ABSTRACT
To those outside the government, and even to the armchair critics who are within governments, an eternal question is why India is doing so poorly in human development. Their superficial analysis makes them believe that we make good policy but implement terribly. It is surprising that many of them, in spite of having worked in government for decades, do not realize that very often policies are statements of good intent, not followed either by a programme, or added financial resources. They attribute poor performance without even getting into the details of what resources were assigned for implementing policy. Public systems are condemned and a case is made for private efficient systems to rescue them, with little awareness that they are all very high-cost solutions, especially in health, and in education. Educational administration across most States has been fraught with notorious demands for transfers.
