My 10 point priority wishlist for new Govt
Here's my wishlist- top 10 priority items for the new government of India
1. Secure our borders. Deploy technology where possible- drones, robots and satellite surveillance for effective monitoring. It hurts badly to see soldiers die in the hands of infiltrators or in unprovoked enemy firing. Prevent illegal immigration and infiltration.
2. Get Mr Robert Vadra off the VVIP list who are exempted from security check at the airports
3. Set examples from the very top that corruption is NOT tolerated. If minister asks money to appoint inspector, inspector expects money from his subordinates and his subordinates expect to collect it from public. Avoid corruption at top level and send strong message downwards.
4. Dr Subramanya Swamy has made lots of visibly true looking allegations about the previous rulers- about Sonia and Rahul's academic credentials, smuggling charges and much more. As the seem to be true prima-facie we'd like to get these accusations verified.
5. Please take the concept of reservations to a logical conclusion. May we we can assess why backward casts couldn't come forward despite enjoying reservations for 6 decades- may be we should check what those who got jobs based on reservations did to uplift their community over the years. May be we ca build an ecosystem where people don't feel backward or left behind and are empowered to compete based on their skills and abilities, not because of their cast.
6. Please strengthen our intelligence and anti-terrorism units to be able to operate at par with their counterparts in the west. I am sure we have great people and technology- only strong political will is required to make our RAW, IB, CBI, ATS etc to be as good as FBI, CIA or Israel's mossad. [Read More]
7. Make Railways introduce RORO system for vehicles all over India. Konkan Railway's RORO service enables trucks to be moved on top of trains and taken to destination city. This service has lots of benefits- saves fuel, toll and maintenance charges on trucks, reduces congestion on the highways, drivers can sleep well- less accidents and so on. This service can be extended to private vehicle owners like buses and cars as well. Please make the Railways try this service at different parts of the country.
Of course toll road companies will try to lobby against this.
8. Modernize Railway stations. Learn from BMTC how they have modified bus stands all over Bangalore- Banashankari, Shantinagar, Kengeri etc- from basic sheds they were earlier to modern shelters that facilitate parking, office complex and multiple facilities, the transformation of bus terminals is very nice.
Railways owns acres of premium land in every city. But the infrastructure in our railway stations is extremely primitive. These can be modernized one by one, probably in a PPP model.
9. Please focus on process simplification in all government departments.
For example, income tax: I have to define my expected income and savings at the beginning of the year, based on which tax is cut, in December/January we need to submit proofs of investments for tax exemption, 3 months ahead of time. In June/July we have to file a return again, pay the difference or collect the refund. Why so much circus? Why can't I file my income and savings one time in the month of April/May based on actuals?
Similarly, a friend of mine had her passport lost in transit- lost between the passport seva kendra and postal department that was supposed to deliver it. For no fault of hers, she is now running from pillar to post to get things in place. Shouldn't the departments have a process in place to deal with possibilities like this?
Similarly almost every other department could make their process transparent, efficient and accountable. Take help from IT industry which can offer lots of help in this
10. Please update the constitution, IPC etc to reflect modern realities
Most of what's documented 6 decades ago is totally obsolete now. The amount of fine or security deposit for bail in various cases is few hundred to few thousand- people commit scams worth crores and get away paying few thousands. No clear penal codes exist for cyber crimes. No qualifications defined for political aspirants. All these rules need to be updated to reflect 21st century challenges. Since new govt has near absolute majority, I think they should try a constitutional reform.
Bonus item:
#11. Rajvardhan Singh Rathore, one of the olympic medal winner is now MP. Make him sports minister and give him the mandate and a freehand that India should win minimum 20 medals in next Olympics.
Similar: Book review- PM's wishlist
What about you? What are your immediate expectations? Do comment.
1. Secure our borders. Deploy technology where possible- drones, robots and satellite surveillance for effective monitoring. It hurts badly to see soldiers die in the hands of infiltrators or in unprovoked enemy firing. Prevent illegal immigration and infiltration.
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| Indo Pak border at Wagah |
3. Set examples from the very top that corruption is NOT tolerated. If minister asks money to appoint inspector, inspector expects money from his subordinates and his subordinates expect to collect it from public. Avoid corruption at top level and send strong message downwards.
4. Dr Subramanya Swamy has made lots of visibly true looking allegations about the previous rulers- about Sonia and Rahul's academic credentials, smuggling charges and much more. As the seem to be true prima-facie we'd like to get these accusations verified.
5. Please take the concept of reservations to a logical conclusion. May we we can assess why backward casts couldn't come forward despite enjoying reservations for 6 decades- may be we should check what those who got jobs based on reservations did to uplift their community over the years. May be we ca build an ecosystem where people don't feel backward or left behind and are empowered to compete based on their skills and abilities, not because of their cast.
6. Please strengthen our intelligence and anti-terrorism units to be able to operate at par with their counterparts in the west. I am sure we have great people and technology- only strong political will is required to make our RAW, IB, CBI, ATS etc to be as good as FBI, CIA or Israel's mossad. [Read More]
7. Make Railways introduce RORO system for vehicles all over India. Konkan Railway's RORO service enables trucks to be moved on top of trains and taken to destination city. This service has lots of benefits- saves fuel, toll and maintenance charges on trucks, reduces congestion on the highways, drivers can sleep well- less accidents and so on. This service can be extended to private vehicle owners like buses and cars as well. Please make the Railways try this service at different parts of the country.
Of course toll road companies will try to lobby against this.
8. Modernize Railway stations. Learn from BMTC how they have modified bus stands all over Bangalore- Banashankari, Shantinagar, Kengeri etc- from basic sheds they were earlier to modern shelters that facilitate parking, office complex and multiple facilities, the transformation of bus terminals is very nice.
Railways owns acres of premium land in every city. But the infrastructure in our railway stations is extremely primitive. These can be modernized one by one, probably in a PPP model.
9. Please focus on process simplification in all government departments.
For example, income tax: I have to define my expected income and savings at the beginning of the year, based on which tax is cut, in December/January we need to submit proofs of investments for tax exemption, 3 months ahead of time. In June/July we have to file a return again, pay the difference or collect the refund. Why so much circus? Why can't I file my income and savings one time in the month of April/May based on actuals?
Similarly, a friend of mine had her passport lost in transit- lost between the passport seva kendra and postal department that was supposed to deliver it. For no fault of hers, she is now running from pillar to post to get things in place. Shouldn't the departments have a process in place to deal with possibilities like this?
Similarly almost every other department could make their process transparent, efficient and accountable. Take help from IT industry which can offer lots of help in this
10. Please update the constitution, IPC etc to reflect modern realities
Most of what's documented 6 decades ago is totally obsolete now. The amount of fine or security deposit for bail in various cases is few hundred to few thousand- people commit scams worth crores and get away paying few thousands. No clear penal codes exist for cyber crimes. No qualifications defined for political aspirants. All these rules need to be updated to reflect 21st century challenges. Since new govt has near absolute majority, I think they should try a constitutional reform.
Bonus item:
#11. Rajvardhan Singh Rathore, one of the olympic medal winner is now MP. Make him sports minister and give him the mandate and a freehand that India should win minimum 20 medals in next Olympics.
Similar: Book review- PM's wishlist
What about you? What are your immediate expectations? Do comment.
that's a comprehensive list ..
ReplyDeleteapart from this I would like to see "Regulation of housing/real estate sector" .. because of speculations prices of properties are rising without any logic and people with disposable income (black money) are periodically investing in assets which are non-productive to them and also to the nation.. If property prices are regulated .. then people will be motivated to invest in govt securities and infra bonds .. so that India doesn't need to borrow heavily from abroad for nation building.