Reading the history means reading somebody’s mind

Yes, re-reading the “machinery of government” or The State is worth like anything says economist Bibek Debroy in the Indian Express. He quotes something which is terribly practical for a century if the India choose to go like in the past.

Let’s go to the quote:

From a report on Reorganisation of the Machinery of Government and the author was N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, 1949.

• “There is need for carrying out organisational changes in the existing set-up of the machinery of government. This is so because there is insufficient coordination in the framing of policies and plans and inadequate speed and efficiency in their execution... It is necessary to bring about such changes in machinery and procedure as would render the process of expenditure sanction more intelligent, well-informed and speedy, and thereby remove the sense of frustration which afflicts, at any rate, several ministries and departments at present; and, at the same time, to tighten up the process of budget control of expenditure, and to promote economy-consciousness and sense of financial responsibility throughout all administrative departments. These are the effective safeguards against extravagance.”
  

From A.D. Gorwala’s Report on Public Administration1951:

• “This feeling is intensified by a fairly general belief in the lack of integrity of many of those in high position... No government, least of all the Government of India, at the present juncture, can afford to proceed on the basis that it is better to attempt many things than to achieve a few. If it does so attempt, it must dissipate its energies and resources to little purpose. The basic things are food, clothing and shelter... It does seem that today, after providing for the legitimate requirements of external and internal security, the most important task of Government is that which falls within the economic sphere... There are undoubtedly many other activities in which a modern government has to take part and these cannot altogether be ignored, but the effort and expenditure... on these must obviously not be such as to prejudice the fundamental task, for, if this fails, everything else must also fail.”
  

From Dr Manmohan Singh speech at Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices September 18, 2004:

• “The institutions of governance fashioned by our founding fathers of our Republic have served us well over the last five decades. However, it is fair to state that many of the institutions have been of late showing signs of stress and today, the efficiency and effectiveness of many of these institutions are being questioned. There is growing dissatisfaction regarding the functioning of the executive and the legislature and their ability to deliver effective governance to meet the needs and challenges of our times.”