The Bharti Institute of Public Policy of the Indian School of Business hosted a panel discussion on “Maximum Governance, Minimum Government – What will it take to make it happen?” on Saturday, July 18, 2015 at its Mohali campus. The panelists included Ambassador Shyam Saran, Chairman, RIS and Former Foreign Secretary, Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson, Chairperson, Board of Governors, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice-Chairman, Bharti Enterprises and Sukriti Likhi, Secretary at Govt. of Haryana. Dean Ajit Rangnekar welcomed the dignitaries and set the agenda for the discussion, which was then moderated by Pradeep Singh, CEO, Mohali campus and Deputy Dean, ISB.

Ambassador Shyam Saran stressed on the fact that as a result of globalisation, India’s policies will also affect the global scenarios and hence the need of the hour was to take responsible decisions keeping the global picture in mind. He focused on the importance of imparting of civic education at a young age and also on the need for more empowerment and less entitlement in our society.

Taking the discussion further, Isher Judge Ahluwalia concentrated on the need for decentralisation of power and providing more autonomy to the local institutions and hence empowering them. She said, “Such a setup will lead to greater transparency and trust. For a successful Public-Private Partnership, three things are of utmost importance-Competitive Bidding for Selection, Risk Assessment and Dispute Resolution Mechanism.”

Presenting her views, Sukriti Likhi said that the government needs to reorient itself towards the aspirations of the people since with a growing population which is exposed to the advancements in all sectors, the expectations of the masses from the government are at an all-time high.  “Faster delivery of services by the government can be achieved with government and private partnerships,” said Likhi.

Representing the industry, Rakesh Bharti Mittal stressed on the importance of educating people with the right skills so that they are able to perform their tasks better, and that government should focus on employing people with the right domain knowledge. He said, “Required administrative reforms should be kicked in without delay. Trust between the public and private sector is very important.”

The discussion was well attended by senior government officials, industry representatives and ISB community. It was organised as a part of the second residency session of the participants of the Management Programme in Public Policy, offered by the Bharti Institute in association with the Centre for Executive Education at ISB.