India - Maharashtra : Reorienting Government to Facilitate Growth and Reduce Poverty, Volume 1. Executive Summary and Main Report

Maharashtra's leadership position in India is under threat. The State is facing several bottlenecks to development: the private sector is no longer embracing Maharashtra and the public sector banks are increasingly reluctant to assist Maharashtra in its off-budget endeavors. Thus, the status quo is not an option. Regaining its leadership position is well within Maharashtra's reach. Among its many strengths are: the large pool of literate and skilled labor force, a well-developed financial system, a talented bureaucracy, and willingness to break with the ways of the past. If the State can successfully implement its reform agenda, it can quickly rebound and be back on the path of growth and prosperity. The lessons of the past decade suggest two guiding principles: First, the Government needs to articulate the message that its reforms are not to hurt, but to help the farmers. If reforms are to succeed, they have to be pro-farmer and pro-poor. Maharashtra's fiscal stress, be it due to power and irrigation subsidies or due to the losses in cotton and sugar interventions, has a close connection with the rural sector. However, as analyzed in Chapter 4, the current rural interventions are imposing a huge and unsustainable fiscal cost on the state, and more importantly, the bulk of the benefits are accruing to the rural rich. the challenge for the government, therefore, is to provide more efficient, equitable, and sustainable assistance to the rural poor. Second, the government's reform program needs to be designed and implemented with a medium- to long-term perspective. Piecemeal, short-term reforms can only bring short-term gains. The Government of Maharashtra faces a simple choice: to try to succeed in a difficult reform endeavor, or, since the policies of the past no longer work, to give up without trying and condemn itself to developmental and fiscal failure. Through its 2002-03 Budget Speech, the Government has indicated that it has chosen the former path. The quicker it moves along it, the greater the chances of success.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	World Bank
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC 2002-10-31
Subjects:	ANTI-CORRUPTION, AUTHORITY, BORROWING, BUDGET FORMULATION, BUDGET MANAGEMENT, BUDGETARY SUPPORT, CENTRAL TAXES, CITIZEN, CITIZENS, CONSULTATIVE PROCESS, DEBT, DEFICIT FINANCING, DISTRICTS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC REFORMS, ELECTRICITY, EMPLOYMENT, EXCHANGE RATE, EXPENDITURE, EXPENDITURES, FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, FINANCIAL SYSTEM, FISCAL, FISCAL ADMINISTRATION, FISCAL BURDEN, FISCAL CRISIS, FISCAL DEFICIT, FISCAL DEFICITS, FISCAL DISCIPLINE, FISCAL MANAGEMENT, FISCAL PERFORMANCE, FISCAL POLICY, FISCAL POLICY RULES, FISCAL REFORM, FISCAL SITUATION, FISCAL STRESS, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, FOREIGN EXCHANGE, GIRLS, GOVERNANCE PROBLEMS, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, GOVERNMENT DEBT, GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, GOVERNMENT SPENDING, GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY, GROWTH PERFORMANCE, GROWTH RATE, HEALTH CARE, HEALTH SERVICES, IMMUNIZATION, INCOME, INCOME INEQUALITY, INCOME LEVEL, INFANT MORTALITY, INSTITUTIONAL REFORM, INVESTMENT CLIMATE, LABOR FORCE, LACK OF TRANSPARENCY, LEGISLATION, LICENSES, LIFE EXPECTANCY, LOAN GUARANTEES, MARKET PRICES, MARKETING, MEDIA, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, MORTALITY, MUNICIPALITIES, NET WORTH, PARTNERSHIP, PER CAPITA INCOME, PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, POLITICAL CONSENSUS, POLITICAL ECONOMY, POLITICIANS, POVERTY LINE, PRIMARY EDUCATION, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRODUCTIVITY, PROPERTY TAXES, PUBLIC BORROWING, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, PUBLIC EXPENDITURE MANAGEMENT, PUBLIC FINANCE, PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC SECTOR, PUBLIC SERVICE, PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY, PUBLIC SPENDING, PUBLIC SUBSIDIES, PUBLIC WORKS, QUALITY ASSESSMENT, REPRESENTATIVES, REVENUE PERFORMANCE, ROADS, SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, SECONDARY SCHOOLS, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL GROUPS, SOCIAL ISSUES, SOCIAL SECTOR, STATE BUDGET, STATE FINANCE, TAX, TAX ADMINISTRATION, TAX EXEMPTIONS, TAX POLICY, TAX RECEIPTS, TAX REVENUE, TAX REVENUES, TAXATION, TRANSPARENCY, USER CHARGES, WAGES MACROECONOMIC REFORM, GROWTH PATTERNS, POVERTY REDUCTION, BUDGETARY PROCESS, REVENUE MOBILIZATION, COMMODITY MARKETS, COTTON INDUSTRY, SUGAR INDUSTRY, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, CIVIL SERVICE REFORMS, SALES TAXES, EXCISE TAXES, TAX STRUCTURES, WATER USERS' ASSOCIATIONS, SUGAR PRODUCTS, COOPERATIVES, COMMODITY PRICING POLICY, OPPORTUNITY COSTS, PUBLIC EXPENDITURES, EDUCATIONAL FINANCING, GOVERNANCE, GOVERNMENT SALARIES, PENSION FUNDS ADMINISTRATION,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/10/2159854/india-maharashtra-reorienting-government-facilitate-growth-reduce-poverty-vol-1-2-executive-summary-main-report https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15302
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