Sample Material of Current Public Administration Magazine
1. Accountability and Responsibility
We must act responsibly, but government must also answer
When I arrived at the Delhi airport on the last flight from London, after the
Indian government had issued a travel ban, the world had already known much
about the deadly COVID-19 from the experiences of people in China and other
affected countries. Visuals of the Chinese response to the pandemic — a
temporary 1,000-bed hospital built in a matter of days, for example — were
telling. The WHO had declared the outbreak a pandemic. We knew about the
virility of the coronavirus, even when Iran and Italy were just about emerging
as new epicentres.
India had substantial time in hand to learn from the data and practices of
other affected countries. But the first travel advisory from the government —
informing people that travellers from China be quarantined — was issued as late
as February 5. And, it wasn‘t before March 2, that the government began looking
at travellers from other countries as potential carriers.
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2. Indian Government and Politics
MPLADS is nimble tool for targeted intervention, scrapping it in crisis is
counterproductive
With a brusque proclamation on April 6, the government decided to suspend
operation of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)
for the next two financial years, and divert Rs 7,900 crore to the fight against
COVID-19. The decision is both misconceived and mischievous. It would subvert
the fight against COVID-19 rather than strengthen it.
It is important to understand the MPLADS, and why these resources are needed
now more than ever. In the classical constitutional construct premised upon the
principle of separation of powers, the legislature is not supposed to play an
executive role. It is charged with the remit of enacting legislation and
exercising sharp oversight over government functioning.
However, in any developing nation, the aspiration for better quality public
goods and an enhanced standard of living is a legitimate desire. The
expectation, therefore, from public representatives to contribute to this
paradigm is strong.
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3. Significant Issues in Indian Administration
Success of lockdown will depend on implementation
India has been in a complete lockdown since March 25. Its 1.3 billion people,
except for those providing essential services, are confined to their homes. In
effect, this began three days earlier and might well continue beyond April 14.
The rationale is to slow down the spread of COVID-19, and to reduce the peak
level of infections, breaking the chain of transmission through social
distancing. The objective of saving lives is unexceptionable.
However, for the well-being of people, saving livelihoods is just as
important. Given the massive population and our dilapidated public health
system, it might seem that a total lockdown is the only way to manage the spread
of the virus. But this is not a fail-safe solution. The outcomes will depend
upon its feasibility and implementation. Social, or physical, distancing is
feasible among people who live in homes that have doors providing private spaces
but is impossible in urban slums or shanty-towns where people live
cheek-by-jowl, or even in rural India where the poor live in cramped spaces. The
lockdown might simply distance the poor from the rest.
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4. Current Topic
Need to strike right balance between public health and individual’s right to
privacy
The novel coronavirus outbreak has brought into sharp focus the promise and
perils of data surveillance in the healthcare sector. As India faces an
unprecedented public health crisis that has resulted in a countrywide lockdown,
policymakers are trying to figure out exit strategies. Ultimately, lockdowns are
brute force instruments and are unsustainable over long periods of
time. To bring daily life back to normal at the earliest, some governments are
deploying apps for self-diagnosis, contact tracing, quarantine and curfew passes
as mitigation strategies. For example, the Indian government has launched the
Aarogya Setu app for contact tracing, and as a medium for sharing authentic
information with citizens.
At this moment, when all of India is faced with a 21-day lockdown (and
perhaps a partial lockdown after 21 days), that is estimated to cost $120
billion, privacy seems to be the least of our worries. However, privacy is a
fundamental right of every citizen and the state has the primary responsibility
of upholding this right. For example, when the COVID quarantine lists that help
identify affected individuals are released in the public domain, the privacy of
those individuals is violated, leading to social ostracisation.
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5. Financial Administration
Policing a lockdown: Every day brings challenges, heartbreaks, acts of
inspiration
May you live in interesting times. Though this oft-repeated English
expression is perhaps wrongly attributed to the Chinese, these are certainly
interesting times — with a controversial Chinese connection. At the time of
writing, the COVID-19 virus, widely believed to have originated in China, has
infected more than 7,75,000 people across the world and killed more than 37,000.
In India, it has mercifully had a slow start, with more than 1,600 infections
and less than 50 casualties till April 2, despite the first case being detected
two months ago on January 30.
Quite rightly, the government of India has paid heed to the devastation
abroad, and imposed a 21-day lockdown across the country beginning March 23.
Nothing of this scale has ever been attempted in human history. In the second
week of the lockdown, it is hard to predict its effect on arresting the impact
of the COVID-19 by April 14. For all those entrusted with enforcing the
lockdown, and catering to the infected patients, the next two weeks are sure to
stretch and challenge us in unimaginable ways. There was never a scarier time to
be in uniform. There was never a more inspiring time to be in uniform
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