“The present generation is the custodian of India, which is a trust that needs to be handed over to the next generation in 2035 with great care and the role of public policy ought to be defined as what we as citizens collectively do towards that”, observed Dr Bibek Debroy, Member, NITI Aayog.
Delivering the First Cho S. Ramaswamy Memorial Lecture at the Sastra University, Thanjavur, on Saturday, Dr. Debroy spoke of public policy as a tool for national development.
Elaborating on the abstract nature of the term, he said that though public policy had a wide range of meanings, its understanding had to be gauged from the state-citizen relations in a constitutional framework. He traced the history of the constitutional thrust on public policy and illustratively examined the scope of socialism, secularism and federalism in the Constitution of India.
Dr. Debroy underscored the significance of ``amendments'' to the Constitution and also spoke of their effects vis-à-vis the ground realities in Indian society. In touching upon the role of public policy in relation with the State and its instrumentalities, he said that the State was primarily concerned with security, defence and rule of law, from the earliest times.
Quoting from the Arthashastra he commented on the need for minimal governmental intervention in sectors where the people had to decide organically from within. He recommended that, for an understanding of the nature of state intervention in social infrastructure, the District Gazetteers prepared under the British rule would make for an interesting analysis, he said.
He hailed the Smart Cities Mission as an example of the connect between public aspiration and governmental action, completing the chain of delivery for public goods and services. He said that “public policy is what you make it to be, distinguishing private and collective interests”.
Also present on the occasion were Chief Judicial Magistrate, Tiruvarur, L. S. Sathiyamurthy and Vice-Chancellor, Sastra University, R. Sethuraman.
