India Ignited: The Souls on Fire !

Concepts to Re-Wire India for Vision 2020++ (Version 2.0)

V.I.G.Menon As Indias parliamentary elections are fast approaching, political parties and functionaries, like typical students faced with final exams ,are behaving more disciplined and dutiful to the extent of cloying the citizens with their extra-sweet legislations or doles. Indeed, none of these are based on a Strategy for National or State development, or with appropriate structure for any Vision Management System, but solely for political mileage, except possibly in the case of few states . It is at this juncture that we need to take a cue from former President A.P.J .Abdul Kalams works on Vision based Governance, which, pitifully, most of the government functionaries or the political parties and functionaries in our country are not presently skilled in, nor bothered apparently, causing the current miasma all around. . Yet, without going deeper into the ills of the current system which is of our own creation , this article hereby takes a satellite view of the steps needed for catching and reviving the Kalam fire that once ignited the Soul of India so as to empower the next generation in Making India a Soft Leader Globally at the highest levels of human achievements in all spheres and levels. Also ,it is evident that insisting on a borrowed form of governance that was prevalent a century ago to give remarkable results today is as inane ,if not patently insane, as assuming that a bullock cart will suffice for the moon travel ! Thus the following is the revised version of the key concepts of Vision/ Quality Governance that the author shared in 1996 with the then Kerala Chief Minister late Sri E.K.Nayanar ,and late Sri. Rama Krishna Hegde, formerly Chief Minister of Karnataka , and in 2004 with Dr.A.PJ.Abdul Kalam ,at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan during his presidential tenure. As the logic behind most of these suggested changes are self evident, the valuable print space is not used for explaining them.Hence these are hereby shared ,in a nutshell for the benefit of all future governments and political parties at any level ,National, State ,District or Village, in the country. These points, from the draft standard on vision governance created by the author, are not by any means exclusive nor exhaustive, as, in the real scenario, it may have to be supplemented or even tailored further to meet the specific strategy or structure ,or even style of functioning of a government. A pilot implementation is always suggested before undertaking it in a wider scale. Also customize it for each case. It is hoped that aspiring members of the next parliament ,ministers , legislators , administrators and various party workers ,NGO-Leaders ,among the readers of this article, may find at least some of these concepts useful and will take these

forward in an integrated approach even during their upcoming election campaigns for creating a Government that Empowers its Citizens on all fronts.

Step 1.Rewire National Value and Belief Systems and Citizens Energies
i).At Each level, National or State, the Elected Government Shall Create Vertically Linked Vision Councils to strategize the entire Vision Management across the country, through, for example, a cloud based Web-Governance approach, described below. Empower the National Vision Council to develop and manage the Nations Vision statement, its alignment at all levels and management of its Vision attainment through the Chief Elected Representative of the Government. The Vision Council, headed by the Chief Elected Representative, comprises cross-ministerial members as well as members of the opposition, numbering, not more than eight , having sub councils for resources, core ,support, and metrics related activities . The following are the Key Responsibilities of the Vision Council a).Release The Nations/States Vision Statement .Since lack of Vision creates division, the New National Government should release its vision statement at the earlest stage of its formation. It is easy to see that, Culture, Tradition ,Family values ,Womens Empowerment ,National Citizens-Mutual Respect Index,National Happiness index, Health, Wealth, Education, Employment ,Inter-State Cooperation, Eco/Geo Political Systems, Environment Management ,International Relations, Energy Cost ,Quality of Political Forces, and Technologies are few of the drivers and influencers as well as scope of the integrated Vision Management itself. b).The Vision Council Shall Promote: 1). Family Values, so that citizens as women, men, children, youth or elderly are basically at peace with themselves or within their own homes or their work places ,thereby reducing domestic and work place violence of all forms. 2.) Cooperative Governance at inter-communal, inter-state, and international levels so that ,Indias eternal fabric of peace within itself and the rest of the world is synergized. 3).Education that generates and applies knowledge for vision attainment at all levels of the nation through, social ,commercial or technological entrepreneurships. 4). National Values , Beliefs and Motivational Systems across the country that helps attain the National Vision as well as release the mountainous citizen-energy for socially progressive vision enabling actions.

5). A Vision Secretariat that supports the Vision Council in managing the Vision attainment across the Nation at all levels 6) Subsidiary Vision Councils at all the lower levels of governance carrying down all the responsibilities from 1 to 7. 7). Derivation of (subsidiary)Vision for all pillars and functions of governance , including ministries, commissions, judiciary, comptrollerates, councils,embassies,consulates, secretariats ,departments and offices as well as industry, media, educational, arts, cultural, sports, trade , professional ,research, voluntary ,non governmental or religious ,unions,organizations, institutions, confederations, and all such associations across the nation as well as their Indo-international extensions or counterparts at all levels. Vision Council shall also support the web-enablement of the Vision Management including teaming, norming,(brain)storming, formulating ,and sharing of the vision derivatives and their attainments through a national Vision Network ,supported by National Informatics Centre, (see Step 2,iii). 8).Shadow Governments for all significant national or state , political parties with virtual structures for readying for implementation of steps 1 to 8 . 9).Certification of Governments at all levels and Political Parties for Qualityand Vision attainments. 10.Mutual respect between and among citizens and citizen groups at all levels as well as respect for the Nation ,its Vision,laws and its endowments (so that we do not see lack of queues, traffic indiscipline, vandalism, poor garbage disposal at home and corporation levels ,anxiety to bribe to bend rules to ones favour, and so on, anymore). 11). Cooperative Political actions and legislations, avoiding division of Legislative House into Ruling and opposition 12) Cooperative Entrepreneurships ,(especially in the context where cooperative investors have outstripped capitalistic investors globally by a factor of 3,ie, 1 billion against 300 million). 13) Systems that facilitates duplication and propagation of successful cases horizontally and Vertically. 14) A viable financing model for each level of Vision Governance. 15) A Think Tank/Strategy Team under the Vision secretariat that continually evaluates the evolution of the Geo-Political,Economic, and futuristic Techno-Strategic forces of the internal and external environment that signals course correction to the Vision Council.

ii).Create an Independent Governance Quality Commission under the Metrics Subcouncil mentined above, by converting the current National Quality Council NQC into a National Quality Commission which ,as the main agency will measure, certify, report Quality of Governments , functionaries in Government, Political Parties as well as Government staff at all levels for applicable correctives. This commission will also work on Quality of Environment too. iii).Create an Independent Political Criminal Justice Commission for all cases strictly related to grievous governance lapses ,crimes ,corruptions and errors at all levels. Both these commissions need to be vested with autonomy similar to that of the Election Commission or, the Judiciary. iv). Preserve and Grow the Nations Endowments.It is the prime responsibility of the Vision Council to facilitate and sustain the growth of the Physical, Intellectual, Social as well as the Spiritual endowments of the Nation through a truly pluralistic apparatus. v).Provide Resources :These include capital, infrastructure and specially Knowledge, for example through Schools of Quality Governance for Administrators and Trainers ,for all aspects of Vision attainment at all levels of the Nation . vi).Create Metrics : Measurement methods of the Vision attainment at each level across each sections and sectors of the Nation in its socionomy and economy need to be established by involving CSO,the Central Statistical Organisation as well as Indian Statistical Institute in a wider context along with NIC (National Informatics Centre).It may be noted the indices cannot be mere economic indicators, but developmental or citizen-empowerment indices down to the level of each individual and family.India has enough number of IT wizards who can help implement these systems. vii).Create Road Map ,Structure, Strategy , Systems and Infrastructure :For implementing all steps from 1 to 8 or their customized versions ,through the well known Plan, Organise and Control approach ,as these organizational elements are vital in Vision attainment of the nation. viii).Organise Missions and Programmes. These include identification as well as their deployment ,horizontally and vertically ,at all levels of government, public, private and voluntary sector to attain the Vision. ix).Support the Deployment , Measurement and Course-Correction : Vision Focussed Missions and Programmes at each level,of governance need to be supported through a secure, cloud based ,crowd-sourced , web governed approach.

Step 2.Rewire The System to Involve States, Districts, Villages and Citizens with Autonomy at Appropriate Levels

i).Bind All Governance Levels and Citizens: Citizen engagement is a vital instrument in making a better India through citizens focused on a better Self, Family ,Firm/Farm, Village ,District, State Nation and the World. Involve organizations and people in forming/creating and managing sectoral visions at each level. ii).Plan and Deploy Campaigns: Involve all media to engage citizens energy for the vision attainment through a graduated Visionaries Development Programme with levels of ascend in the mission managements from local, to National. iii).Create National Informatics Centre, NIC , Mediated ,Secure ,Social Network involving all able citizens ,for supporting vision measurement and management across the Nation iv).Align Citizens Aspirations and Energies :Establish a network of motivated volunteers and political workers and ,private,public, and Non-Governmental organizations to keep tab of a vision clock and a national Vision Calendar at all levels to track and improve Vision attainment upto the village , family and individual levels. v).Support the formation of autonomous Vision Supportive forums :This is required at all levels of governments and communities. Also create Public Electronic Vision Attainment Status displays at all levels , to align and bond the forces of the Governance InstitutionsCitizen energies and initiatives . vi).Involve all media: Engage media to audit the progress freely at all applicable levels of Vision Governance ,or outside it.. Encourage cross media audits for ethical reporting. Create cross ministerial /departmental audit teams for each limb of the vision management apparatus down to all levels. National Quality Council may undertake auditor training and Certification of all auditors at all levels. vii) Prevent Hartals and Bandhs , by engaging people through motivated, empowered Self Governance, where applicable.

Step 3 :Re-wire the Electoral Process

i) Over a period,allow only Quality certified political workers ,certified by Election Commission based on a larger framework for evaluation ,to be in the management of any political party. All candidates contesting for elections need to fulfill the ECs current requirements as well as this basic Qualification .The certification criteria,apart from knowledge in national and local history should be based on developmental goal setting,focus on results, ethical practices as well as for expertise in Vision support and Conflict management or similar skills...Also,create systems for grading of Political parties and functionaries for Quality of Conduct and Performance with the support of the herebyproposed National Quality Commission..

ii)Create conditions for cooperative ,not combative, politics: These need to be aligned to Vision attainment (which the author had detailed in some forum), so as to reduce animosities between parties and wasting nations time, energies and money. Also remove the term opposition which is always treated as if they are from an enemy land,and which itself treat the government also in the same vein, forgetting that both the teams are required for a democratically refined legislation. Hence term all opposition as Legislative Reviewers with appropriate briefing on their expected functions and results. iii).Ensure Gender Equity in Governance Apparatus: Every level of governments representatives say, Prime Minister, Chief Minister and all other Ministers should have at least one of their deputies as ,Prime ,Chief, and other Ministers from opposite gender at the respective levels of Government. This will bring in the higher soft skills ,and prospects of less criminalization when women are involved if they are appointed solely on merit ,without dynastic or other concerns. iv)Ensure Quality :Indias magnificent Election Commission and the hereby-proposed National Quality Commission should create a Quality Certification for anyone aspiring to be in the Political Process of the Country, irrespective of his personal status. Create social networks that continually audit and rate each political worker by giving a him continual grading from say, Basic to Five Star . v)Ensure Knowledge Accretion in Clean and Soft Politics: Ignorance, (or ignoring it ?) and shortsighted self interests are the cause of vicious politico-governance conflicts and issues. An autonomous body should establish Schools of Political Excellence in all States ,in the manner of IITs but more advanced and yet more practical than ,for example the Kennedy School of Governance at Harvard Campus.Start admitting talented prospects at the earliest and train them about the history, tradition , technology, social forces and the pluralism of this great country. This needs to be further supported by a legislattion that graduation from such Schools as the minimum requirement for contesting a certain percentage of seats in any election at any level of governance in the country. vi). Certify Political Parties and Functionaries vi).Create incentives: Create incentives to political parties in Co-operative Governance process for significant results, not just for the illusory position and power and wasting the precious hours of the Legislative Houses.. vii).Ensure Information Security: Create secure, Crowd/Cloud-Supported grading system of ministers, administrators as well as political functionaries as an input to their electoral eligibility status updations.

Step 4:Re-wire the Legislative Process

i).Create an Electronic Lower House for Review of Bills Hundred times the Strength of the Parliament or State Assembly For Wider Citizen participation in Governance:As the country evolves the legislative pressures are expected to mount.To expedite legislation ,Vision Council need to create c a secure ,internet based Electronic Lower House that will host internet councils for each bill ,involving government and affected user representatives of the population ,for reviewing and adding inputs to the modification of the bill which w ill be finally presented and passed with minimum waste of time in the parliament. ii).Crowd-Source Legislative Inputs through a country wide,citizens Parliament: Indias IT brilliance can be used in its Vision management by creating ,all inclusive, country wide ,secure, Internet Based -Citizens-Parliament of all citizens from where all suggestions , complaints on legislations will be collected, clustered hierarchically, classified and made available to each village, district ,state , as well as at the national, levels of governance. Note that people with an Aadhar-like identity only need to be allowed in this citizens-parliament ,where they can vote or give suggestions in their mother tongue,24X7,by voice or by writing. All citizens, irrespective of age ,gender or class, can give inputs,suggestions ,petitions , ideas or complaints ,to improve any aspect of life at any level in the nation. The concerned elected representative at each level can ,and must, take action to review and implement these crowd sourced inputs as well as recognize these input givers by some for of ranking ,or other systems. iii).Create Network Index for Bills :This is used as an additional measure of popular support, although it need never be a consideration for passing a bill or enacting it. iv).Use the crowd-sourced ranking :Political leaders/legislators need to be given scores by the citizens as an opportunity to improve their services at the relevant levels or sectors. v).Make e-governance and e-petitions a rule at all levels : This need to be supported by high ,information secure environments. vi).Create an online NRI Net-Parliament,and State Assemblies:To be organized by the External affairs ministry to facilitate votes or policy inputs on issues important to that community. vii) Develop and Distribute Vision Friendly ,cost effective vernacular enabled smart phones ,at a small cost for all citizens for participation in Vision Management of the Nation.

Step 5 :Re-wire the Administrative Process

i). Chuck out bribery and Corruption. Instead create legal, superlative monetary incentive for superlative political or administrative, yet clean and corruption free , results. Continue the creation of transparent E-Governance systems. On decisions and actions afftecting public ,use ideas from ,for example, an Aadhar based subcribers of the Local or National Internet-Parliament described above.. ii).Initiate Citizen-Government network-partnership for evaluating an administrator/political functionary or partys performance.Under this,establish performance/result based incentive/rewards/awards to administrators,after creating the targets and standardizing a transparent evaluation system. iii).Create New Administrative Services for Vision Management for facilitating National Vision coordination and attainment across the country at all levels.These services say, IVS ,Indian Vision Services, may be a rung above IAS or even IFS in administrative hierarchy to administer creation and sustenance of subversive strategies, structures, systems, missions , programmes, projects, processes, technologies in attaining the National Vision including ,but not limited to ,areas such as low-cost energy , environment , housing, foodsecurity ,infrastructure ,IT, Instrumentation, nano-materials, mining, manufacturing and defence, sciences or technologies ,culture, values and so on so that our citizens and the world can be provided the highest quality products ,services, works of traditional culture and art forms , at highest value, if not price, creating explosive employment generation. Purpose should be to provide the entire worlds needs faster ,better and cheaper than the leading nations, in areas of our core-competence, which itself need to be widened continually. iv).Strenghten Panchayath Raj and ensure vision support systems upwards from that level .

Step 6:Re-wire the Judicial Process

i).Eliminate all forms of wrinkles and deviations in the judicial process ,including those in the appointment of judges or officers.Align all functions to the Vision of the Judiciary aligned to the National Vision. ii).Widen the concept of Video-Courts and create a Crowd-Sourced Grading system ,as well as Quality Audit of Judiciary at all levels in serving the layman by NQC. iii).Fix time frame for reducing the backlog of pending cases. Classify the cases based on complexity and fix the maximum duration for judgement on each type of cases. iv).Build Excellence in legal education. Popularise model ethical practices among legal professionals .

v) Create as many Special Courts as required for dealing with harassment cases of child ,women and elderly . vi) Improve the Criminal Justice System ,CJS so as to reduce the crimes within prisons and improve quality of life ,in the prisons ,as well as that of the desolate ,helpless and poor dependants and families of the prisoners.

Step 7:Rewire and Strengthen NQC and CAG

i).Involve NQC ,the hereby-proposed National Quality Commission and CAG to measure and account ,Quality and Ethical Failure Costs due to immature or erroneous Policies, Missions , Programmes or Services of Governments at all levels.Create a certification programme which certifies each level of government for Equitability, Accountability ,Ethics and Quality with focus on Vision Attainment. NQC need also create all auditor accreditation/ certification schemes for the eight steps across all the levels and sectors for vision attainment.

Step 8. Reward /Award Star Performers !

Reward /Award Political Parties, Ministers, Administrators, Government Functionaries and citizens as individuals or as teams at every level for specific goal attainments, at all levels without any political bias, as certified by NQC auditors. Even the award systems are subject to NQC audit.And NQC itself is subject to media audits in this too, as in all cases. Jai Hind !

Author is a party-neutral Vision Management Strategist for Nations ,Political Parties and Enterprises . He can be contacted by email. v.i.g.menon@gmail.com