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At the PMO, policies are framed by factoring in analytical perspectives, implications, sustainability, and other dimensions.
The past 10 years have witnessed wide-ranging reforms in the civil services and streamlining of ministries, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr P K Mishra said during a fireside chat on 'How India should negotiate an uncertain world' on the first day of the annual Business Standard Manthan summit in New Delhi.
He also spoke on the increased agricultural growth in recent years, especially in horticulture, dairy and fisheries, and how small farmers will continue to remain relevant in the years to come.
On the reforms in the civil services, Mishra said in the initial years of the National Democratic Alliance government in 2014-2015, several ministries were streamlined.
Subsequently, the entire system of personnel management at the senior echelons of the bureaucracy has been transformed, which, he said, was unprecedented.
Dr Mishra said the process of empanelment of senior bureaucrats has been changed with more emphasis on competence, integrity, 360 degrees assessment based on multi-sectoral feedback rather than the earlier process based on annual assessment reports, which, over the course of time, had lost its relevance because of judicial pronouncements.
He spoke of the capacity building in the civil services, particularly Mission Karmayogi and the Integrated Government Online Training (iGoT) platform, which offers opportunities to civil servants to upgrade their skills.
"These are far-reaching and historical initiatives," he said.
To a question on whether the structure of the prime minister's office has undergone any changes -- in the context of former Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das joining the PMO as principal secretary -- Dr Mishra said there haven't been any significant changes in the last ten years.
The recent appointment, he said, is routine, a continuation.
On how the government has managed the turmoil that the world has seen in recent years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and also the crisis in West Asia, Dr Mishra elaborated on the PM's vision of dealing with it by introducing reforms, and also giving stimulus packages, including free foodgrains.
The prime minister's recent visit to the US, Dr Mishra said, the content of the bilateral meetings between the two sides, and also the joint statement, where the two countries agreed to look at a trade deal, were evidence that India will be able to respond effectively to the uncertain situation.
On the world moving from multilateralism to a bilateral agreement, Dr Mishra said some of the earlier thinking that international trade will benefit all parties has now been challenged and the solution of bilateral agreements, or ones between two or three countries, might be sub-optimal solutions but the current reality.
The recent years of turmoil have also changed the nature of framing of policies from factoring in risks, where one can make an assessment of outcomes, to uncertainty where it is not possible, Dr Mishra stated.
"So, the whole approach to planning and policy has to be different," he said, and pointed to the works of statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb about creating anti-fragile systems rather than merely resilient ones.
At the PMO, he said, policies are framed by factoring in analytical perspectives, implications, sustainability, and other dimensions.
On trade deals and bilateral negotiations, he said India as a large country and market should be able to absorb pressure from outside and leverage its advantages.
On India's agriculture growth, Dr Mishra, who has played a pivotal role in the country's pulses mission, said the sector will remain important for several years to come as it continues to account for almost 46 per cent of the country's workforce, even when its share in GDP has declined from almost 50 per cent in the 1970s to 18 per cent now.
According to one projection, by the year 2050, its share in the GDP will reduce to 7 per cent, but it will still employ 27 per cent of the country's workforce, Dr Mishra said.
The former Union agriculture secretary said the average agriculture growth rate between 1970-1971 and 2003-2004 was 3 per cent, subsequently increasing to 3.5 per cent and then to 4.1 per cent.
In the last seven years, it has increased further because of the growth in horticulture, fisheries and dairy sector, and a structural change is taking place.
The lesson is that we must diversify agriculture, he said.
Dr Mishra said research has shown small farmers are more productive in their per-acre output, and they will remain a reality for the Indian agriculture sector.
However, planners should help them with more technology and crop diversification.
On the government's production linked incentive (PLI) scheme, Dr Mishra said it has done well and a final assessment should be made after a reasonable time frame.
He highlighted the Centre and states cooperation, including on reducing compliances, grants of loans, and frequent meetings between the PM and chief ministers.
Asked about his habit of attending office all seven days of the week, Dr Mishra said weekdays are taken up by meetings and other demands on his time, and it helps him to take care of papers and other work that requires his full attention on weekends, which enables him to start the new week with no backlog.
As for unwinding, Dr Mishra said he enjoys his work, finds it interesting, and has never felt the need to "unwind".
The retired bureaucrat also spoke of his early years in an area bordering Pakistan, and his initial years as a Gujarat-cadre Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1972 batch.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
