During the year I was at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore the then Lt Governor of Delhi, Tejinder Khanna, paid a visit to the country and dropped in at the school for a chat with the faculty. Noting the fact that Singapore was a city state and India was a subcontinental nation, Khanna turned to me and asked, “What is it that we can learn from Singapore?”
He may have expected a long lecture on stuff like law and order, governance, investment in education, and so on and so forth. I had reflected on this question many times during my stay in Singapore. It was a favourite question of Indian policymakers, public policy professionals and commentators in the media. So I was ready with an answer. It was brief and delivered in an instant. “Drainage,” I said.
Welcome to Civil Society's
new website!
Login to Civil Society by entering your email below