Viksit Bharat represents a collective aspiration and hope of those who want India to achieve progress across every strata of the society. At its heart, however, the journey begins and ends with its people. Two former chief secretaries of Punjab, Avtar Singh and Anirudh Tewari, recently argued in an article in THE WEEK that for a Viksit Bharat, we need to pay closer attention to its citizens noting that “a Viksit Bharat requires every citizen to be a Viksit Bharatiya”. They assert that India's journey toward becoming a Viksit Bharat hinges on one fundamental truth: the power of its people.
Yet, amidst discussions of progress and growth, one critical gap persists, human capital is rarely placed at the centre of this vision. With more than 50 per cent of India's population living in rural areas and facing significant challenges such as limited access to quality education, healthcare and economic opportunities, the need to strengthen grassroots systems is more urgent than ever. At its core, this transformation demands a concerted investment in the people and organisations working tirelessly to uplift India’s underserved communities: the changemakers on the ground. Development Management, a strategic approach that aligns management principles with societal goals, is central to this effort.
In the current structure of society, the three critical pillars that impact every individual are State, Markets and Civil Society referred to these days as Samaaj – Sarkaar – Bazaar. For progress to happen, and for us to realise the dream of a Viksit Bharat, these three pillars of Samaaj (civil society), Sarkaar (government) and Bazaar (markets or business) need to collaborate and coexist. For two of these pillars, theories of management, namely Business Management for Bazaar and Public Administration for Sarkaar have existed for over a century. These theories of Management have helped both these pillars expand and operate effectively at population scale. However, Samaaj has lacked a similar strategic foundation. Development Management bridges that gap. DM is that strategic approach that aligns management principles with the requirements of societal and developmental perspectives, as a critical domain to prepare and provide high quality management talent for Social Purpose Organisations (SPOs).
Despite decades of effort, traditional management approaches have not yielded significant results in the social sector. In fact, it has resulted in disempowering the growth of Development Management. This is evident when we see how even with over 2.5 lakh registered NGOs, many Social Purpose Organisations (SPOs) remain small-scale, hindering their ability to address large-scale social issues. Even with large corporations with CSR mandates, the lack of expertise, skills and specialised talent to help them navigate the landscape is often evident. This results in low productivity and inefficiency in the deployment of philanthropic and human capital for social progress, a challenge we can no longer afford to ignore.
SPOs that work to address dynamic and urgent challenges including acute hunger, inequalities and climate change induced crises seek a paradigm of management that balances efficiency with humane values and shared ideas of progress. These organisations across the country work with some of the most overlooked communities, ‘wicked’ issues and socio-economic challenges. Such challenges necessitate DM to provide structured Management tenets and frameworks. SPOs have a reservoir of knowledge, grounded capabilities and understanding of the ground realities. Building a Management Framework on top of this foundational understanding of society and social change will transform the social sector and its ability to achieve sustainable impact at scale whilst working with scarce resources and addressing complex challenges. The Indian government aims to leverage partnerships with skilled players and organisations to enhance its social sector initiatives and bring more sustainable solutions to the forefront. Marching towards the Indian government’s clarion call towards ‘Viksit Bharat’, we will need a cadre of skilled Development Management professionals to address all dimensions of development- economic, social, planetary and governance.
We now await the emergence of a new cadre of Development Management professionals armed with a robust understanding of society and social change. These are skilled individuals equipped to tackle large, complex social challenges using proven and scientific methods., They are able to design interventions and build and lead organisations that can carry the interventions through a generative process involving multiple stakeholders, forces and challenges, addressing deep rooted issues including mindsets and behaviour. This approach to Management will therefore have to be collaborative, participative, inclusive, empathetic, grounded in societal values and guided through a development mindset. Furthermore, Development Management that is institutionalised will ensure an accessible Body of Knowledge for practitioners, a capable Talent Universe and Strengthened Capacities of organisations and leadership, helping us take a large leap towards a Viksit Bharat.
As Development Management gains momentum, it will mainstream into our society, undeniably accelerating the country’s journey towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals and the onerous yet worthwhile goal of a Viksit Bharat. Once India institutionalises this critical domain making a huge difference in the lives of its citizens for generations to come and take this to the Global South for the greater good of humanity, advancing the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
Ravi Sreedharan is president and co-founder, Indian School of Development Management.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.