Press- Release
Release of the book Fossils of
Governance: A Journey, authored by Sri A. Prasad, IRAS, former Member
(Finance), & ex- officio Secretary to Govt. of
A book enti=
tled
“Fossils of Governance: A Journey”, authored by Sri A. Prasad,
former Member (Finance) & ex- officio Secretary to Govt. Of
Undoubtedly=
, the
founding premise of any system of governance should be effective, universal=
and
good governance. Only then can the expectation of “universal
delivery” be met. Ideally speaking, intermediation agents between good
governance and delivery are little else than integrity, ethics, transparenc=
y,
attitudinal make-up and an overriding sense of mission towards achieving the
“vision” for a nation.
In the Indian context, does the typical bureaucrat deliver? Or, how =
does
he deliver? What makes him deliver? Or, what stops him from delivering? Who=
are
the visionaries and who merely functionaries in the juggernaut of governmen=
t?
These and many other issues have been dealt with in the book through episod=
es
which the author has been a part of or has been a witness to, during his lo=
ng
career in different ministries like the Railways, Ministry of Industry,
Ministry of Steel & Mines, Public sector organizations and, finally in =
the
Department of Telecom. Of particular interest is depiction in the book of t=
he
momentous changes that took place in the telecom sector during the 90’=
;s
which unshackled government monopoly in the sector and a bureaucracy used t=
o an
arsenal of powerful controls and privileges had to let go of them. The book
explores how the bureaucracy and the political leadership responded to such
radical reform- both the positive and the negative, and how mindsets either
encouraged or discouraged change and metamorphosed the economy, the society=
and
the polity.
While endor=
sing the
book, Sri Jairam Ramesh,
Minister of State for commerce, calls it an absorbing account of a
distinguished career in public service, covering a wide variety of areas. He
goes on to add that the book is racy and informative as well. Sri Jag Mohan,
former Minister of Telecom and Urban Development has
acknowledged the book as an interesting study of issues of governance, ethi=
cs,
character, morality and the mindset. Sri A.V. Poulose<=
/span>,
former Financial Commissioner of Railways and Sri V.K.=
Dar,
former Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industry & Public Enterprises were =
the
main speakers at the function. After having had an opportunity to glance th=
rough
the book, they commended it as a “must read” for all civil serv=
ants
involved in the complicated exercise of governance, particularly the
probationers and those in their formative years who will learn a lesson or =
two
from interesting episodes narrated in the book to help themselves develop t=
he
right frame of mind for becoming an effective tool of good governance.