- The global community closely following the unfolding events in the United States of America’s recently concluded presidential elections would have noticed how malicious, salacious, vitriolic, despicable, and occasionally unmentionable the entire electioneering panned out. There was no dearth of dramatics leading up to the ballot day when the two warring parties went about impressing their respective supporters in a no-holds-barred campaign. As experts would mention, that’s the beauty of the democratic form of governance where the freedom of expression entails one being acerbic even though the narration may not sit well with the populace in general. Such was the animosity on display during the electioneering between the two warring parties.
PC: The New Indian
- Now that the most awaited elections are behind us, the president-elect has commenced making moves as promised. And that’s interesting to note. One such move is the newly announced DOGE, Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. Assigning this new department and its job of delivering a smaller, more efficient govt to two billionaires, loyalist entrepreneurs loudly say, expect the unexpected. Whether Trump’s Musk-Ramaswamy gambit for smarter government works will be of interest in India as well. Of course, one part of this revolutionary drive is a sense of bureaucracy being overpopulated, with too many people not doing anything. The other is a Reaganesque sense of govt itself having become the problem. India too can relate to this aspect.
- Nonetheless, the US is hardly alone in such discontent. That’s why other countries will be watching closely to see what Musk-Ramaswamy will pull off by July 4, 2026. That’s the 250th anniversary of American Independence, which Trump has set as a hard deadline for the two rich bros. Trump’s billing it as the Manhattan Project of this era. The original one of course was a US top-secret World War II project to beat Nazi Germany at the atomic bomb. It’s a strange, Trumpesque comparison. But it conveys the urgency. Of course, problems lie ahead. The US House and Senate must approve all federal budget changes. The administrative state is not expected to accept Musk’s ideas peaceably. Expect some red flags to be raised on this front.
PC: The Express Tribune
- India’s own experience with lateral entry underlines how powerful such resistance by well-ensconced insiders can be. The scheme originated in widely observed governance failures of generalist civil services. Specialist outsiders would fill the domain gaps. But this ambition has been thwarted by turfism inside govt and politics outside it. One difference is that in many regards the Indian state isn’t big at all. US SEC has about 4.500 experts at its service compared to Sebi’s 800 odd. The Musk-Ramaswamy model also comes with many questions, such as over conflict of interest when it comes to regulating SpaceX, Tesla, and Neuralink. It will be followed with great interest here because India is in crying need of genius govt. Will it work? Let’s wait and see.
