Rationale behind austerity measures

There is a lot of discussion in media and newspapers about the austerity measures that the Govt of India is taking these days. As it always happens in India, it is just tokenism. It is highly unlikely that there will be a sizable impact on the finances of the country if leaders start traveling by economy class and trains, although it is an appreciable individual gesture. If nothing, it can be seen as leaders being sensitive to the despairing poverty prevailing in the country.

There are of course a whole lot of things that the Government can do if they are serious about cutting costs. For instance, I am sure there are a numbers ministries and departments that require trimming. There has been a long standing discussion about getting rid of Information and Broadcasting ministry. There are ministries of Agriculture at the center and as well as at the state levels and in addition, there are ministries/departments for major and minor irrigation! And each ministry will come with a rigmarole of secretaries and other staff. Likewise, there are many parts of the Government where there is enough scope for austerity measures. It does not need a microscope to identify overlap of functions and more than the excess staff at various levels.

We also need to look at our electoral laws and processes to cut unnecessary expenses. It makes a lot of economic sense, if elections are held in a synchronous way, on particular dates in a year irrespective of when the seat falls vacant. Also, it is very common to see our leaders contesting from multiple constituencies. And if they happen to win from multiple constituencies, what follows is a blot in the name of democracy, resulting in an unnecessary reelection and wastage of resources. If this is not wasteful expenditure of tax payers money, then what is!? This can be easily avoided by amending the electoral laws to declare the next immediate contestant, the runner up, as the winner in situations where an elected member resigns while choosing to represent one constituency over the other.

We are a country where 800 million people struggle to live on a daily basis. Token austerity measures don't make a difference to their lives. It requires drastic measures of cutting government expenses at both center and state, to serve the real purpose of the austerity drive. If not, it will remain yet another symbolic exercise which aims at garnering political mileage rather any meaningful benefit to common people.