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India, a nation of over 1.3 billion people, is at a critical juncture in its development trajectory. As we strive to achieve our economic, social, and environmental goals, the role of public finance, particularly budget policies, cannot be overstated. However, there is a pressing need for a systematic ex-ante impact assessment of these policies on key indicators.
Here’s why:
1. Maximising Efficiency of Scarce Resources: A systematic ex-ante impact assessment of budget policies would enable us to maximise the efficiency of our scarce public resources. It would provide policymakers with crucial information about the potential impacts of their decisions, enabling them to make more informed choices and contribute to better economic, social, and environmental outcomes.
2. Fostering Outcome-Based Dialogue: Such assessments would create space and evidence for dialogue based on the development outcomes of policies, rather than politically motivated considerations. This could lead to more effective and efficient allocation of resources, and a shift in the political discourse towards development outcomes.
3. Building Trust and Buy-in for Reforms: Ex-ante impact assessments can help build trust and buy-in from the population for difficult reforms. By allowing citizens to understand the expected outcomes of budget decisions, we can disrupt the culture of “political freebies” and foster greater public engagement in the budget process.
4. Impartial Scientific Assessment: The importance of an impartial scientific body to conduct these assessments cannot be overstated. These assessments needn’t be rigorous modelling exercises and could also be published as a shadow budget, providing a clear and understandable picture of the potential impacts of budget policies.
Implementing systematic ex-ante impact assessments of budget policies is not without challenges. It requires technical expertise, robust data, and institutional capacity. However, these challenges can be overcome with political will and strategic investments in capacity building and data infrastructure.
In conclusion, the time has come for India to adopt systematic ex-ante impact assessments of budget policies. This practice would enhance the efficiency of our public finance, foster outcome-based dialogue, build trust for reforms, and provide an impartial scientific assessment of our budget policies. It’s a step we must take for the future of our nation and our planet.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.