Young Professional (YP) is a short-term work opportunity (three years) to experience development and gain exposure to government operations and policies. Panchayati Raj Department, Odisha is the agency in implementing National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) program delivery and interface in Odisha serving to the marginalized section of the population. While the government is always reluctant to share or de-valuate power to the community, NRLM has tried to build sustainable community institutions at the Panchayat level. YPs served either at the district or block administration level. In simpler words, YP is just another name of Management Trainee in a government agency doing the contractual job without any power.
Why I joined Odisha Livelihood Mission? One can't have the right to voice their disappointments unless one understands the functionality of the government. I have also considered the government as the biggest development agency in India. Hence, it is of utmost importance to understand governance in India. Corporate look into so many people as consumers and term them as "Bottom of Pyramid". In contrast, OLM was trying to build the capacity of people without throwing away subsidized schemes. These are a few of the many reasons why I was able to work with the state.
I always wanted to have a balance between theoretical and practical work. It is different to know the name of something and actually observe or experience it. A course in rural management doesn't offer subjects that make their students ‘understand’ the rural people. Even with a bit of knowledge acquired in the college, I was looking for a job as a practitioner, not a professor. I have written in detail on this topic previously Young Professional @ Odisha Livelihood Mission.
I worked as YP in OLM from April 2013 to January 2014. This work gave me the opportunity to work with the Government and the community jointly. This time span has good, bad, and even ugly moments. I was able to show true character and talent by taking up the challenge and worked with a zeal to learn.
The Good:
The single strongest predictor of group effectiveness is the amount of help that peers do to each other. A bunch of YPs was no exception to the rules. Our workplace has qualified men and women with diverse professional, academic and cultural backgrounds from educational institutions like TISS, NIRD, IIFM, XIMB, XISS, & KSRM recruited as YPs. Diversity is reflected in our inclusive environment that embraces all sorts of values and ideas; The best part was having people who weren't sycophants rooting for their college brand rather than cross-engaging for new collaborations.
I developed a decent understanding of the Odiya language. Rural India has been transformed over the last half-century, the people are freer and filled with aspirations, but the old values continue to extract a toll. What I saw was how significantly social networks influence people’s decision-making. There are people out there who didn't get the option to graduate or study in regional medium alone but have sound knowledge on development. There is also a feeling of powerlessness and an inability to make themselves heard in the corridors of power.
To counter the dimension of being voiceless, I tried to reach out to many people as possible and ask tons of questions. Typically, people don’t like to be questioned, but it is essential to engage with people in a friendly way and listen to them. It's a bit like an investigative journalist checking narratives of the beneficiaries, non - beneficiaries, government officials, & elected representatives. I was also lucky to interact with Dr. H.K. Pradhan, a senior faculty member of XLRI spearheading an initiative in Balasore. And yes, there are government officials doing honest work in a thankless job.
Our simple assumptions like simplifying schemes, running awareness campaigns, and make the public goods widely available were critically assessed in the light of new evidence. There is a wide gap between community, market, and government - like coordination problems and inequality in access to power and information. I was able to oversee as an insider working of Indira Awas Yojana, Mo Kudia, Mo Pokhari, MGNREGS, Gramsabha, social audit of government programs, and Panchayat administration. I learned two lessons on public policy and government.
1. Efficiency isn’t always the goal of policy as one has to give attention to social and cultural complexity. Public policy requires fairness, which doesn't lend to the most efficient policy but is virtuous nonetheless.
2. Government is anything but well-tuned, acting coherently and consistently in pursuit of a well-defined set of objectives, captured by a single social welfare function. Government is a crucible of interest groups, rather than a black box of noble intentions.
The Bad:
It is necessary to get the first step right to reach the solution to the problem. Once the first step is incorrect and the entire problem gets way too complicated. A sharp glance at the old schemes of the central and state government shows more tweaking rather than the innovative design of new programs. Hence, the failure rate of the government is of utmost high. There was quite a low emphasis on Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) job. Too much emphasis was given on the framework of old government programs; I have written in detail on this topic: Why Government Schemes Fail? and Why Government Schemes Fail? -2
Even Lord Curzon has complained, "Round and Round like the .... revolutions of the earth goes file after file in the bureaucratic & daily dance, stately, solemn, sure and slow". Guidelines, plans, programs, or projects tend to be neatly prepared for submission, but agencies and individuals return to business as usual once it comes to implementation. Meetings are important as they give part of the thought process of various govt departments. But in short, there was more time wasted in aligning the process than measuring qualitative results.
The Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economist Daniel Kahneman has established that unfairness is a larger motivator for action than fairness. YPs were assigned different salaries even with the same job profile that is unfair and the issue was pushed down under carpets. It puts the act of cohesion and coordination in jeopardy.
The Ugly:
Appointing consultants on a contractual basis, instead of employees on the rolls, is a common practice adopted by companies but most NGOs as well. It is done to evade the responsibility of providing PF benefits which are mandatory under labor law. And, this was done to YPs by an agency working on behalf of a government department.
The problem isn't that the staff don't contribute, it's that the official who takes feedback don't think of themselves as ignorant enough to learn something new in face of new proofs. Even officials are not cold to the problems faced by them but they are more tied in the tight framework of government norms. But, it was indeed a hierarchical institution with less space given to honest feedback as it may undermine the authority and raise questions. Shooting from the hip in presentation is an easy way out, but do dig a little deeper people will tell the real stories on the field. There was more tendency of risk aversion than performance in the staff.
Why I left Odisha Livelihood Mission? Personal reason to work close to home was the primary factor behind the decision. Due to being vocal initially, a lot of negative images was build in the central team. Yet, lack of mentorship, no clarity on the role, and working without powers was a frustrating experience to be as professional. Hence, the scope to take any concrete work was quite limited. I am a work in progress and don't want to stifle in starting phase of my career. Hence, I shifted to another grass-roots organization.
