Anything to do with the government is dirty, incompetently handled and sleazy, right? Wrong. This is how carelessly it is portrayed and demeans a whole lot of people and institutions who are doing a great job in delivering things on ground.
I had to go for my first vaccination for covid. I could have gone to a private hospital. But based on the feedback from friends, I decided to try out the government Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Chennai. It was with some trepidation that I approached the centre. A newly constructed building, very conveniently located with ample parking space welcomed me.
Excellence in public sector
The PHC was well-organised. There was sufficient space with chairs for people to be seated. There was one room where aadhar details were collected and two separate rooms for the two different vaccines. Doctors were around just in case, some medical assistance was required. During this period, other routine activities were also being handled. I was out in a couple of hours. The place was neat and clean. This is not to say that there have been no issues with hospitals. Several unfortunate stories have highlighted the poor conditions in many of the hospitals. But I would like to compliment the good work being done too.
The second shot of vaccination, I took at a leading private hospital. I reached at the appointed time. The reception desk was not ready yet. After about half an hour, the desk commenced functioning. I paid the money and was asked to wait as the vaccine had not arrived. It took me almost three hours to leave the hospital. Maybe I had an experience which was not good, but it did appear that they were somewhat disoriented.
Recently, I had to send a parcel and had a similar pleasant experience at India post against a private courier. As a retail customer, my experience with public sector banks have been quite good. There have been hiccups at times but overall, it’s been a good run.
Massive large-scale operations
There are other areas too where the government has done well. More than 12 crore toilets were constructed at a fast pace to stop open defecation. The financial inclusion programme, a combination of a bank account, insurance and pension scheme, has been amazing. Close to 50 crore new bank accounts were opened by people who were not part of the banking system. Out of this, about 33 crore came from rural areas. Females accounted for about 27 crore amounting to more than half of the accounts opened. This helped in the direct transfer of government benefits. It cut out multiple levels of siphoning. Mainly, most of the account openings were done by public sector banks. The effort was over and above the normal operations and they handled the huge additional load effectively.
One of the biggest insurance schemes in the world, the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana enrolled around 30 crore individuals. This has been almost entirely done by government insurance companies.
Need to motivate good work
Government schools in Delhi wear a new look to the extent that private schools would be envious of. The modernisation is on. Teachers are being trained in new methods. This has received wide acclaim internationally too.
In general we have developed the habit of taking things granted that too when done by government and related institutions. We cry at their smallest faults. Unless we learn to appreciate the good work being done, we will end up demotivating those who are doing it. Let’s encourage them to do better. It is in our own individual interest as well as the country’s.
