HAD Raj Shakti been clear and focused, the Mantrana Shakti and Utsah Shakti was clear that India could, and should take production of agricultural commodities in which it faced critical shortfalls – pulses, oilseeds, onions, and potatoes in the abundant lands which were available for agriculture outsourcing in Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
India could leverage her vast army of trained agriculture scientists, fertiliser co-operatives which were the best and most extensive in the world and procurement agencies like NAFED and seed companies and make an SPV for this purpose, we could not only address critical shortages and market fluctuations in India, but also assist the global food and supply chain, besides helping our economic and social diplomacy initiatives across the world.
The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is now! Shobhan Pattanayak, my predecessor at the NHM has ensured that as things stand, horticulture production far exceeds the agriculture production of the country. The reason for the phenomenal success of the NHM, now MIDH is best expressed in his own words:
“the interdisciplinary approach in mission mode was a conscious deviation from the silo-based approach of earlier programmatic interventions, creating a healthy bridge between administration, specialised expertise, and emerging research. Emphasis was placed on creating an inclusive environment which valued the contribution of knowledge design in each of the organisations.”
Engineers’ strike
Subhendu Roy talks of how they took on the engineering departments during the infamous strike of all engineers seeking parity with the IAS during the most difficult period of monsoons. This was the time when Mr. Murshed, the legendary PWD Secretary, took the bull by the horns!
Atmanirbhar Surakshsa argues that as the third largest defence spender after the US and China, India had to leverage her position – not just as an importer, but also as an exporter. I would like to quote from him, “given India’s diverse geographic terrain – weapon systems designed for India are fully effective in most areas of the world – from desert to the equator to the Arctic. Thus, India should design and produce weapon systems not just for India, but also for the global market.”
Youngest contributor
Last, but not the least, we have the contribution from the youngest contributor V Lalitha Lakshmi from the West Bengal cadre. She has penned a paper ‘Ramayana and Governance: influences and Lessons for our polity and administration’ She quotes the verse from Ramayana which reads:
Sachiv, Vaidya, Guru teen jo priye bolahi bhhay aas Raja Dharam tan teeni kar hoi behagi naas (When one’s secretary, doctor and teacher are unable to speak their minds owing to fear, it would lead to one’s imminent downfall.)
Therefore, the civil servant must give her advice without fear of favour and live up to the expectations which Sardar Patel had for the civil service: You will not have a United India if you have not a good All India service which has the independence to speak its mind.
