22 PARLIAMENTARIAN l JULY 2019T
WO chapters in Th e Economic Survey 2018-19 focused on
public policy based on behavioral economics and data to
infl uence people and mold their behavior to achieve desirable
outcomes make for interesting reading.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is nothing but a
technophile. He strongly believes that technology should be used to improve
his standing – in his words “Ease of Living” – and he does not have much
apprehension that technology can become a nightmare if not used properly.
Th ere is a certain innocence and naiveté in Modi’s faith in technology,
which even Jawaharlal Nehru despite all his talk of scientifi c temper did not
have similar trust in science and technology. Th e Economic Survey apart
from its quotidian strategies to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2025
through savings, investments and exports, and Sanskrit quotations, has in
two main chapters created a futuristic landscape based on behavioral
economics and big data.
Chapter Two, titled, Policy for Homo Sapiens, Not Homo Economicus:
Leveraging the Behavioural Economics of “Nudge” and Chapter Th ree, titled,
Data “Of the People, By the People, For the People. Th e chapters on behavioral
economics and on use of data seem to have been written keeping in mind the01
02
03
04
modi strongly believes
that technology should
be used to improve
his standing
data “of the people, By the
people, for the people. the
chapters on behavioural
economics
chapter three of the
economic survey is titled,
data “of the people, By the
people, for the people
there is a possibility of
utopia in this data
revolution, but one must
be aware of the dystopia
snapshots
cover story|economic survey
parsa
veNkaTesHwar
rao JrParsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr is a
Delhi-based journalist, who’s worked
with Indian Express in multiple
editions, and with DNA in Delhi.
He has also written for Deccan
Herald, Times of India, Gulf News
(Dubai), Daily Star (Beirut) and Today
(Singapore). He is now Senior Editor
with Parliamentarian