Free Vaccination…Creation of a monster?

This is from the PIB website:

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1725113

The gist of the speech can be accessed from the above website.

My summary — Earlier States were asked to negotiate and procure vaccines from manufacturers (capped at 25% of vaccines produced). This has been scrapped — the Government of India (GoI) would procure it and give it to states. This is what GoI did in phases I and II. Private hospitals can continue to procure/negotiate them from manufacturers (capped at 25% of vaccines produced). All people above 18+ yrs will be provided with free vaccines.

Advantages being quoted of this system:

1. GoI has a greater bargaining power. In the earlier plan, each State would have procured vaccines at different price, making it hard for some states to pay for it
2. GoI becomes a single window for manufacturers to negotiate prices — so, the foreign manufacturers would be more interested in selling vaccines to GoI
3. …
4. …

Lets ask this question: What is the best way to fund this entire drive?

1. Take Rs.3000 from each citizen (of course, subsidize it for the ‘poor’ —why or how is a totally different topic), take help from private hospitals and finish off this entire exercise at the earliest. OR
2. Get a GoI team/department working on this for the next 2–3 years, keep the department alive even after the entire pandemic is behind us, and then blame the GoI for retaining such a ‘useless’ department?

Looks like we Indians favor the 2nd option. By Indians, I mean, Citizens (not GoI).

I opine that this is obviously incorrect from an economic perspective (even after assuming that corruption is nil). Such a department would need funding on a monthly basis for years together, although its contribution is next to nil after some years. And the funding keeps coming from taxes.

Go read about HLL-Lifecare Limited (http://www.lifecarehll.com/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HLL_Lifecare and ). See what they manufacture and ask:

1. Why is the government involved in providing these goods and services which can be efficiently and effectively produced by private players today?
2. Are they really producing goods that the private sector cannot produce, and producing them at a better efficiency than the private sector?

My answers would be: No and No

I am sure there were many good reasons why it was started. I am sure it did have a critical mission — and might have also contributed greatly during the initial period. However, had this been a private company, it would ceased to exist long time back. Unfortunately, sick government enterprises never close — in fact, they take a larger form, by providing other unwanted/unproductive goods/services at unaffordable prices, all the while receiving more financial support from governments.

Another one: Why is the MGNREGA still running, even now, when the BJP had called it “A living monument of UPA’s failures” in 2015? And how come its funding has increased over the last several years? Simply because the program is too big, now, and cannot be closed for Political and Social reasons.

We appear to be starting one such company/program now…

So — who is to be blamed?

• It is definitely NOT GoI. Remember: The GoI had asked states to own up; fund it.
• There is only one and one entity to be blamed. The collective voice of ‘audible citizens’ — The ‘audible citizens’, those who can speak/chat/shout/argue/engage others/decide for others, are creating a monster, and it would be next to impossible to fight it when it is fully grown.

Why are we doing this?

1. Upfront thinking is hard for most of us — blaming what has already happened seems to be a skill we all possess (For e.g., Commenting on Politics is easy for all of us; Commenting on Computational Engineering is harder).
2. Keep in mind — there is no malice from anyone in all this. The intentions are great; and I agree with all of them. It is the route being taken that I have a problem with. We rate our programs based on intentions, while we should be rating them based on the results.

In next 2–3 yrs, I hope I don’t get to listen to my friends and cousins vehemently arguing on, why ‘a Vaccination Company’ — ‘a GoI Owned loss making one’, ‘a monster’, is being allowed to run using tax payers’ money. And why is the GoI unable to divest its shares in this company!? And who is responsible for this mess?

I would be happy to be wrong…and I hope this is all my imagination!