LAST-MILE GAPS: POLITICAL OPTICS & GROUND REALITIES

HOW do grand declarations of change get lost as they journey through the corridors of power?

- SHANKKAR AIYAR

Why are policies touted as panaceas mired in a traffic jam of failures? There can be many alibis, but few explanations are succinct. In 1843, Karl Marx observed that those at the highest point in the governance architecture believe that those below know the granular details; and those in the lower echelons believe that those higher up understand issues. Betwixt this mutual deception lies a stack of failed and flailing policies.Marx's critique of bureaucracy was not just about babudom; it was a critique of the State itself. The question hour in every parliament session produces a trove of evidence. Here are a few vignettes on the state of governance that are yet to merit the necessary debates.

There has been a gush of reform talk in past weeks following the notification of the new labour codes. Two committees have been tasked with unclogging the regulatory pipes following the promise of regulator reforms in Budget 2025. What is the gap between political intent and ground reality?