After Agnipath, it’s Time for Nitipath
Dear Reader,
Hope you are well. In this edition, we bring to you our latest from the past week including on civil services reform, techno-democratic alliance at G-20, and solving India’s mobility challenges.
Also, the applications for our short credit course on Gene Drive closes on September 7. Do spread the word.
After Agnipath, it’s Time for Nitipath
While Agnipath attempts reforming recruitment to the armed forces, not much has moved in terms of reforming civil services.. Nitin Pai, in his column for the Mint, digs into the systematic rot in the civil services today:
The civil service, in general, does not face the pressure to upgrade its numbers and capabilities. It does not face systemic incentives to change. In many cases, the civil service, especially at the lower levels, is given up as a lost cause. Lacking motivation, training and performance management, the civil service depends on a few of its numbers to uphold the steel frame.
He makes a case for the government to launch a “Nitipath” scheme on the lines of Agnipath, along with other semi-structural administrative reforms like performance reviews and exit filters:
The government can recruit four times as many candidates at the entry level without being constrained by the number of apex level positions and career paths. Instead of 600-1,000 candidates appointed to the All India Services, we can have 4,000 officers entering service every year. Only 25% of them will be retained after a performance review after the fourth year. This will bring a lot of young and energetic officers at the junior levels, give them strong incentives to perform, and give them work experience in government.
Deploy BrahMos Against China
In his weekly column for The Print, Lt. Gen. Prakash Menon writes on why India should deploy the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos against its eastern neighbour:
Ideally, the bulk of India’s BrahMos assets should be deployed against China as the mountainous terrain provides scope for interdicting the crucial and challenging operational logistics needed by offensive forces. However, due to legacy reasons and our reluctance to rebalance from the western to the northern front, BrahMos units like the one involved in the accidental firing continue to be deployed on the west. The case for thickening up land and air-based BrahMos assets on the northern border is strong, especially when these assets are mobile and can be redeployed with adequate prior preparatory measures.
Techno-Democratic Alliance at G20
India will be assuming the presidency of the G20 for 2023. Arjun Gargeyas writes in his article for News18 that India can focus on technology and bringing like-minded states together on the technological front during its presidency:
The digital economy’s growth also means a massive rise in cross-border economic transactions with technology empowering the domain. It would put different states’ responsibilities to ensure that technology can positively contribute to the digital economy. The G-20 countries especially are all advanced economies whose decisions drive forward and set standards at the international level. A group of techno-democracies can help to leverage existing and potential technologies to build a solid foundation for developing economies to access and utilise the digital space to boost their economic progress.
Solving India’s Transportation Problem
Congestion in major Indian cities is much higher than comparable mega cities in Asia. Lack of public transport and a poor urban infrastructure leaves Indians with one the highest per km travel cost in the developing world. Is there a way we can fix this problem?
In last Friday’s episode of All Things Policy, Ritul Gaur and Sowmya Nandan spoke to our alum Anand A about solving India’s transportation woes and his entrepreneurial journey as the founder of Vogo.
GCPP September 2022 Kicks-Off
The September 2022 cohort of Graduate Certificate in Public Policy (GCPP) programme started on Saturday, September 3, 2022. Pranay Kotasthane welcomed the cohort and invited them to run the marathon to change India with us. We look forward to our journey with these few hundred bright minds for the next twelve weeks.
Sachin Kalbag joins Takshashila
Sachin Kalbag has joined The Takshashila Institution as a Senior Fellow in our new Information Policy and Governance Programme. After spending nearly three decades in some of India's most influential newsrooms in Delhi, Mumbai and Washington, DC, Sachin has decided to switch over to the policy space. We are excited to have him on board.
You can find him on Twitter @SachinKalbag.
Application Deadline for Gene Drive Course is September 7
The Takshashila Institution is offering a special credit course on Gene Drive meant for those who desire to understand this emerging technology and its potential use in India. The course will provide an introduction to the technical, regulatory, ethical and policy aspects of gene drives in India and across the globe.
The faculty for the course is Shambhavi Naik, Head of Research at The Takshashila Institution and the chairperson of the Advanced Biology programme.
That’s all from us this week. Take care!