“In the current environment” is a phrase that is in currency these days. I have been hearing it for sometime. At first, I didn't notice its widespread use. Even I have used this term, may be many a times. As time passed by I realised how powerful it is.
So what is it about? Is it just a ‘four-word’ phrase, like any other? Or is it more like a four letter word? An apology for inabilities surrounding a particularly human faculty called ‘decision making’? Or is it an excuse for status quo? You may use your philosophical moorings and imagination to add more such questions. But, if you are involved in the decision making in Delhi, either as the decision maker or the beneficiary or otherwise of it, you cannot wish this phrase away and it is bound to come around seeking you.
To the uninitiated or to an outside observer (the aliens from mars, in this case, anyone outside India, or even Delhi to some extent), this phrase may sound a bit outlandish. In any case, environment has impact on everything. Sociologists have studied it and have come up with varied theories on how environment affects productivity. If you are the ‘green’ kind, environment is fragile and protecting it is of utmost priority. However, I am not referring to any of these.
What I am referring to by this phrase is an excuse we have invented in bureaucracy to push away any decision that need to be taken, but could actually be interpreted by someone at some vague point in future, with all the added benefit of hindsight at that point in time, and holding it against me, even after I am well past retirement and am on the other side of the table, feeling all harshness of the system that once I might have helped to create while in job.
Till the other day, I had heard this phrase only in bureaucratic circles. And I should admit, it is used frequently and comes up in almost all decision-making contexts. In particular, any new or novel idea, not to talk about clearly out of the box thinking hits this wall straightaway.
But in a gathering of some friendly souls who are part of the bureaucratic circles, I met an old friend, an entrepreneur who was known to some of us for ages, a well meaning, well connected, hardworking person who keeps himself away from limelight to the extent possible. As the conversation progressed we are talking about economy, growth, etc. All bureaucrats, of course, are concerned about growth rate falling to 5%. And then my friend entrepreneur dropped the four-letter phrase. No one is taking any decision ‘in the current environment’, according to him. Because any decision may have some beneficiary or may be attributed to some imaginary beneficiary. Decision makers are worried that they may be called to answer at some point in time based on the wisdom of a junior level functionary who may audit such decisions, who may have limited world view or understanding of the subject matter, or that of a police investigator who is more comfortable in handling statements of a crime accused than thinking of national economy or progress of the nation. The environment is scary. The decision maker gets hardly any serious chance of defense. In most cases it is her word against the mighty and you know who prevails.
In such cases, as water takes the shortest course, bureaucracy takes the safest course – just chill!
Just chill, as a young friend of mine says, no one will question you if you don't take a decision. You will be getting your salary and promotions, on its standard routine. You will face a difficulty only if you take a decision, which may be questioned later. And your promotion, salary et al, will be called to account. The current system does not recognize performance; it only deters deviance, perceived and otherwise.
But, at what price? This is what my friend was concerned with. He was pointing out a fact which many of us give least thought about - more than 50% of the population of India is under 25. They are all growing up, coming in to the job market every day. If we don't take decisions that will have impact on creating jobs, which of course will mean an entrepreneur some where will make some profit and therefore benefit, how will they get jobs. For the men from mars (outside India, I mean in this context) this may sound really strange. Without letting private sector play its due part how will you ever have economic growth. This is precisely what India’s economist Prime Minister kept repeating – ‘we need to unleash animal instincts of the economy’ to spur growth. By withdrawing themselves to a cage, and taking the safe course, the Indian babudom (bureaucracy, in Indianese) has exactly done the opposite of what our PM wants, kept the animal safely in a cage.
And how do we think about this young India which is predominantly under 25. All decision makers are above 25! Somewhere near 25 is the entry age to the government. And we who are well past 25, are taking decisions for this young nation! Most of us, atleast me do not even have the ability to relate to this young population, the mobile generation, who grew up in an economically resurgent India. A generation who demand their mothers wear jeans (believe me, I heard it; a teenage girl telling her working class mother to wear jeans, as her friends mother is wearing jeans)! When will ‘we’ ever grow up?
And what is this environment? This has been created in the past two years. By the activists by the media fuelled by almost everyone of the self righteous middle class; the group who will speak about corruption but don't hesitate to break laws when it comes to their interest and don't even feel a pinch in bribing their way through to get what they want. And then there are the reality TV show type newscasts, which in a span of 10-15 minute can judge you and convict you and make you feel so bad that you despise that you were ever were born in the milky way, let alone this planet. Together we have created an environment where people ‘like’ (the Facebook kind) those who suspect everything and hunt for a ghost in every nook and corner.
Couple this with the traditional bureaucratic system that we have which is inherently conservative and wary of risks. In a system that do not know how to handle risks, or atleast how to tolerate those who take such risks, you cant really blame the babudom for taking the safe course.
Concerns about the economy and jobs are good when we read newspapers in the morning carrying criticism of the current way of working or when we adorn a self-righteous attitude when the anchor on TV derides the politicians for all ills we face. The reality is that the decisions are to be taken by us, the bureaucrats, who man the system and we just shy away from it. I was taking to a friend who was part of the Indian bureaucracy, but currently with an international organization, who still has close connections with the babudom. I was told about another phenomenon, oft repeated, again, ‘in the current environment’ the Financial Advisors (FA) in various departments have gone into a cage and if they do not decide nothing happens in government. Now, FAs are joint secretary level officers who advice the government department on financial matters. Now, as in any animal farm, Fas are always more equal than others. If anyone holds veto power over the most well thought out pragmatic decision of the subject experts, it is the FA indeed. So if they are unwilling, you can very well imagine what is happening in government departments. And unfortunately this is happening at the beginning of the 12th five year plan, when major investments are required from the government departments. If these important decisions that require financial commitments are not taken, we will have little to write home about at the end of the plan.
Where will we have growth if we don't take decisions? How will we provide employment to our youth? How will India sustain the competition, if we chicken out from taking decisions that let private sector grow? A senior mentor, one of the highest functionaries in the government, keeps pointing out – we have a short window, of the next 10 years, if we miss this, India will only be an ‘also ran’. And our people will be destined to forever struggle with vagaries of the monsoon. In the current environment, one does not have to be an astrologer to predict that we are riding straight into this storm.
Who wants to ride a tiger; however majestic it may look, if there is even an outside chance of it eating you up! The reformist zeal has almost disappeared. We are happy to be in our safe heavens. Two hoots to the economy and about jobs, I better save some part of my anatomy, and you know what it is!
Sad…but that is the reality, ‘in the current environment’.
India of tomorrow is India of today with its substantial young population. If we don't take decisions that propel the India of today to a vibrant India of tomorrow, we will be letting an opportunity slip by our hands. And I see it almost happening, hoping at the same time, fervently against hope, that the environment changes…that we don't let our next generation down.
When i see my kids, i fear if i have failed them. Add to this fear of taking decisions ( some real and some not-so-real), is the climate of distrust- the search for the real motive (it has a personal motive- nothing else is credible) and a higher goal, higher than the pay or promotions- of in some way contributing ( or at least not come in the way), however small, to a kinder world than what we are in.
ReplyDeleteUpamanyu Chatterjees book English August has an interesting take on decision making. The book written in the 80's is about a protagonist who begins his life as a civil servent. One of the early books in Indian english fiction, the book has a freshness about it. The protagonist says: 'decision making is the biggest nightmare in life'. 'Because the correctness of the decision is known only post facto. Though this was said in the context of bureaucratic decision making, I always felt that this has more relevance in real life. Are the decisions we take everyday, on our lives, correct? Our lives may be ours, but what about children? You are deciding many things on their behalf which may alter their life for ever. What if one of them go wrong?
ReplyDeleteDecision making in real life has probably more complexity and consequence than in formal parlance as there are more dynamic factors that change rapidly.