Riding on a policy juggernaut

 While we have in place a national population policy, health policy, national hardware development policy, medium term export policy, fertiliser policy and a new telecom policy, the government is working on a new civil aviation policy, national environment policy, national policies on subsidies, services exports and heritage sites and a national cultural policy.

 After over 50 years of swearing by planning, the government seems to have decided on the futility of plans and shifted to policy making. The Oxford dictionary defines a plan as a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something. Plans often go awry as they are based on assumptions.

 A policy, on the other hand, is a course of action proposed by an organisation or individual. The government seems to have decided to go the whole hog in laying down policies.

 While national policies on children and empowerment of women are in the offing, the government will also be working on a national policy for uplifting the tribals and on a policy on rehabilitation and resettlement.

 The policies on convergence and film and music piracy are also being worked out. The government is also working on policies on private universities and professional colleges and on the disabled to be implemented in the public and private sectors.

 Among the slew of policies are a National Policy on India