The why not game -Governance Now

The why not game

A medley of out-of-box ideas. Let us debate them to better understand our democracy

Ashish Mehta | January 2, 2019 | Delhi

#artificial intelligence #public health #universal basic income #law commission #democracy #out of box idea #why not

Illustration: Ashish Asthana

A few years ago, we could have suggested, why not do away with '1,000 notes. We could have also suggested that the planning commission is anyway founded on an executive fiat and can be done away with another since it does not serve any logical purpose. Or, that a separate railway budget is merely a tradition without a concrete justification. We would have been considered too imaginative. That was before the boldness of imagination became the norm.

Now, one can wonder if the government can do away with personal income tax, and others won’t be able to laugh it away.

Some ideas are so out-of-the-box that they seem like nice one-liners and nothing more.

Then somebody comes around and puts them into practice. Big mandates probably give them the nerve. Rajiv Gandhi too pushed many ideas that do not seem so radical today: from a five-day work week in government to establishing the environment ministry and bringing in a law to end the Aayaram-Gayaram business.

However, one trouble with out-of-box ideas, as Arun Shourie once pointed out, is that there are enough ideas within the box that are yet to be tried out. In electoral and political reforms, for example, every idea pushed by civil society and think-tanks is bound to have figured in one or the other of the hundreds of law commission reports. The only one left is: why not take law panel reports seriously? An idea, finally, can be only as good as it gets on the ground through proper implementation.

In the holiday season overlapping the exit of one year and the arrival of the next, we indulge in a bit of speculative journalism in this edition. As a disclaimer, we would add that the 11 why-nots in the following pages are ideas to be debated and not suggestions for implementation. There’s always the danger of seeming airy, but then we thought: Why not?

Here are 11 out-of-box ideas:

ashishm@governancenow.com

(The article appears in January 15, 2019 edition)

Comments

Other News

Maha Mumbai Metro launches WhatsApp-based ticketing

Maha Mumbai Metro Operations Corporation Ltd (MMMOCL) has launched a WhatsApp-based ticketing service. The service, available on Metro Lines 2A and 7, allows commuters to purchase tickets directly through WhatsApp, eliminating the need for paper tickets and providing a seamless, user-friendly experience.

Navi Mumbai airport: Runway trial successful

An Indian Air Force (IAF) transport carrier C295 landed at the southern runway 26, marking the formal launch of the new airport of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) on Friday. The aircraft touched down on the newly completed 3,700-metre runway at 12.14 pm, the airport operator said. The landi

‘Those who know dharma say truth is the highest dharma’

As Ramlila performances in north India are winding up and we celebrate Dussehra, the victory of good over evil, here is a unique retelling of Valmiki`s Ramayana.

Nation bids farewell to Ratan Tata

It is the end of an era with Ratan Tata’s passing away. The former chairman of Tata Sons died of age-related illnesses at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai late Wednesday. He was 86. A titan among the captains of industry, Tata steered the mighty Tata Group from the days of old econo

A trip to the future, with AI visionary Kurzweil

The Singularity is Nearer: When We Merge with AI By Ray Kurzweil Bodley Head/ Penguin, 425 pages Ray

Election Results: NC-Cong leads in J&K, BJP in Haryana

The vote counting on Tuesday after the assembly elections of Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana has been mostly on predictable lines, except for a twist: in J&K, as expected, the National Conference in alliance with the Congress is on the way to securing a creditable mandate, but in Haryana the BJP is pro