t is heartening to note that the Centre is actively engaged—pri-marily through the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister—in examining the matters that came in the way of an efficient public-orientated ‘delivery’ by the government machinery. A general definition of ‘efficiency’ applicable to all situations is that it is ‘a measure of productivity per unit of resource—money, manpower, or time.’ Consequently, any step that makes a process cost-effective without adversely impacting the output will also add to its efficiency.
‘Ease of doing business’ has rightly been made a testing ground for scrutinising the performance of those who manned the ministries at decision-making levels. Bureaucratization is being addressed by eliminating obscure and obsolete laws and rules, revising timelines for implementation, and redefining accountability at different steps of the hierarchy. There is so much to do in this regard, and the government has to be complimented for launching the move.
Finding ways and means of reforming governance is a ‘task’ that had to be assigned to competent people with the needed experience and interest—like those who hold responsible positions in highly empowered bodies like Niti Ayog and the Economic Advisory Council and have an inside view of the governance. The traditional practice was to constitute an Administrative Reforms Commission, which—judging from the past—used its autonomy only to take its own time in producing vo.