INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
it is now time to reap the dividends
He insisted that NITI Aayog, as a "principal change agent", can help garner those dues."We have paid a very high cost for our democracy in
Otherwise we could haveanyway
But now is the time when NITI Aayog will help us in earning the democratic dividend," Mr Kumar said in response to a query by IANS on how
NITI's role was different from the erstwhile Planning Commission."It is time to get the democratic dividend which would come from states
competing for good governance and good delivery of public services and not by having competitive populism," he said.Mr Kumar said that the
Aayog is a "complete new entity" as compared to the Planning Commission because it works as "partners to the states" and not as "people who
hand out doles to the states"."We, therefore, don't hold durbars in the NITI Bhavan
I have actually taken the trouble and met Chief Ministers of 21 states in their state capitals
Completely the reverse of what Planning Commission used to be," he said.Speaking about NITI Aayog not having any financial powers, he said
it had the "power of ideas and the power to implement them"."By the way, some of my friends tell me that I have come at a wrong time when
the NITI Aayog has lost all powers to disburse money
But we have got the power of ideas and the power of implementing those ideas, both at the central level and much more at the state level,
trying to get them (states) replicate the best practices," Mr Kumar said."And here let me say -- and this is my wish and hope -- that if we
go along the way we are going, on which the Prime Minister has been sort of directing us all the time to go, we will become one of the
principal change agents in this economy," he added.He said that the NITI Aayog has the potential and the ambition to do it."We can bring the
states on the same page, we can make them compete with each other," Mr Kumar said.On the question of economy not creating enough jobs, Mr
Kumar said the allegation of "jobless growth" is mithya (falsehood) and has no substance.He, in line with what the Prime Minister said
recently, insisted that not enough data is available on the jobs.Asked if the government is shifting the goalposts after four years by
hiding behind the pretext of not having sufficient data on growth, Mr Kumar said: "Not at all
We are not shifting the goalpost
My predecessor (Arvind Panagariya) had taken this up in a major way in the second year itself
It takes time to tackle such an important question.""The decisions have been taken, the financial resources have all been allocated
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has already had a household survey in the field."The change in employment can only
come when the first quarter is repeated in the 5th quarter
Then only you know the change Quarter-to-Quarter
Therefore it is taking time
But we will get the best data every year, not just once in five years," he said.
