XKDR Newsletter - Issue 28

Rethinking medical education • Land without acquisition for urban India • Economic development and digital transformation • Climate change and household finance • Reforming Indian legal system & more.

OP-ED & COMMENTARY

• Recent failures in the operations of NEET necessitate a reevaluation of the medical education system in India. Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah writing for the Business Standard discuss pathways to create better centralised examination, improved admission process and efficient universities for medical science. They propose transitioning from a single high-stakes national exam to year-round computerised testing based on item response theory, similar to the GRE. This would provide a more accurate assessment of candidate quality, mitigate logistical challenges, and facilitate continuous improvement through data-driven policy adjustments. Additionally, the leadership of medical colleges should be allowed to choose admission criteria based on the strategy and purpose of each university. Finally, reducing the numerous restrictions on private universities launching medical schools can help mitigate the shortage of doctors.

• In his column in the Business Standard, Ajay Shah summarises the state of the Indian economy and explores its strategic implications for government decision makers and private sector leaders. He uses four elements - output, inflation, investment and exports - for a macroeconomic analysis. He suggests that policymakers should reduce tax rates to improve post-tax returns on private investment, reorient foreign policy to address Chinese overproduction, and lower tariffs to South East Asian levels while reversing non-tariff protectionist measures. Additionally, India should adopt a flexible exchange rate to create space for lower interest rates and focus on improving the rule of law and easing operational disabilities in India.

• Ajay Shah discusses the budget announcements targeted at the labour market, in his article for the Business Standard. He argues that the Indian state is not big enough to directly impact the economy and proposes two alternatives to achieve growth and employment in India. The first is to reshape state power in ways that create conditions for private persons to invest in India. The second is to proceed with the unreconstructed Indian state and try to directly reach for a desired outcome, such as employment. He draws parallels from the growth episode of 1991-2011, which involved collaboration between intelligentsia and the political leadership to deliver significant gains in exports and employment, as opposed to the state deploying coercion in favour of exports or recruitment.

VIDEOS AND PODCASTS

We have released new episodes of XKDR’s YouTube series Big Ideas - conversations with some of the leading thinkers of today.

• How to correctly draw the perimeter for government software systems, with Ajay Shah: Ep 20

• The problems in India’s official data, with Rajeswari Sengupta: Ep 21

• Implications of climate change for household finance, with Vimal Balasubramaniam: Ep 22

• Need for personal agency in skill development, with Ganesh Natarajan: Ep 23

• Coalition politics can be good for India’s economy, with Suyash Rai: Ep 24

New episodes of Ajay Shah’s YouTube show Everything is Everything with Amit Varma are out:

• A deep dive into education, Ep 54

• Where has all the infrastructure gone? Ep 55

• The problem with digital public goods, Ep 56

• How to do development, Ep 57

• Can we build Switzerland in India? Ep 58

Ajay Shah speaks with Ninni Susan Thomas on the DAKSH podcast about institutional and process reforms for the Indian legal system.

Their discussion stresses addressing root causes, rather than symptoms such as high case pendency and delays. Some key insights include,

• reducing judges' administrative burden to improve adjudication efficiency;

• increasing predictability in court processes for litigants; and

• improving correctness in judicial decision-making.

EVENTS

We hosted,

Anirudh Burman on 12th July 2024 for a seminar on “Land without acquisition: A new regime of city expansion”. He discussed the growing increase in land prices in Indian cities and the policy variations that governments have used to acquire land voluntarily rather than compulsorily. 

A seminar by Suyash Rai on 19th July 2024, on “Economic Development and Digital transformation in India: learning from the experience of Aadhaar and Financial Inclusion”. He discussed the experience of using Aadhaar for financial inclusion and the lessons that can be drawn from it to maximise public value through digital transformation.

Upcoming

We are hosting Seminar #9 of the Indian Legal System Reform series on 6th September 2024. This seminar series brings together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, civil society members, and other stakeholders to discuss, debate, and explore potential improvements for a better legal system and policy pathways for effective implementation.

The recordings of our previous seminars are here. Write to us to participate as a speaker/ audience.

XKDR Forum is an interdisciplinary research and policy organisation harnessing knowledge and capabilities across diverse fields of economics, law, public administration, engineering, statistics and science. We welcome your comments and suggestions on our work. Please write them to us here.