Comments by "M Shastri" (@libshastra) on "Why Modi govt must limit bureaucracy u0026 India doesn't need better, but limited govt : Naushad Forbes" video.

I read through the MoHFW docs and like Naushad says, it is quite sensible. Somehow somewhere, these gets passed down the chain and each Bureaucrat adds their own authoritarian flavor to it. When you read the excruciating, badly scanned docs with hand written scriblings on the margins from District, State level (and I suspect mid level Centre Govt. officer. All their orders are not available online unlike those from State and District) does all of the nonsensical rules and regulations that Naushad talks comes into play. Basically we have a bureaucracy at the top that can be sensible a middle that creatively makes the worst decision of them all and a frontline that does things without questioning those orders. Reform the mid level and then rest of system will work much better. They are the folks who come up with nonsense control freak style regulations and micro manage everything. Our mid level bureaucracy is holds us back badly. They are the reason why sensible policy or laws do not get outcomes in India.
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@shahrukhkotwal7125 well ... I think you might be extremely blind and very tone deaf to not notice the amount of red tape required and how that forces corruption. Take property rights for example: You want to build a warehouse on a fallow plot outside a city. You find the plot owner and transact with him. In the rest of the world, it is a private transaction between buyer and seller. In India, you need a DM to approve that transaction. The DM needs a certificate to prove that the man of sound mental health. You get that from a Civil Hospital from a clerk there. That is how you buy property (land) in India for a warehouse. Business transactions are time sensitive. The DM knows that, the clerk knows. They also know that they have the power to sink or let the transaction swim. And this power is what enables corruption. You can't blame businessman for this kind of regulatory environment. I'd admit it used to be a lot worse but the regulatory environment today needs more improvement and drastic changes. Blaming businessmen for corruption is akin to blaming the victim for being a victim in a crime.
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