982 The words of our Rulers cannot / may not have to be taken literally. If anybody takes them literally, they may be cold-shouldered without being told that they are being sidelined, and of course, reasons will not be informed.

In my mother tongue- Telugu language spoken by 100 million people across the world, there is an adage "ADu vAri mATalakU arthAlu vErulE. avunanTE kAdanilE. kAdanTE avunanilE. Approx. Engl: The meanings for the words of Ladies will be different from their apparent tenor. If they say 'yes' it means 'no'. If they say 'no' it means yes. In this adage, there is no gender bias. The maxim arose from murmurs of love, and are not intended for serious consumption. This adage was also used very effectively as a song in the Telugu film of 1950s, 'missamma'. That song I shall give at the bottom with its approx. English meaning. The purpose of quoting the proverb, and the film song of 'missamma' is to extend the depth and purport of its meaning to Public Administration, and Politics. We can have a new adage "pAlakula mATalaku arthAlE vErulE. approx. Engl. The meanings of the words of the Rulers will be difference from their face value. Appearances can be deceptive.

Context:V.K.R.V. Rao Memorial Lecture at Bengaluru. Relevant links

Click here to go to http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/speak-your-mind-dont-just-endorse-official-lines-chief-economic-advisor-arvind-subramanian-to-experts/articleshow/58631014.cms. Subj: His perceived Experts' bluff for "falling over backwards" to justify an official decision, which denies the government high-quality inputs, saying they should be consistent in giving feedback towards policymaking.

What Mr. Arvind Subramanian, India's Chief Economic Adviser, is reported to have said:

What CEA said	yb-donkey
"...On the domestic side, there is a clear relationship between expert analysis and official decisions. Before policy decisions, the expert analysis is often illuminating. But once the decisions are taken, it is truly striking how the tune and tone of the analysis change. Analysts fall over backwards to rationalise the official decision ..."	Post demonetization, only two Economists are left in INdia. 1. Hon. Prime Minister. 2. Hon. Finance Minister. Others are virtually intruders, or 'unwelcome guests'.
"...Yet, instead of criticising the official decisions, as consistency would demand, analysts found ex-post logic to attribute merit to these decisions. That is, far from criticising the central bank for holding rates constant over the past three announcements, analysts praised the policy stance as prudent and helpful in boosting the credibility of the inflation-targeting framework ..."	Our CEA seems to have clearly understood the expectations of our Hon. PM & FM., who want the Experts to criticize RBI. The CEA is trying to 'drill' that message into the minds of the 'Experts', who have already apparently understood the message, and are trying to re-sculpture and re-tune themselves.
"... My claim is that experts often hold back their objective assessment. Instead, they censor themselves, and in public fora are insufficiently critical and independent of officialdom, whether the officials are in Mumbai or Delhi. To the extent they offer criticism, it is watered down to the point of being unidentifiable as criticism ..."	Survival Method. Rex Non Potest Peccare. The king can do no wrong.
"...If you ask them, they would say they are just trying to be 'constructive'. But I feel something else is at work. For a variety of reasons, experts feel the need to stay on the right side of power -- whether the RBI or the government..."	Else, they may be blacklisted. They may be branded as Progress-Blockers.
"...before policy decisions are made, observers tend to express their views that they think officials are likely to take on board. After policy actions, they try hard to endorse the decisions already taken. ..."	Experts may try to predict what the Industrialists/Corporates want, as the policy from Govt., as our PM & FM assure and promise to the Industrialists/Corporates everything they want on a golden platter. But sometimes, their hands may be tied from extraneous factors such as welfare of people, in the context of elections, or court decisions.
"...As a result, we in the government do not really benefit from their wisdom. This is a serious problem, because high-quality policy-making demands high quality inputs and high quality debates..."	Policy is not made by Expert Opinions. Policy is made in the mind of PM alone, and sometimes, in the dual minds of PM & FM.
"...The paradox is that in other spheres -- such as trade policy or development policy -- one sees a more vibrant, healthy, and unself-censored debate. Why is there such little debate about macro policy? I would venture three explanations..."	Even in other spheres re-sculpting and re-tuning is taking place. Rex Non Potest Peccare. King can do no wrong.
"...Bankers are careful not to get on the wrong side of the government or the RBI, because they worry about losing access and because they are regulated by them.	Survival Need.
"...It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. ..." (Quoting writer Upton Sinclair).	Who has to change? Rulers? or the Paid-Experts? CEA knows.
"...Bottomline from this analysis is inflation pressures are easing considerably, the inflation target has been over-achieved, the inflation outlook is benign because of a number of economic developments. Real activity remains weak and well below potential, the exchange rate is appreciating, denting exports. ..."	"Inflation is under control" is a perception of the Rulers. Because, they do not go to streets to buy NECESSITIES. How Rulers get their needs? Somebody from sky may be SHOWERING THEIR CONSUMPTION OBJECTS on them.
"Against this background, most reasonable economists would say the economy needs all the macroeconomic policy support it can get: instead, both fiscal policy and monetary policy remain tight. And on top of that, there are some officials who even think that policy should get tighter,"	Commonman does not know all these intricacies. He-she knows only to suffer.
"Today, there are hundreds of economists outside the government and the RBI and several within. Instead of getting a hundred plus views, we get about ONE view, the official view. Even more interesting is that about 12 months ago, when inflation was much higher and growth was higher, there were economists who called for a large cut in interest rates. Yet today, they are silent,"	Sine cure jobs? May be. But, Rulers can design drills which are similar to military drills, police drills, to make them march in a more syncronized manner.
"So, in the short run, it will want to shape opinion in its favour. But in the long run, that is perhaps not desirable. Public interest is perhaps better served by richer debate that encompasses critical views, including of officialdom. Officials should signal that clearly,"	Is CEA telling to himself? Anyway, he cannot air these views before PM-FM duo.

ybdonkey's views are his personal views, not intended to spoil the minds of others

In Democracy, both at National level, and at Provincial levels, Cabinets are expected to discuss issues threadbare before decisions are taken, where dissenting views are welcomed and their pros-and-cons considered, irrespective of whether they are finally accepted by the Cabinets or not. Anyway, that custom died down in India.

A similar custom is expected in respect of 'Advisers' of all kinds. But it does not appear to germinate, because at Cabinet level itself, the custom of consultation has become defunct and extinct.

Can we expect Mr. Arvind Subramanian to reveal whether he was consulted about the pros-and-cons of demonetization, before the PM took the decision of 'demonetization', and if so what did he advise the PMO? This, he may not be able to reveal, because he might have been bound by some oath of secrecy.

In some respects, the role of Attorney General in the sphere of law, and the role of Chief Economic Adviser in the sphere of Economic Policy, are strikingly similar. Now, can Mr. Arvind Subramanian do some introspection? May be, he may be doing it silently. Or he may not be doing. Survival instinct.

To come back and continue adding / deleting / modifying. सशेष. ఇంకా ఉంది.