NITI Aayog: Rajiv Kumar has an unenviable task of bringing all stakeholders onboard in framing policies

Economist Rajiv Kumar has worn many hats and has excelled in every role assigned to him. But the latest responsibility entrusted to him,  the post of vice chairperson of NITI Aayog, could prove to be his toughest job yet. His stint beginning 1 September requires him to balance several conflicting viewpoints on the economy and he has to negotiate a tricky course among several power centres within and outside the Aayog.

It is a task his predecessor Arvind Panagariya found rather difficult to manage.

But Kumar, a senior fellow at Centre for Policy Research and the founding director of Pahle India Foundation, a non-profit research organisation that specialises in policy-oriented research and analysis, needs to be on his toes from the beginning.

The first major challenge for Kumar is likely to come from the BJP ideologue, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The affiliated bodies of the RSS like Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, (BMS) and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) in particular have been vocal against several decisions of NITI Aayog and its functioning. Whether it’s related to labour reforms or the issue of implementation of Genetically Modified (GM) seeds, these groups went at Panagariya hammer and tongs.

“It’s not about any particular individual. We have always questioned the role and functioning of NITI Aayog, which has replaced the 64-year old Planning Commission. The Aayog’s basic role in present context is to plan and give proper directions to government policies after consultations with all stakeholders, including the states. It can’t have a blanket policy for all the states — from economically better ones to the poorer states. The need is to have a bottom to top approach. But, it’s not happening even after two-and-a-half years of its formation,” co-convener of SJM, Ashwani Mahajan told Firstpost.

“There are several good policies introduced by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Jan Dhan Yojna, Mudra, etc, but similar sentiments are absent in NITI Aayog’s functioning. The modus operandi so far has been: ‘Follow growth, growth and growth, and rest will be taken care of’. This model had failed in the 1960s as well, as issues like poverty, unemployment, mass education, etc remained unaddressed,” he added.

The RSS-affiliated groups had been strong critics of Panagariya’s ‘growth model’ stating that unemployment, poverty, growth of small-scale industries, etc have remained ignored. Citing Deendayal Upadhyay’s ‘Antyodyay Yojna’, the SJM said the economic policy should be such that the last man on the ground is also benefited.

NITI Aayog’s decision to introduce GM seeds in India’s farm sector and its move towards privatisation will be another challenge for Kumar. These are the two areas where the policy body has faced scathing attack from the RSS-affiliated groups. Both SJM and BKS have raised serious concerns stating that GM mustard, if introduced, would have adverse impact on health, bio-diversity and rural economy.

“Parliamentary Standing Committee, too, has questioned the introduction of GM mustard citing matters including conflict of interest, monopolistic tendency and health hazards, etc. But NITI Aayog is pushing hard for it. The overt privatization policy of the Aayog, which campaigns for handing over education and health sectors to corporates, is highly objectionable. On one hand we’re talking of growth and on the other unemployment is increasing. It’s a big challenge,” added Mahajan.

Besides, issues like unemployment, poverty, economic growth, etc, Kumar will also have to deal with larger participation of stakeholders in the policy-making process.

“How can the policy-making body ignore stakeholders like farmers, labourers, workers while framing a policy?” questioned Virjesh Upadhyay, general secretary of BMS. “We’ve raised this issue of inclusion of stakeholders several times. The way NITI Aayog has been proceeding in formulating policy framework, reflects a theoretical approach which is ignorant of ground realities, he added."

Panagariya in his tenure had faced several unpalatable questions. At one point the even the government distanced itself from NITI Aayog’s report on ‘Ease of doing business’.

Kumar in the past had served as secretary general of FICCI, director and chief executive of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and chief economist of CII, besides holding several positions in the Asian Development Bank, Ministries of Finance and Industries.

It needs to be seen how his wide experience as board member in several national and international institutions would help him combat these host of challenges and achieve what Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants for a new India.