Shailesh K. PATHAK

- virtuous competition among state governments for more business creation is good
- how the move from a shortage economy to today’s India has resulted in many more jobs
- how to benefit people with low incomes
- how entrepreneurs can be celebrated, esp MSMEs
- how Covid taught us public finance lessons
- Why efficient tax-collection processes and transparent spending of public funds directly impact public welfare, which in turn impacts politics

With almost 2 weeks to go for the Union Budget, 3 confident predictions. Some views. And a tip on how to avoid naïve comments on February 1, 2023.

How bridges could be safer, and how road safety and cities could learn from railway & aviation safety processes

Thank you, Finance Minister. How the Union Budget 2022 contributed to 4 Cs: Co-ordination, Capacity, Construction and Confidence. Significant measures for India’s urbanisation in our ‘Amrit Kaal’ over the next 25 years to India@1947, the largest shift from rural to urban in human history. And success story of how rural women are getting tap water @Rs 15,790 per home.

Aadhaar going to be used to help easier enrolment in Electoral Rolls, and de-duplication - 7 reasons why this is a good idea

Five key elements of Union Budget 2021:
1. Monetisation of existing assets and disinvestment of companies; only four strategic sectors
2. High increase in expenditure outlays; DEA to have Rs 44,000 crore allocation as incentives for better performers; especially happy on the urban Jal-Jeevan mission, for piped water supply to all urban households, and extension of piped gas networks in 100 additional cities
3. Institutional structures and policy enablers; including a DFI NaBFID… Show more

Five key elements of Union Budget 2021:
1. Monetisation of existing assets and disinvestment of companies; only four strategic sectors
2. High increase in expenditure outlays; DEA to have Rs 44,000 crore allocation as incentives for better performers; especially happy on the urban Jal-Jeevan mission, for piped water supply to all urban households, and extension of piped gas networks in 100 additional cities
3. Institutional structures and policy enablers; including a DFI NaBFID capitalisation of Rs 20,000 crore, Rs 5 lakh crore loan book in three years.
4. Strong infrastructure focus
5. ‘Sankalp to Siddhi’ or ‘resolve translating to outcomes’; demonstrates resolve seldom seen in earlier decades Show less

By 2028, India would be the world’s 3rd largest economy, but quick contract enforcement & dispute resolution need much more attention

Five likely outcomes in 2018 for Indian Infrastructure, and five wish-list items

What critics of the High Speed Rail project could appreciate about the numerous benefits of our 'Shinkansen'

How could your Chief Minister/Prime Minister or Cabinet Ministers deliver much better outcomes to you as a citizen? 7 steps outlined.
P.S. mid-career bright officials would benefit the most.

Appointment to top government jobs should be opened to competition, irrespective of seniority or service/cadre. Instead of the current limited pool of candidates, get better fit and outcomes.

Review of what transpired in the last 25 years, and what could happen in the next 6 years till 2022. While much has improved, there is still an enormous amount of work to be done in the infrastructure sector, with no time to waste. India needs to think big, and execute with speed and scale.

Review of Union government's Missions for Indian cities, and 7 steps to unleash them as national growth engines. Hint - get local champions to become empowered.

How the 7th Central Pay Commission over-pays junior staff and under-pays top management in government. And why all Joint Secretary and above posts at Union AND state levels should be open to all government officers, batch and service no bar; see para 7.3.37 The 6th Central Pay Commission had already recommended this in para 6.1.8.

How Indian cities are managed badly because of poor political leadership. Which is the result of rotational reservation taking away incentives for re-election.
How to redress this anomaly.

Why Indian politics was taken over by dynasts and gerontocrats, and how, by design, young talent is hitting a glass ceiling in political careers. How to correct this, and lead to better city governance.

My journey from PPP fan to skeptic, and how PPPs turned into TTT (Taxpayer-Tycoon Transfer). Also, how we could recalibrate PPPs much better

For those living in Indian cities, or interested in India's urban future, analysis of the two Urban Missions - Smart Cities & AMRUT
Including a story from Hannover Messe

'How to do' piece on creating smart cities around railway stations, by busting silos & promoting competitive federalism. In 'Swarajya' magazine from Rajaji's days, now revived.

Where I review Philip & Milton Kotler's book, 'Winning global markets' - how it is time to focus on leadership of megacities, not just states, to spur development. The Kotlers say that in tomorrow's brave new world, the interplay between megacities and multinationals will determine prosperity across the world.

On MBA programmes, and the difference between Indian and global MBAs

Why Indian city governments are sub-adults, and how to enable them to grow up. 'The rich are moving into their gated communities; it is the not-so-well off who bear the adversities of dysfunctional city governments'

A 3 pager written before swearing in of the new PM & Ministry. Covers manifesto highlights, how to execute new construction, better run infra assets & how to finance it. Immediate steps and wish list as well. The next five years are going to be interesting....

Aam Netas vs. Khaas Netas: rotational reservation for Mayors results in too many moving parts, and too little incentive for good work. With Indian urbanisation increasing in importance, how to remove a fatal flaw in city government's performance.

The two strikes currently bedeviling India, 'decision-making strike' and 'investment strike' - 6 reasons, 5 proposed solutions.
Extract 'For a brief period in the boom of 2004-08, there were naive triumphalists in the private sector who proclaimed that India grew when its government was sleeping. This is utter nonsense. For India to do better, the Indian government needs to work much, much better.'

Answers to 'How to build it' and 'how to finance infrastructure' - in which caterpillars and butterflies attract different investors. And how 2013 is different from 2007...

One of sixteen chapters in the book. INSAR published annually since 2001. In 2013, introduced a section on 'Steps towards a stronger India'. Other contributors include Jamshyd Godrej, Gopal Pillai, Shyam Saran, Shakti Sinha & Chandrajit Banerjee. In this 1800 word piece, we discuss the three kinds of infrastructure essential for India - physical, social and attitudinal.

National Highway Authority of India's program of Indian Highways runs the risk of being anti - user; a more balanced approach needed for sustainability. For highway sector issues.

To get better elected leaders, a proposal to have an ultra fast track court to resolve all cases in acquittal or conviction for a small group of India's top leaders, whether elected or appointed.

UK's breakneck urbanization between 1800 and 1920 has many lessons for Indian cities experiencing such rapid growth over the next two decades. As part of the Chevening Rolls-Royce Science, Innovation & Policy Programme March-July 2011 at Oxford University

A Bombay-Mumbai fan talks about what ails the megacity, and what could be done to reclaim its future

A analytical discussion of the infra link in Bihar's Chief Minister winning a second term, and key learnings for other states

India’s infrastructure, both physical and social, remains its biggest bottleneck. The ambitious targets over the last five years, and the next ten, envisage much of the new infrastructure coming up through PPPs (public private partnerships). This article argues that early-stage construction risk is best borne by the government. PPPs work much better with existing assets, or the new assets being created by government. The lower risk in existing assets makes both financing and implementation… Show more

India’s infrastructure, both physical and social, remains its biggest bottleneck. The ambitious targets over the last five years, and the next ten, envisage much of the new infrastructure coming up through PPPs (public private partnerships). This article argues that early-stage construction risk is best borne by the government. PPPs work much better with existing assets, or the new assets being created by government. The lower risk in existing assets makes both financing and implementation easier for PPPs in renovation, operation and maintenance, under long term contracts. China realized this in the early nineties, and embarked upon new assets being created by the State. India is losing out on quickly creating infrastructure by not laying sufficient emphasis on publicly created infrastructure. Show less

An appraisal of the Indian PPP story thus far

Indian megacities are hampered by their respective State governments; time ot switch to the global model of powerful megacity governments and start with the top ten megacities getting converted into metropolitan states with their own governments

A suggested way forward for infrastructure PPPs in India

Two perspectives on the issue, alongwith Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP, on how should audit mechanisms treat PPP projects

An analysis of the proposed land acquisition act in India, especially on pricing and compensation (proposal for KSOPs - Kisan or Farmer Stock Option Programme) and public purpose definitions.

Sustainability in India's rapidly growing cities, and how we can work towards it in water, waste disposal, power, transport, buildings, spatial planning and so on

Co-presented with Dr. Ashwin Mahalingam of IIT-M, an overview of all the public private partnerships happening at the state level in India, as part of the Stanford University's CRGP roundtable in Chennai, 2008

An evocative travelogue of the hardest trek in the world, the parikrama of a Mountain in Tibet, and a holy lake at 15000 ft

A personal tribute to one of India's finest teachers and institution builders, on Teachers' Day

The story of how Management principles were applied to improve the working of field functionaries at the cutting edge, in a large district in central India. The quality of public services delivered to the average citizen improved significantly. The Vikas Express model was later upscaled to the entire state of Madhya Pradesh.

From my initial ICICI years. User friendly article for capital market professionals & investors, on the four Ps of investing and capital markets. Acknowledging David Ogilvy's famous saying, excerpts: 'Would you like your daughter to marry a stockbroker' and 'The Gujarati Dentist' adapted from the Belgian....