MIT School of Government - Masters Program in Government, First Trimester-In Lecture

September 11, 2006
Shri. V. K. Saraf,spoke "Criminal Investigation Procedures & Reliability of Witnesses"

“Statement of witness can be used only in respect of his disposition, not to contradict or corroborate any other witnesses, it is limited to himself.
“Investigation is a form of research.
“Over dependence on oral testimony of witnesses has to be reduced and so there has to be change in the investigation agencies and the judiciary, and change of attitude, in the form of paradigm shift.
“Change in the procedural law is crucial, it should not be a halfhearted patchwork as we see now, but a radical change in the total concept of administration.

Prakash Jawdekar,spoke "Qualification of a Good Politician special focus on Qualities of Effective Spokesperson

"A social worker is one who can stretch their hand to pull out someone's thorn while consoling the other person!" The 3 S's which are necessary to be a good leader are being sensitive, having the will to struggle, and ready to sacrifice their own self. He spoke about the evils of dynastic politics - he questioned what happened to meritocracy? He also questioned if the society is becoming a feudal society. The essential ingredients of joining politics are having a passion for service, mastering the art of good communication while having a vision and a mission. He requested people to vote for the person and not the purse, rather vote for the party and not the person.

“I was never much to politics, thinking for anyone except myself and what I want and used to take pride in it. I never voted in my life ever till today. When I read a line that something which is working against “I don’t care culture, it completely took me back. I always took pride in saying I don’t care. But after visit to this institute no longer I can say that.

The idea of having a school for politicians is incredibly renovating. I was always resistant towards voting for anybody and feel that what this man deserve to be MLA or MP, because none of them have any qualification, knowledge or education but no choice you vote for that person.

“This institute will assure to the common man that the student coming out of this institute will be having the basic knowledge, qualification, motivation and doing it with specific purpose will instil lot of confidence and trust.

Shri. Dr. A. Vasudevan ,spoke : "Financeing the Future Growth of Indian Economy"

“With Young, you forget your age, you also become young. The emergence of POTA, which he termed as draconian law.

“I have been contending all my life that governance is not enforcing penal laws alone, governance is something which will manage the society in such a way that, it will improve the living conditions of people. It will ensure the prevalence of human dignity in our relationship with each other. It will see to that majority of the populations in this country who are poor, are provided with the right to life and right to a living.

Incompetence of Governance increased in these years. “Satyagraha is an act of Defence, it begin with as a strategy later, evolved into as a philosophy.

“Terrorism has become an act of defiance by a handful of people against a nation state and it is very difficult for the state to respond to this.

With the war on terrorism, there is a qualitative change in the character of the war that you do not know which country to attack but you have the freedom to attack. Congress government being closer to America and having joined war on terrorism, cannot be without law on terrorism. He also mentioned about “Unlawful prevention of Act, 1967.

“If this law traps a guilty, it traps a hundred innocent people, that is the problem. “When political system is insufficient, when justice is not done, terrorism, emerges. Penal law cannot correct social imbalance, what is needed is the improvement of living condition of all categories of people.

“Today the possibility of having a dialogue is meagre as the characteristics of war which we are having changed.

“There is a vested interest in disorder in the kind of politics we are having in our country today.

Shri. K. N. Govindacharya :, spoke“Globalization with reference to Swadeshi”

“It is through our capacity and character the future of our country will be shaped.
Politics is the art of the possible
Politics has become economy driven.
Our democracy is based upon the western model.
Politician and Bureaucrats are two wheels of the chariots.
Bureaucracy should be made answerable to people.
Bureaucrats are accountable to people’s representatives and people’s representatives are answerable to people.

“Essential role assigned to the politicians, the people’s representative is to represent people’s will by forming policies and programs which would give shape to the aspirations of people.

Essential role of Bureaucrats is two-fold, firstly to give free and fair advice to the politicians and secondly to helping them to formulate policies and programs.

“Corruption cannot occur unless politicians and bureaucrats are hand in hand with each other’.

My campaigns, movements throughout the country help me understand the strength of bureaucracy. I claimed have seen both from the side of a journalist, activist, bureaucrat and politicians.

Politics, in fact one more medium to serve the country. As per Gandhiji politics is the means to achieve oneness with god. “Today politics almost borders on treason.

“In our country politicians are on a position for life’. No politicians take the responsibility of anything. It needs immense courage for the politicians to confess politically in front of public.

“Unless first we make bureaucracy answerable to the people, taking the power of transfer away from politicians is not advisable.

September 22, 2006
Anupam Mishra,spoke on Recent Floods, Draughts and Traditional Rain Water Harvesting System

Quote : Our society is not a clear slate. It has already got its own customs, languages, traditional culture etc.

India is a country made of villages. There are more than 5 lacs of villages. Compared to that, governance is through the Prime Minister and his council of Ministers, The State Chief Ministers and his Ministers, the District Collectors and Commissioners. These are highly inadequate to monitor daily the administration of these villages and cities. Hence, local self-governance is necessary for it. In Rajasthan, there are 4-5 districts, which are having a desert environment. They have their own methods of rainwater harvesting which has been used for centuries. These are controlled by the village panchayats and are managed very efficiently

September 25, 2006

Shri V. Ranganathan,spoke on“Role of Chief Secretary in a state government

He clarified the correlation between citizens, legislature, cabinet, Administration and Governor.

“It is not true to say that our delivery system is poor. Political masters run the administration. They have the right to take actions against any inefficiency.

There are collective responsibilities. The Chief secretary is expected to state the facts of the case as accurately and thoroughly as possible and make recommendations that it is prerogative of the minister to take correct decision and to implement the decision faithfully.

The chief secretary has to make suggestions if he knows that something is wrong in the decision. While mentioning the role of Chief Secretary in the administrative set up, he said,

1.Chief secretary is the considered to be the head of the civil services who guides or instructs the civil services and sets the tone of the administration through personal example.

2. As the head of the civil services, if there are any grievances with any one, he can meet the Chief secretary.

3. He is also secretary to the cabinet, he will have to prepare notes, will have to be present in the cabinet meeting, must be available to give suggestions and will have to implement the decisions quickly.

Today there are hundreds of laws, which serve no purpose. Systems and procedures are too slow in India. There must be independent grievances redress mechanism must be there.

Other options are e governance, Delegation and decentralisation. Chief secretary must spare some time to manage and monitor every activity to improve efficiency. “One way to improve the Governance is through public participation.

“The Chief Secretary is not only the kingpin of the administrative set up of the state, but a role model, his inspiration, commitment will certainly improve the tone of administration in the state and his effort in institutionalising his improvement thorough system reengineering that it acquires permanence’.

“Because our procedures and opaques are complicated, corruption is high in India.

“Those who would like to come to politics they must be mentally and emotionally prepared.

“But we will have to look at Aryans from Aryan standard, and Adivasis from Adivasi standard

Its very difficult to abide my the true ideals, even in the Ramarajya, ideals changed with opportunities.

“The quality of people that have been coming to politics and the quality of mass attached with politics is not to the standards as it should be.

“Most of the political parties don’t have internal democracy. “Any political decision taken is in relativity of times.

Politics is not a priority career to the youths today. Those youths those who are in politics today is due to three reasons (1) active during student
Life. (2) Political family background. (3) opportunity through friends, networks that connected with politicians.

“Until politics comes up as a career, in the career chart of the youths in this country, current crisis of talent in politics will carry on

Most of the political party is feudalistic. “The educated mass does not for vote. They are insensitive and indifferent to the country.

Today the image of the politician has gone down so that even such people with great heights are considered as scoundrel.

October 10, 2006

Shri. Jimmy Gurule, Spoke on"Terrorist Financing & Antimoney"

“Most effective way, in the matter of policy to influence criminal syndicate and organized crimes was to deprive them of the finances.

“If you give me the option arresting the drug king pin, ceasing a million dollars worth of drugs or ceasing the million dollars in cash, my option will be to go after money, cease the cash, that is the life blood of criminal organization’. Money is not easily replaceable.

The more ambitious the terrorist organization in terms of objectives and goals, more money they need to sustain or to finance.

“Today going after money is the key to dismantling the terrorism around the world.
“One of the lessons we learned is that the main sources of funding for the Alkaida and other terrorist organization is Islamic charity.

It is not true that the terrorists are the product of socio-economic disadvantage. Many of the Alkaida leaders are qualifies, from sound financial background, these educated are taking advantages of other Muslim man who are poor and disadvantaged to fulfils their plans.

October 14, 2006

Shri. P. A. Sangma, Spoke on"Particiapted in shadow & Classroom - Extempore Speech"

The biggest achievement of India after Independence in one sentence is preservation of parliamentary democracy without interruption. The definition of democracy by president Abraham Lincoln is “Government of the people, by the people, for the people. But practically it means that “sharing of power. Sharing is the word, in a parliamentary democracy, sharing is the best-afforded forum. Till 1977, we were perhaps alright, it was ruled by a single party, Indian National Congress Party and National Party. From 1977 onwards, you can see the declined. The declined of National party and the immerging of regional parties. Today we have 700+ political party registered with election commissioner of India. India is suffering today in crises of the leadership and here’s comes the importance of your institution. Yours is the only Institution, who has applied on this aspect that you are mine.

We need leaders in this country, if people can’t produce this leaders, if political parties do not like to produce leaders, then Institutional like you have to produce leaders and this is must.

“Our mission is to deliver superior value to our customers, shareholders, employees and society at large.
“Our projects are planned in participatory manner, looking at long-term sustainability.
“The biggest value that our group has achieved is the value of trusteeship. We need ourself to guide us.

Aditya Birla group started with Grasim industries , the largest producers of fibre , which is an alternative to cotton. The father of Kumaramangalam Birla , after returning from US , understood that there is too much of red tapism around and people don’t know what he is talking about and he got frustrated. He visited countries abroad fro eg, South East Asia, Thailand, Philippines and prove to the people there that Indian can prove ourself and are equally good, if not better, in the open market situations anywhere. Outside India there were too much of competition, but the group never lag behind.

“In the 43 years of my carrer with Aditya Birla group, one single value unchanged is character that is to excel and to be at trustee.

There are certain Mantras coined by the chairman, they are 1. Integrity
2. Commitment. 3. Passion, 4. Seamlessness. 5. Speed.

All this mantras are equally important. No value will take precedence. It is the greater value creation for our stakeholders.

Leadership of men and women is not learned in any classroom that Karad Sir has brought about in this classroom is an effort for which he must be lorded and is a month of fact. I would suggest that let us explore the possibilities and find out whether it is all possible that intuitions like this are multiplied because the need of the nation for leadership in all dimensions in the future is going to be very great. Nature will throw them up. Our genius will fashion them but perhaps it would be a good thing. Similarly in every corner of this great country, we had such institutions, which would also give them some necessity grounding and able them to take up the task of the future. His own experience says that the biggest thing that makes politics and during is acquiring the trust of people. Your first effort to acquire trust succeeds in how small or big way you want to do something, it will get legitimacy and once it will get legitimacy, today or tomorrow, society will except and doing what society excepts is the basic duty of a political work. This Nation will immerge not as a political power or a military power or a super power but as a great magnet for knowledge, which will really fuel the future growth of the world and in that exercise India will play a very important role. He said that he don’t know whether Shri Karadji would allow him to join one of his classes, sometime later but today he won’t mine in coming back to the Institution as a student sometime later because in the school of life it is never too late to learn.

“It is through our capacity and character the future of our country will be shaped.
“Politics is the art of the possible
“Politics has become economy driven.
“Our democracy is based upon the western model.
“Politician and Bureaucrats are two wheels of the chariots.
“Bureaucracy should be made answerable to people.
“Bureaucrats are accountable to people’s representatives and people’s representatives are answerable to people.

“Essential role assigned to the politicians, the people’s representative is to represent people’s will by forming policies and programs which would give shape to the aspirations of people.

Essential role of Bureaucrats is two-fold, firstly to give free and fair advice to the politicians and secondly to helping them to formulate policies and programs.

“Corruption cannot occur unless politicians and bureaucrats are hand in hand with each other’.

My campaigns, movements throughout the country help me understand the strength of bureaucracy. I claimed have seen both from the side of a journalist, activist, bureaucrat and politicians.

Politics, infact one more medium to serve the country. As per Gandhiji politics is the means to achieve oneness with god. “Today politics almost borders on treason.

“Unless first we make bureaucracy answerable to the people, taking the power of transfer away from politicians is not advisable.

Quote : Man is the only animal who attacks his own kind. The strong attack the weak Governance is required to stop the strong from attacking the weak.

Every person has to get the company of proper people at the proper time for hi to achieve something in life. As a young man, I was in constant search for this enviable company. As the first educated youth of my village, I wanted to do something for my country and my village. I went to all political parties but could not find any answers. Congress did not like us asking questions. BJP wanted to bring back the glorious period of Ramayana into today’s world. Was Ramayana flawless? Did not Sita suffer even in Ramayana? CPI(M) wanted us to bring in armed revolution. How does one do it ? We, the youth of Maharashtra got our leadership in the form of Jayaprakash Narayan. He was our leader during the dark era of Emergency.

Shri. Tripurari Sharan , Spoke on “Management of Public Institutions in India"

“What is important to any institution is the strategy that they adopt and who will decide on this strategy’.

“No competition or threat to any efficiently run public institutions because of cost factor and wider net.

“Leadership is crucial to adopt relevant strategy and the proper management of any public or private institutions.

Market orientation of Indian cinema advanced to such an extent that some institutions like NFDC in tune with those changes outfitted the objective for which it started. Many public sectors are reinvented themselves to equip for the changes.

Whether Democracy as a political system is capable of successfully tackling and eliminating the poverty in the same way as authoritarian regimes.
“In democratic regimes what is most important is the strategy that you are adopting’.

Two strategy adopted to tackling poverty, since independence is direct attack on poverty and Trickle down effect.

Shri. Bhayyuji Maharaj , Spoke on“Life in UK and Functioning of Urban Self Government: A comparative Analysis

Shri. Prabhakar Karandikar , Spoke on“"Working to self Help Group & Micro Finance"

“The idea of Self-Help Group is that instead of waiting till the fruits of economic growth trickle down to the lowest rank of the society, help them to cross the poverty line and come up to the social and economic ladder.

“Instead of looking at an individual borrowers, you feel to look at as a group who share certain common interests, common commitments who are able to take collateral guarantee as the group dynamics work better.

Definition of poverty is not easy. The idea of Self- Help group emerged from the experience of Gramin Bank of Bangladesh. It is adopted in different forms in different countries depending on local situations and needs.
“The main theme is that how poor can be made bankable and how the small doses of institutional finance can transform their lives.

People realised after watching this silent revolution that it leads to the women empowerment. It helps in building financial capabilities and self-confidence in the rural poor, through internal savings and lending from the owned funds of Self-Help Groups. No element of subsidy refinance by NaBard to Banks.

Quote : A good economist must have a knowledge of Mathematics, Accounts, History, Philosophy and Geography of his country.

All over the world, India has been lauded as the country with highest economic growth in recent times. But this growth is only in some sectors. Financial aspects have been largely ignored. In the 1950s, it was envisaged that India would have a certain growth index in 25 years. It would have to match the International standards. Accordingly, the 5-year plans were created. Now, for every growth, a large amount of investment is necessary. Policies have to be made, they have to be announced and then implemented. Private sector also has to be invited to invest in these areas. All this is a very complex phenomenon

Quote : “Good governance means self governance. Democracy must be accompanied with good governance.

India is facing stupendous problems which can be resolved by a very good and trained leadership. A leader who understands the problems of this very complex nation of ours and can also foresee the development of the country into a super power is needed. There are two events which stand out in our history. One is Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership and the other is Pandit Nehru’s speech on the eve of our freedom. Gandhiji was not only fighting for our country’s freedom but also fighting to wipe the tears from the eyes of the poor people of India. Pandit Nehru in his speech had talked of a Nation Awakening while the world sleeps. Has our Nation truly awakened? Are we self-sufficient? Have we rid ourselves of poverty? These are the questions we must ask ourselves. Only our Democracy has flourished. We have had regular elections. Not many countries in our neighborhood can boast of this achievement. But accountability? That will have a very different answer.

Quote : Income Tax Department helps in the Nation Building Process and hence must not be seen with resentment

Today, when one talks about the Income Tax Department, one always talks with resentment. It takes away hard earned money of the people – be it salaried or businesspersons. This money is used to build the infrastructure necessary for the development of the country. In the early 1960s, taxation rate was very high. People used to avoid paying taxes. Now, however, taxation rate has been lowered, but collection has become very high. On the other hand, new taxes have been launched.
Government service is considered a permanent service. Hence, the quality of service given by the government servants is very bad. Even if one is paying very high taxes, he will not be given good service in the Income Tax office. This has changed for the better in recent times.