of learning that the builders of our Republic created, this too was their gift to our nation.

I salute the memory of Jawaharlal Nehru, who supported whole-heartedly Prof. V.K.R.V. Rao, initiative to create the Delhi School of Economics. I salute the memory of my gurus like Professor V K R V Rao, Professor B.N. Ganguly, Professor K.N. Raj and many more, who devoted their life to create the Delhi School of Economics. On a day like this, we remember with the deepest gratitude the pioneering zeal and visionary leadership of Dr. V.K.R.V Rao.

There are many institutions that are fortunate to have visionary architects and founders, but that are not equally fortunate to have dedicated and creative builders. Delhi School was fortunate that those who came to serve it were as devoted, creative, and brilliant, as those who built it. I must, therefore, also pay my tribute to the army of great economists and social scientists who have lectured in these halls, and pursued research in these portals. I do not wish to take your time recalling the names of all, but I would be failing if I did not mention, along with that of Professor K.N. Raj, the name of my esteemed dear friend, Professor Sukhamoy Chakravarty, Professor Dharma Kumar, Professor Raj Krishna, Professor Amartya Sen, Professor M.N. Srinivas, Professor Mrinal Datta Chaudhury, Professor Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor Suresh Tendulkar, Professor K L Krishna, Professor J Krishnamurthy, Professor V N Pandit, Professor Meghnad Desai, Professor Andre Beteille, Professor J.P.S. Oberoi, Professor K.L. Nagar, Professor K.A. Naqvi, Professor A.M. Khusro, and Professor S.B. Gupta.

There were many other distinguished economists and other social scientists who have lectured here, who have spent valuable time here. They came from afar, from some of the most coveted institutions of learning in the world. I recall, in particular, the repeated visits of my own supervisor from Cambridge, Joan Robinson, who was often here at Delhi School. Many in the government, like my esteemed friend, the Late Dr. I.G. Patel, took time away to lecture at the Delhi School of Economics.

Delhi School has also produced great economists over the years and many of them have distinguished themselves in institutions and universities of international repute. Many of them have also made a deep and profound contribution to the processes of policy formulation in our country. There are few institutions in our country that can truly feel so proud to have been home to so many of our bright and dedicated students and scholars. I salute the founding fathers of Delhi School for their contribution to the task of nation building.

I must also mention my own association with the Delhi School. I was invited to come here by Professor K.N. Raj. I was truly excited by that invitation. I had often visited Delhi School when I was in Punjab. To be invited to be on the faculty was a truly fulfilling moment for me. I came to Delhi to teach, and to teach at the Delhi School of Economics. I have always wondered whether I did the right thing moving from teaching into the Government! Teaching is and remains my first love. I had always wanted to be a teacher. I merely drifted into Government, pulled by a sense of duty to our country.

I recall that I was in New York, at the United Nations, when the opportunity to teach at Delhi School presented itself to me. My colleagues were shocked when I informed them that I would give up my UN job to return home. I was called in by the Secretary General of United Nations who tried to persuade me to reconsider my decision. I then told him that I sincerely believed that something exciting was happening in India and I wanted to be a part of it. It was not the Fifties, the years of great hope and excitement for economists. It was the sixties, when India was dealing with one crisis after another. Two wars, two drought years, a Balance of Payments crisis, a food crisis, social unrest and, above all, the troubled transition from the Nehru era to that of Smt. Indira Gandhi.

I was convinced that if there was one place in the world to be working, it was India. I was convinced that if there was one institution to be at, it was the Delhi School of Economics. The Secretary General listened to me and at the end said to me that there is a Burmese proverb – “Sometimes the wisest thing to do is to act very foolishly”. But I don’t regret the decision I made to return home.

When the call to move to Government came, I took up that challenge because I felt that we should contribute something to the processes of policy formulation in our country. I was seized by the urge to try and make a difference. It was a difficult decision to make because Delhi School was a truly hospitable place. A truly wonderful place to be in.

Today, one may wonder what is it that made Delhi School so special. I believe it was the combination of a commitment to excellence and a commitment to society, to the Indian people, to the Indian nation. There was a sense of patriotism that we were all charged by. We wanted to do something for India. We wanted to make our country a better place to live in. We also wanted to study various aspects of our development, our society, and the world outside.

This genuine patriotism was, however, tempered by an equal commitment to excellence, to knowledge, to the pursuit of truth. We recognized the value of hard work, of conforming to the requirements of the “dharma” of research and teaching.

The combination of a commitment to professional excellence and a commitment to society and the nation at large, is what inspired so many brilliant young men and women to come here. If there is one lesson I would like all other institutions across the country to learn from Delhi School’s experience and example, it is this particular one.

Today, there is once again a need to renew this commitment to excellence in education, even as we in Government focus our attention on questions of access. Our Government is committed to ensuring that every Indian is literate, educated and skilled. We are committed to investing in building capabilities in people that ensure that everyone of us can earn a decent living. We have increased financial allocations for elementary, secondary and higher universities. We will continue to do so. The Vice-Chancellor has referred to several innovative initiatives that the University would like to launch. I assure you that I will work with you in ensuring that at these some of these schemes do get realised. We have taken measures to provide scholarships to weaker sections and minorities to improve their access to education. We will continue to take steps that improve access, particularly for the weaker sections of our society. It is, however, in your hands, in the hands of those who manage educational institutions, to ensure that along with improved access, we also pay attention to the challenge of excellence.

There are many new challenges facing our country today. However, I am always heartened by the creativity of our people in responding to these challenges. India is the world’s most exciting social laboratory for any social scientist to study. We are an ancient civilization but a very young nation, a nation of immense possibilities, a nation brimming with a renewed sense of confidence and hope.

When I look back at the past century, I see India riding a wave of progress. For half a century, from 1900 to 1950, our economy grew at a measly growth rate of close to zero per cent per annum. From 1950 to 1980, we grew at 3.5% per annum. From 1980 to 2005, our economy has grown at the rate of close to 6.0% per annum. I am convinced that we are at the threshold of a new era of higher growth. However, to realize this potential we must take determined measures in several areas. I urge you to study our previous inflection points and see what enabled the transition from low growth to high growth.

In the 1950s, a newly independent India invested in new capabilities. We created new institutions, new policy frameworks, new opportunities. The economy responded handsomely. After half a century of zero growth, the 1950s experienced 5.0% growth. It is not as if there were no policy differences at the time. Even Panditji was criticized. While Professor Mahalanobis and Raj worked on the First Five-Year Plan, there were other Plans vying for attention. There was already a Bombay Plan, there was a People’s Plan. There was a Delhi School and a Bombay School. Those heady debates were as combative as what we encounter today. Panditji’s vision bore fruit.

When growth slowed down in the 1960s, we were slow to take corrective measures. The Delhi School was once again the arena of much debate. Opinions differed on what we should have been doing at the time to restore the lost momentum to our economy. The intellectual battles of the 1960s and 1970s, were some of the most stimulating battles in economics at the time anywhere in the world.

In the 1980s, and more decisively in the early 1990s, we took steps that enabled the quantum jump from what my friend Raj Krishna dubbed as the “Hindu rate of growth”. Once again intellectual battles erupted. I recall the many criticisms made against the initiatives I had taken in 1991. There were some genuine worriers. There were others with blinkers on. Some concerns were warranted. Many others were ill-informed. We stayed the course. I reached out to many professional economists. I recall asking Jagdish and T.N Srinivasan to prepare an independent study on what we had done and see if we were in the right direction. I also listened to my critics. But, in the end, I had the responsibility to take difficult, if momentous, decisions. We took them. The economy responded handsomely. To an extent our critics were right in asking for more focused attention on problems of social equity, particularly greater emphasis on education and health. However, given the magnitude of macro-economic balances we had to contend with, our options at least in the short run were rather limited. During the present term of the UPA Government we are committed to pay greater attention to issues of social equity, education and health and to give substance to the pledge to promote development with a truly human face.

India has since the early 1990s been quoted around the world as a model case study on adjustment and stabilization. Barely 15 years ago, an external payments crisis pulled the economy into a serious economic crisis. Today, we can say with pride that there is no external constraint on India’s economic development. Prudent economic management, mixed with some well-advised risk taking have helped. We maintained the growth momentum of the 1980s, but with a healthier macro-economic situation.

I believe we must now move on from the 6.0% growth era to an era of 8.0%, or even more. This I sincerely believe is eminently possible. It is do-able. But, there are things we must do. Each time the economy moved to a new trajectory of growth, this happened because of a number of reasons, because of a number of creative policy initiatives.

Past experience suggests that we do need policy reform on a wide range of fronts. We need new investments. We need to increase productivity and output in agriculture and manufacturing. We need to promote a pattern of growth, which creates large enough job opportunities to absorb all the new entrants to our labour force. We need more focused attention on social equity, on education, health, environmental and gender sensitive issues, and regional imbalances in the level of development. In all these areas, we cannot be satisfied with the status quo, or with the tenets of traditional wisdom. There is, today, once again a debate on what we must do to facilitate the next quantum leap. I urge Delhi School to participate actively in this debate and indeed to lead those participating in this vital debate. Educate our policymakers and parliamentarians. Illuminate the public discourse. Professor Nayak mentioned the famous quote from Keynes that “in the final analysis, ideas are far more important than vested interests”. I do agree with that. But Keynes also said that very often the practical men who made policies are often slaves to defunct economies. I think this is a luxury that our country cannot afford. And therefore that is a challenge for all those working in the Delhi School of Economics, to give a lead to our country, to our policy makers for a forward-looking approach to policy planning for the brave new world of the 21st century. Do remain committed to excellence, but also remain committed to the nation. Show the way forward so that we can walk that road.

A new generation is today in charge of this great institution. I do hope you will continue to attract the best talent from across the world. That you will attract your own students back from foreign universities so that students in India can choose with equal confidence between going to Harvard, Stanford, or Oxford and Cambridge or going to Delhi School of Economics. Delhi School’s benchmarks have always been global. I urge you to continue to benchmark yourself globally. Indeed, every institution in India must adopt global benchmarks. Being the best in India is good, but not good enough. You must be on par with the best in the world. I wish you well, I wish you all the best in life. May your path be blessed.

***

YSR/DS/HK/CS
(Release ID :15017)

Tweet