We seem to be living in struggling times. While there seems to be no threat to our national sovereignty, there is a large amount of internal dissatisfaction among the general public that closely resembles a silent struggle. From buying petrol for our daily transport to buying milk for household consumption, everything is becoming more expensive and, at the same time, salaries and incomes do not seem to be increasing to create affordability for even daily items. In such a scenario, when every trip to the market is becoming even more pinching, any public announcement about our GDP growth and our capabilities to withstand the crisis is taken with a pinch of salt (which, I might add, has also become expensive). What is even more frustrating in these times is a general realisation, that there is growing corruption everywhere around us, where the taxpayers? hard-earned money seems to be lavishly wasted away on organising games and even daily profligate policies. What happened to building new and improved hospitals and education organisations?

In such a scenario, while it seems logical to question the intentions of our representatives and the bureaucrats, doubts can also be cast on the capabilities of these people in making and executing policies. It?s amazing that poverty alleviation was an objective specifically standing out in the Third Five-Year Plan, and today when we are moving to finish the course of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, the objective is still standing out. There seems to be something seriously wrong with our capabilities of making good policies.

Looking further and deeper into the matter, we find that there is a serious dearth of talent required in the public-policy making process. There are many lawyers in the system, who perfect the legal language of the policy, there are many accountants who give the exact cost of a policy programme, but what about a public economist to predict the efficiency of the policy?

Public economics, by definition, is that branch of economics that deals with the functioning of the government and examines all its policies on the basis of its objectives and impact. Although the subject has its base in public finance, it also draws out elements from political sciences, law, philosophy, welfare theory as well as public administration and combines these elements to identify policies that are apt for the economic framework. The scope of this subject is endless, although the foundation can very easily be laid down with a simple graduate course in economics. The study of public economics trains a person to analyse the entire functioning of the public sector. On one hand, the student learns about optimal taxation, keeping the welfare of taxpayers in mind, on the other hand, she also learns about the right usage of tax revenue in allocation to various projects, whether it is education, health, poverty alleviation, infrastructure or other necessary projects that cannot be left at the mercy of the private sector. More importantly, she learns about the significance of efficient allocation to each project where the wastages, such as those seen in the Commonwealth Games, are minimum.

A number of avenues are available in our country to the budding public economist. The most inviting and probably the most effective avenue for her is to directly join the policymaking process with central/state governments through the Indian Administrative Service, or its counterpart, the Indian Revenue Service. An equally promising option is to join the limited cadre of Indian Economic Service. The ministry of finance opens its arms for good policymakers under its various departments, whether it is the Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Expenditure, Department of Revenue and any other. Given the state of the Five-Year Plans, it would be a welcome change to have more students of public economics to join the Planning Commission.

Depending on interests and other subjects of choice, there are many other possibilities available for students. Students of public economics and agriculture can join organisations like Indian Council of Agricultural Research, those interested in heath can join the Department of Health and Family Welfare and so on. There is a wide range of government departments, ministries and agencies that are probably losing face in the absence of good policymakers and are just in need of a good public economist. Even for those who are not interested in direct policymaking and its execution have an option to join research institutions at various universities or independent ones such as the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy to develop futuristic plans.

It is a fact that true development will not be attained unless capabilities are developed. And to develop our capabilities as a nation, we need to have a strong capable government. This capability can only be developed if the process of policymaking and its execution is taken more seriously and if the young talent finds its moral duty in becoming an integral part of the decision-making process.

There is a BSc in economics and management for the future CEOs, BSc in economics and finance for those aiming at the financial markets and the banking sector and so on. Although, such developments are yet to reach the curriculum of the public universities of India, they are now available closer home. To meet the growing demand for quality education, leading global educational institutions are setting up their centres in India. With such developments, a further step towards globalisation is being taken, which gives the budding Indian economist an advantage of a globally updated curriculum and knowledge and puts her at par with her counterparts worldwide.

The author is faculty at the Indian School of Business & Finance, New Delhi?an affiliate centre of the University of London