The Gated Republic : India's Public Policy Failures and Private Solutions

By Shankkar Aiyar

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About the book

Seventy years since it became a republic, India has come a long way. But it is still failing on some key fronts.

Piped drinking water for all continues to be a pipe dream; homes and businesses are haunted by power outages; the lack of proper primary health care renders the poorest more vulnerable; millions of children coming out of schools lack rudimentary skills; and the security of lives and enterprises, a source of great anxiety, depends on private contractors.

Indians are seceding from dependence on the government for these most basic of services and are investing in the pay-and-plug economy. They have internalized the incapacity of the state to deliver these and are opting for private providers despite the costs. But can India sustain private republics amidst public failures in a landscape scarred by social and economic fault lines? What are the possible solutions? Can government reinvent itself?

The Gated Republic presents an interrogative view of the history and future of private India.

Pages: 304

Available in: Hardback

Language: English

Shankkar Aiyar

Shankkar Aiyar is a prominent India-based political economy analyst, columnist and author. His path-breaking book Accidental India fetched him acclaim as a public intellectual. A journalist for over three decades, Aiyar has covered every parliamentary election since 1984. His 1991 scoop on India pledging its gold reserves drew world attention to the crisis in the economy which consequently compelled liberalisation. Aiyar has analysed every Budget since liberalization. As a columnist Aiyar specializes in the interface of politics and economics. He has authored a study on India’s socio-economic fault lines and its hundred worst districts. His investigation on twenty-five years of political corruption is part of an anthology. He has been a Wolfson Chevening Fellow at Cambridge University where he studied the lifecycles of emerging economies. Aiyar is a Visiting Fellow at the IDFC Institute.

Shankkar Aiyar has surpassed himself with his latest book. With his knowledge of the political economy, he presents the stark reality – that Indians are paying twice for basic services, first as taxes, then as fees. This, alas, further removes the pressure from the government to provide basic public services like water and power. To recompense citizens, an Aadhaar-based re-payment system, as suggested in this book, could be actively considered by state and central governments. This might even, fortuitously, force the much-needed redesign of public services. This book is a must-read for India’s politicians, policymakers and her people. - Nandan Nilekani, Founding Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India; Chairman and Co-founder, Infosys Technologies

A sense of history, a neat turn of phrase, a journalist’s penchant for good copy – Shankkar Aiyar’s columns and books never fail to prod and provoke. In a different context, Galbraith called it secession of the successful. Whatever be the ideological hue, most governments provide physical and social infrastructure (water, health, education, power, security). When they abdicate responsibility, private markets take over – however inefficiently – private virtues within the gated republic, and public vices without. Amidst the structural change India is experiencing, this disturbing book should make citizens demand more from their multi-layered governments. - Bibek Debroy, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister

Politicians and economists in India often think the solution to country’s many problems involves coming up with one new government scheme after another. In his engaging new book, Shankkar Aiyar details how such statism has repeatedly failed in India. Aiyar uses his extensive experience as a veteran journalist to detail how the government just doesn’t have the capacity to deliver and why the private sector offers more effective, if not always adequate, solutions. It is a book rich in anecdotes and strong ground-level reporting that is a must-read for anyone looking to get a better understanding of the state of the union. - Ruchir Sharma, global investor and author

It is a book rich in anecdotes and ground reporting – a must-read for understanding the state of the Republic. - Ruchir Sharma, global investor and author

Shankkar Aiyar has surpassed himself with his latest book . . . A must-read for India’s politicians, policymakers and her people. - Nandan Nilekani, Founding Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India; Chairman and Co-founder, Infosys Technologies

Amidst the structural change India is experiencing, this disturbing book should make citizens demand more from their multi-layered governments. - Bibek Debroy, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister