Dr. Prajapati Trivedi - Economist par excellence
 The depth of his C.V inspires awe and admiration. Since completing his B.A
(Honors) in Economics from the respected St. Stephen's College in Delhi, Dr.
Prajapati Trivedi, Senior Economist at the World Bank and Economic Advisor
to the Ministry of Economy and Planning, Saudi Arabia, has gone from
strength to strength and is today one of the most qualified and high-ranking
Indian origin expat in the Kingdom.
After completing his B.A (Honors), Dr. Trivedi went on to the London School
of Economics, where he completed his M.Sc. (Economics), specializing in the
Theory of Investment and Planning, in 1974. He was soon back in Delhi, where
in 1977 he got a PG Diploma in the Law of International Institutions, Indian
Academy for International Law and Diplomacy, Delhi University. He later got
another M.A, this time in Development Economics, from Boston University in
1983 and went on to do his PhD from the same institution in 1985,
specializing in : Economics and Management of Public Enterprises, Public
Finance, Economic Development. Dissertation Topic: Comparative Performance
Evaluation and Explanation of Public and Private Enterprise Behavior
(Issues, Methodology and the Case of the Indian Cement Industry).
Born on Aug. 9th, 1953, Dr. Trivedi is married, with two children.
Dr. Trivedi, a senior economist at the World Bank, is on secondment as an
Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Economy and Planning in the Kingdom. He
is responsible for public policy advice on a wide range of development
issues and also for the development of the national long-term strategy of
the Kingdom. He was the author of the key paper on public sector efficiency
in the Vision Symposium organized jointly by the World Bank and the Ministry
of Economy and Planning. He has led the work on public sector reform issues
within the Ministry, too.
Asked about India's privatization program, Dr. Trivedi told yahind.com, "If
one looks at it objectively, one has to admit that it is moving at a
disappointing rate. We have to simply look at the promises made during each
budget exercise and the results obtained. Since the Department of
Disinvestment was set up in 1999, promises to privatize Rs. 57200 crores
have been made by the Government of India. Unfortunately, against this
target, the total sale thus far has been only Rs. 13643 crores. This is a
mere 24 percent of the target. In the private sector managers would be fired
for such poor performance."
He further noted, "It is ironic that the government's performance on this
front was in fact better before the Department of Disinvestment was created
in 1999. Since the new economic policy was announced by Dr. Manmohan Singh
in 1991 (and went on till 1999), promises worth Rs. 34300 crores were made
by the government. It sold stakes worth Rs. 11858 crores over the same time
period. This makes an achievement level of 35 percent of the target. Not a
record to be proud of, but a great deal better than that of the current
officials."
Asked about the biggest concerns for our nation in the 21st century, Dr.
Trivedi (like most Indians) reserved his ire for the politicians: "I am
worried that ordinary citizens are fed up with politicians. They have tried
all political parties and found them wanting. Unless things shape up, I
foresee a movement for the change of our system. We will always be a
democracy but the form will probably change. A poor country like India can
not afford the luxury of frequent changes in government. The only goal of
these governments is to stay in power by hook or by crook. Can you imagine a
jumbo cabinet of 98 extremely unqualified ministers hoisted on the people of
UP so that an unstable political coalition can stay in power? How long can
people tolerate this?" he wondered.
He added that to him, the political instability appeared to be at the root
of all evils in India. "One can find this is linked to corruption,
mismanagement of the economy, and divisive politics by extremist elements in
our society," he said.
When Yahind asked him about his view on the President's call for India to
become a developed nation by 2020, Dr. Tridedi noted, "Before I answer this
question, let me say that I wish he was an executive president and not a
ceremonial president. I have extremely high regards for him. I have read his
book called Vision 2020 and I am also familiar with his ideas. I salute him
for inspiring the nation to meet this challenge. But, unfortunately, our
politicians have made a mockery of this by jumping on the bandwagon and
repeating it frequently as a slogan. I am afraid they are making it fall to
the same category as the Garibi Hatao slogan by Mrs. Gandhi. In spite of
the slogan, the poverty in India has increased since Mrs. Gandhi's time."
He added, "My constructive suggestion would be to take the key policy makers
on a study tour of Malaysia. Because Malaysia is the only developing
country that I know that declared that it wants to be a developed country by
2020 and is on track to becoming one. Dr. Mahathir can teach our
politicians a lesson or two. Fortunately, I have studied the case of
Malaysia very closely and thus I can speak with some degree of confidence.
The ability to implement policies successfully was the key to Malaysia's
success. The Malaysian premier realized that good ideas do not implement
themselves. They need an efficient administrative machinery to do so. He
created a results-oriented civil service through bold civil service reforms.
Then he promoted public-partnership in an unprecedented manner. Malaysia
realized that for an effective public-private partnership, it is important
for the two partners to be equally strong. A strong private sector and a
weak public sector can only have an unstable partnership at best. It is like
having a chair with one leg larger than the other."
Any politician or bureaucrat listening?
Interviewed by: Syed Zia ur Rahman
Exclusive Interview to YaHind.Com
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