Prabhat Patnaik writes on the ‘The Privatisation Of Planning,’ and argues that the central government is trying to take away the powers of the state government in two ways — by centralising some in the Union government and decentralising others to local bodies.

He says: “We observe two simultaneously existing paradoxes these days: first, even as planning, for all practical purposes, is being given a burial at the national level, with the eleventh plan document, whatever its worth, not even ready six months into the plan period, there is much emphasis, at the level of the same central government and the same Planning Commission, on detailed planning at the district level. Secondly, even as there is enormous centralisation of powers and resources away from the state governments and towards the Centre, there is simultaneously much emphasis, again at the level of the same central government and the same

Planning Commission, on decentralisation of powers and resources away from the state governments towards the panchayats and urban local bodies. Thus, one paradoxical combination, of ‘no-planning’ with ‘excessive-planning’, is matched by another paradoxical combination, of ‘centralisation’ with ‘decentralisation”’.

It’s a deal

The CPM suspects the UPA government is planning to make concessions to the US on WTO as a quid pro quo for delaying the nuclear deal. The lead editorial of the CPM organ warns the government against this. “In the by now widely reported telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush, the media attention was mainly focussed on the PM’s explanation of the difficulties faced in operationalising the Indo-US nuclear deal. However, according to a Ministry of External Affairs’ statement issued in Nigeria’s Abuja, Dr Singh told President Bush that India remained committed to the successful conclusion of the Doha round (WTO negotiations) at an early date.” Any compromises or concessions on agriculture would be disastrous for millions in India, says the editorial.

Sick children

People’s Democracy joins issue with the government on higher education. “It took so long a time for the government to accept that both the children are sick. We are talking about the acceptance of the HRD minister about the ‘sick higher education’. For long we have been arguing that both the children are malnourished and need to be given sufficient and healthy diet. Many have disagreed with it and stated that one child (higher education) is eating away a major share of the food intended for both and thus it has to be starved to feed the other (elementary education). The government always had said that it couldn’t cater to the demands and needs of higher education and that they can be better looked after by the private partners. In this background it is really heartening to hear the minister state that higher education is a sick child and now the time has come to give it ‘its due’.”

As a percentage of the GDP, the magazine points out, government expenditure on higher education was 0.46 in 1990-91 and decreased to 0.37 in 2003-04.