Transforming Manipur: State Ayog
- Part 1 -

Dr L Krishnamangol Singh *

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the chief ministers of Northeast states ahead of the first meeting of the governing council of Niti Aayog in New Delhi on February 8 2015 :: Pix - Hueiyen Lanpao

There is now the need for revival of the society of Manipur from the turmoil of armed conflicts to a system of non-conflict and peaceful development society. In fact, it is high time to follow a new model of development that seeks to liberalise the social, economic, political and other dimensions of development. Thus, the Central and State Governments need to initiate a liberalisation model of development that can be applied to various aspects of the economy, society, governance, culture, religion, politics, etc.

It is now observed that the Central Government now takes interest particularly in Manipur and other states in the North-eastern region because of the vast development potentialities of the region and the necessity for maintaining a peaceful atmosphere or system in order to promote national development. The present article, therefore, seeks to bear out or evolve a new social and economic thinking of development that can be applied to Manipur. Thus, we may consider some new thinkings that can promote social and economic development of any country or any state in the country.

To begin with, it can be pointed out that different systems of development have focused on the importance of different aspects of development. Thus, one system of development undermines or underestimates another system of development. And the mainstream economists and thinkers also emphasised the importance of different systems of development. Thus, different countries have adopted different economic systems. And, one system replaces another system.

In the present context of India, the erstwhile Planning Commission has been replaced by the NITI Ayog in order to evolve a new development system. Thus, there has been the end of the command economy or centralised planning system in the country. And, the NITI Ayog seeks to promote and expand the market economy, which functions within the regulatory framework of the state (i.e. Central and State governments).

Thus, the question now arises: Where is the role of planning in the wake of the replacement of the Planning Commission with the NITI Ayog. The answer lies in the abolition of the bureaucratic control in the planning system with the Governments (both the Central and State governments) taking active role in promoting and implementing various development programmes or various strategic public action programmes in the country.

Thus, the Central Government needs to evolve different new concepts or economic concepts and mechanisms for economic growth and development in place of the term "planning", which has not been used in the new name known as the NITI, Ayog (National Institution for Transforming India, Ayog). It is my view that NITI Ayog model and structure is a combination for Keynesianism or Keynesian economics with the new political economy of development or neo-liberal model that seeks to expand the market economy.

And, in this new or modified "neo-liberal model of development", the economic policy of the Central Government seeks to promote and expand the market economy or the private sector and the public-private partnership model along with proper regulation for smooth functioning of the market economy. A classic example of the partnership model of development is that the schemes for electric power generation in any community will provide benefits to all the people living in the community.

And, the Government is aware that there are areas where private investments will not be forthcoming in the critical areas of development. In such a situation, the Government can launch a wide range of public action programmes of development. For instance, digging wells at suitable places and the catchment hill areas or peripheral hill areas of Manipur will control floods and promote agricultural development in both the hills and valley areas of the state.

And, the watershed development (i.e. the construction of watershed for conservation of rain water during the rainy seasons) at suitable or appropriate places or areas of the hills and valley will also help in addressing the critical problems of water shortages and management of water during the lean and rainy seasons. It can also be emphasised that the State Government can now launch or initiate suitable irrigation projects as part of water management and water harvesting in order to promote and expand sustainable green revolution in the State.

Thus, these normative approaches to development (i.e. what can be done or what out to be done) can be initiated in the context of the expansion of the liberalisation model of development with the Governments (both the Central and State Governments) playing active role in promoting national economic development including Manipur. In fact, this is a new economics or new economics of political economy of growth and development that requires rigorous theoretical formulations and conceptualisations of development.

In fact, there are different systems of states or nations, which emphasise different aspects and issues of reality in the working of the systems. The empirical evidences have also revealed that there are both capitalist and socialist countries in the world. Thus, different countries have different ideologies or philosophical systems of development. But, in reality, they have combined both the two types of the systems into one which is generally known as mixed economic system or mixed economy.

Thus, although a country is a capitalist country (which allows the private ownership of the means of production or resources in its constitution and appropriate laws), the country also recognises the public sector or the state ownership in many critical areas or fields of development. Again, the reality has shown that all the sectors and resources are under the state.

Even in socialist or communist countries, there are now ample scopes or opportunities for private sector. But, they are within the polity or framework of state control or the state ownership of the means of the means of production and resources. Thus, all countries, whether socialist/communist or capitalist countries, are within the regulatory framework of the state.

In fact, the differences in the economic and political systems lie in the degree of control or regimentation. Thus, in recent years, there has been transition or transformation from the mixed economic system (in which there was command economy or planned economy) to the market economy or the neo-liberal model of development including India in order to provide more freedom to the people and promote rapid economic growth and development in these countries.

India has now reformulated the neo-liberal model of development (i.e. the model of capitalist path to development) in terms of the expansion of the "new political economy of development" that combines both the Keynesian economics (in which state plays critical or crucial role in promoting public work programmes and other stabilization measures) and the neo-liberalism.

To be continued..