Sequencing matters

Govt should first build its capacity to administer policy

Delivering the Fifth C D Deshmukh Memorial Lecture last week, Vijay Kelkar, veteran policy thinker and the current president of the Indian Statistical Institute, underscored some valuable principles of policymaking that the Union government would do well to incorporate at a crucial time in India’s growth story. There were two standout points he made. One, he talked about the importance of understanding “sequencing” in policymaking. When ushering in a group of inter-related reforms, it is important for the government to pay attention to not just the economic considerations but also the political economy aspects as well as the state’s capacity