The Hindu : Karnataka News : Reward competence: Sachin Pilot

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 26, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka

Reward competence: Sachin Pilot

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, FEB. 25. The Young Indians Summit of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) got off to an energetic start here on Friday.

The new face of Indian politics was displayed by two young members of Parliament, Sachin Pilot and B.J. Panda, who outlined their agenda for not just changing the face of India but being part of the change themselves. They interacted through videoconferencing with the delegates.

"The demographics indicate more young people should be in public life and this is happening now. More of us are in politics out of choice and not as a last resort, and this is a good sign," Mr. Panda said. The economy had grown faster since the 1980s and 1990s, averaging an annual growth of 7 to 8 per cent now. "We can take it up to 10 per cent and many of us (MPs) feel it is possible," he added. "A Goldman Sachs forecast said India's could be the third largest world economy in dollar terms within some decades and this is possible if we realise our potential in education, industrial and institutional reforms."

Education

"The educational system has been static and we need to spend Rs. 15,000 crores a year to provide education to all children till age 14 but we are spending barely one-third of that. The World Bank norm of spending 6 per cent of the GDP on primary and secondary education should be followed," Mr. Panda suggested. Structural reforms in administration are necessary to change from the colonial legacy of control and delays in the judicial system cost the country 2 per cent of the GDP now.

Mr. Pilot focused on the Prime Minister's policy: reforms with a human face. The most important change needed now is to reward true competence, so that "success does not have to come through dubious means," he remarked. Equally important is to keep politics clear of divisions of caste and religion and to pay more respect for the value of life through a change in the order of society. "More sections need to be empowered and this change can come if we work with commitment," he said.

Road map

During the interactive session that followed, the MPs agreed that rural India had to match the changes in the cities and felt the summit would come out with a road map for immediate action by all sections of the youth of the country.

Pallab Talukdar of Hewlett Packard India, representing young executives, referred to the changes in the scene since the 1970s, especially in sectors such as rail travel and telecom and how information technology is beginning to transform the life of the average Indian.

A senior CII member and now its chief mentor, Tarun Das, appreciated the fact that 40 per cent of the delegates were young women.

"An explosion in entrepreneurship to create more jobs at all levels, efforts to increase the GDP growth to 10 per cent or more and a determined effort to see there is no poverty will really change the country," he said.

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