Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Principal Secretary Dr. P K Mishra has expressed the confidence that India would be able to withstand geopolitical challenges banking on its vast consumption base and a demographic advantage, augmented by a robust digital public infrastructure and technological capabilities.
During an interaction at a recent media event, Dr. Mishra said India should be able to sustain external pressures and negotiate from a position of strength.
Citing the works of economic analyst Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the principal secretary to the prime minister stressed creation of antifragile systems rather than merely focussing on resilient ones.
He said policies are framed with an analytical perspective with sustainability focus.
Any policy making in the Government of India setup has to factor in uncertainty with a focus on a comprehensive framework and an outcome-oriented constructive mindset, Dr. Mishra said.
Addressing a wide array of issues, Dr. Mishra said the government had been successful to tackle turmoil ranging from Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia conflict and West Asia crisis with a focus on being ‘Atmanirbhar’.
He attributed this to the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi focussed on readiness to address the challenges posed by being resilient and by introducing reforms to tackle the emergent issues.
In his interaction, Dr. Mishra elaborated how the Indian economy faced several challenges: geopolitical tensions, disruptions in global supply chains, and energy transition. In the event of Covid-19 pandemic when the whole world, including India, appeared to be in turmoil, India could navigate the challenges effectively and successfully. It took several measures on economic reforms in addition to providing some stimulus packages. The growth momentum was restored.
He also highlighted the government’s initiative of Production Linked Initiative (PLI) Schemes and leveraging of the consumption base and demographic advantage of India among others. On India’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, Dr. Mishra pointed out its positive impact but stressed the importance of long-term evaluation.
In the context of the ongoing protectionism and breakdown of the Washington Consensus, Dr. Mishra explained how our policy stance in our economic engagement with the world has been consistent. Continuing with our belief in engagement with other countries, on a mutually beneficial basis. Citing examples of recent FTAs with Australia, UAE and EFTA, he referred to the ongoing negotiations with the UK and the EU. This approach will help us mitigate the emerging challenges.
The principal secretary to the prime minister impressed upon the need to tackle uncertainty with a new approach where not only risk assessment but also building an ‘anti-fragile system’ should be our objective. He emphasised that our systems should not just be resilient but also ‘anti-fragile’.
Dr. Mishra referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the US describing it as “very positive” from the perspective of enhancing trade relations and building on ‘opportunities’ rather than simply reacting to crisis, being the focus.
He said not only bilateral, regional, but also multilateral relationships in the evolving global trade environment, are changing the economic landscape.
On India’s agriculture front, Dr. Mishra, the sector continues to account for about 46 per cent of the country’s workforce, even though its share in the gross domestic product (GDP) has declined from almost 50 per cent in the 1970s to 18 per cent in present times. Diversifying agriculture holds the key, Dr Mishra opined.
On Civil Services reforms, Dr. Mishra said India showcases continuous and evolving efforts to modernise and strengthen the civil services to keep pace with the changing needs of governance. The approach is also to have continuous innovation, lifelong learning and steadfast integrity.
During the last decade, the personnel management system has undergone unprecedented transformation. New initiatives such as ‘Mission Karmayogi’ and ‘Integrated Government Online Training’ (iGoT) platform have introduced competency based and holistic approach to personnel management.
The reforms will continue in areas such as adopting new technologies e.g., Artificial Intelligence for making governance more accessible, efficient and citizen-friendly.