What we have to learn from Singapore...

This piece of analysis was written after a visit to Singapore during my IAS Professional Training Phase-II. Views are my personal.

The Foreign Study Tour to Singapore, for me, was a week into an imaginative world, which stretches one’s imagination for a perfect city beyond the limits of imagination itself. It was a feeling of coming-to-life of the all features of a popular computer game that simulates cities, with man-made-wonders and excellence in almost every dimension of public utility services. It can not be said that this is an expected reaction from anyone who travels from a third world country like India to a developed city-state as Singapore, as I have seen much of Europe and its urban areas where one sees what one expects out of a developed state with a long history of gradual economic development boosted by its plenty resources and developed civic intellect over generations. But Singapore surpasses even the best of European cities, especially if one accounts for the fact that it got independence from colonial powers as late as 1965 and it rose from an economic status not very different to ours.

It is very hard to think of many interventions that can be made in India based on the Singaporean model of development for the basic reason that the political systems of the two countries are poles apart. While India has a multiparty democratic setup where almost every interest group matters, be it caste based, religion based, language based, or economic-interests based; Singapore on the other hand is a Single Party Parliamentary Republic tending towards autocracy. What they could think, plan and execute in 50 years may take at least another 50 years in India to come to a political consensus that it is what we desire in India, and that too is unlikely. But I will not put up a pessimist face, because the learnings from Singapore were innumerous, at least in terms of their systems, which can be replicated here in pieces if not in entirety. I will be trying to pen down those observations and learnings and will try to ponder upon how can they be reproduced in India.

1. Road and Public Transport

As soon as one plunges out of the Changi Airport, which is not as impressive as our Indira Gandhi International Airport (that reassures us with the idea that even ‘We can do it’), one thing that immediately gets noticed is their transport system. It is both a common observation as well as empirically proven fact that the biggest issue that is marring our cities today is poor public transport. Singapore is a small city with huge population, of both natives and immigrants, and a population density of around 8000 per square km, which is more than most Indian cities. Yet travelling in Singapore is a pleasant experience owing to a number of strict but effective government policies. Owing a private car in Singapore costs as much as 20 times of what it costs in India. Singapore government has strongly regulated the sale of vehicles by increased duties and very high costs of Certificate of Entitlement (COE). Getting a COE in Singapore costs as much a Porsche in India. This has translated to only 1 car per 3 families in Singapore, which means one almost never sees traffic in Singapore. We cannot have such strict policies in India. But what is important to note is the supporting infrastructure that has ensured that people in Singapore use public transport to its maximum capacity. Singapore has a network of Integrated Multimodal Public Transport System. They have metros, monorails and buses that provide high quality services and last-mile connectivity to almost every corner of the city. All these are integrated with a common MRT (Mass-Rapid-Card) card and are seamlessly run by two private operators. The focus is on user experience that ensures that every journey is comfortable and hence acceptable to all classes of people. The whole system is self-sustaining because of scientific pricing. I can proudly say that our Delhi Metro is as good if not better than their metro system and metro is now coming up in so many cities like Bangalore, Jaipur, Indore and Lucknow etc. on similar lines. But what really makes the difference is their last-mile connectivity through high-quality bus transit facility, which is run on very professional lines. Obviously from our Delhi experience we know that bus transit fails because of heavy congestion on our roads, and it is very difficult politically to make stricter policies to reduce vehicular congestion, but no pains, no gains! Singapore has also worked a lot, in a planned fashion, to lay a large network of wide and parallel roads. The roads are laid out in a scientific fashion with proper traffic lighting, road-signage, junction improvements and well-laid lanes and pedestrian walkways. The roads are also maintained regularly so that travelling by roads is a butter-smooth experience. Singapore has implemented a very innovative method of checking congestions on roads with its electronic road pricing or ERP. ERP basically means that vehicles pay for the use of the road according to the congestion they cause. This is implemented through an automatic electronic system compulsorily fitted in all vehicles that deducts the tax from user’s account every time a vehicle passes through that road. The traffic updates are posted on electronic displays put up at various locations across the city so that people can plan their route accordingly. There is also a large fleet of taxis plying for users who may want to take a car, which are highly regulated in terms of their pricing and passenger safety. These changes are not difficult to bring about in India, if there is sufficient will.

3. Cleanliness and Waste Management

The next major challenge that our Municipal Corporations face is Solid Waste Management. Singapore has an amazing model that one can try to emulate. While we often talk about solid waste management in India, the fact is that we have failed utterly in this aspect. The best that our municipal bodies do is to transport the garbage from the city and dump it in city outskirts where it rots and seeps into our water aquifers. Even this role is not played efficiently and garbage dumps and littered waste is a common sight in our cities. We often cover-up by saying that what can government do till people don’t learn. We definitely need some lessons from Singapore in this regard. As they say, Singapore is not the most clean city, but it is the most cleaned city. There is a huge team of highly trained and well-equipped cleaners that are employed by the government to make sure that there is no garbage anywhere in the city. There is a door to door collection system in place by which household garbage is collected and sorted right at its generation point, not by the people, but by the government. Hence around 60 % of the waste is sent for recycling right away. The recycling industry is charged for the garbage. The remaining garbage is then incinerated in a scientific manner to produce least pollution. Apart from the power generated from the incineration, the ash produced is also used at a landfill site to create another island amidst the sea, getting ready for use by this country limited by its small land resource. What a marvel! A perfect symphony of the three magic words: Reduce, Recycle, Reuse.

Now we complain of civic sense of Indians. I wonder how the same Indians learn all the sense when they travel abroad. If we have systems in place in our cities, I am sure it won’t be hard to regulate people. But it is unfortunate that we have not put up a serious thought in this segment yet. The costs of such humongous system can definitely be an impediment. But if we look at the returns, both tangible such as electricity produced, and intangible such as improvement in public health, I think this system is worth a try. We can also experiment with innovative economic principles such as PPP and user-charges to fill the financial gaps. It is reassuring that Government has now started the Swachh Bharat Mission with similar objectives, but outcomes are yet to be seen.

3. Tourism Industry

On the fourth day of our visit, we chanced to have lunch with Deputy High Commissioner of Singapore, who was a fine lady and had been in Singapore for around two years. By then, we as a group had already covered most of the tourist attractions of Singapore and had also discussed them with each other. While till now all of us were in awe of this man-made wonder that Singapore was, the following comments of Deputy High Commissioner came to me as a hard fact. She said, ‘What is there in Singapore? The only place worth spending time and money on is the Sentosa Island, which has some good rides and the Universal Studios, which is a different experience altogether. Apart from that there are just high-rise fancy buildings and malls. There is no culture of Singapore and no tradition to cherish. Just that Singaporeans have very smartly packaged themselves and are selling to the world.’ This may appear to be a piece of cynicism at first, but is also mostly truth. Singapore truly is an amazing country with huge and flourishing economy. Its land constraint forces it to build very high buildings. Its strategic location makes it a trading hub and hence gives it a multinational character. But there is nothing which is so unique in Singapore, that one should come all the way across seas to see, except that they have packaged it all together. It’s only them who have advertised themselves so well that people even get ready to pay SGD 30 to just climb up a 56 floor building or to sit on a Ferris wheel. Look at India; we have way more ancient and mystic heritage and culture, beautiful monuments of artistic value, abundant natural scenic beauty of beaches, mountains, valleys, rivers, deserts and lakes. It would take me a book to write all the natural and man-made wonders that we have in India, but we have failed to preserve them and then showcase them to the world. We need to learn that art from Singapore. To a lay-man, before he seriously thinks of visiting Singapore, the country is all about a half-lion half mermaid statue gushing out water from its mouth. Singapore has made this mediocre structure as its national tourism icon, which alone is sufficient to fetch tourism. We on the other had have Sarnath lion capital, which not only has artistic value but also a great history associated it with. Yet so many people who visit Varanasi do not even go to have a look at this timeless monument. Of course we have lacked somewhere in capitalizing on our tourism potential in India and we must learn this art from Singapore.

4. Public Housing

This is another area where Singapore has done remarkably well. Housing is a concern for every family. It is ironical that despite of such large tracts of land available to India as compared to Singapore, we have more than 50% of our urban population who doesn’t own a house. On the other hand, almost 90% of Singapore’s population owns a house with almost 80% having benefitted from Public Housing. Singapore also faced challenges of affordable housing at time of its independence. But under the leadership of Lim Kim San, the first head of Housing Development Board of Singapore, the face of public housing changed. It was a planned strategy by which government decided to build low-cost housing units and shift squatter settlers to these houses. It built large number of such houses in high-rise buildings and convinced people to shift to these houses. It also shifted its policy from renting out to selling out. The success owed to keys such as large amount of government funds in building the houses, lease system for the lifetime of dwellers, pragmatic approach in housing design ensuring low maintenance over aesthetics and revolution in construction technology. Slowly government also started making high-end flats with all community facilities and focus on green development that made the above project attractive for upper class families also.

Housing and Transport hold a sizeable share in the expenditure basket of a family in urban areas of India. Providing affordable housing in clean societies not only ensures that people live with dignity in healthy environment, but it also helps the government to reach the people with its services such as health, education, electricity, etc. Singapore’s policy of ensuring a racial mix in every society through its allotment process also is a very innovative method to ensure communal harmony and is relevant in Indian society. While we have so many government schemes such as Pradhanmantri Awas Yojana Rural and Urban, we have not been able to develop a good economical model to make them successful. A detailed study of Singaporean approach is pertinent. Also we need to pour in more funds in this sector and ensure that corruption doesn’t eat away the fruits of Public Housing.

5. Singapore's approach to governance

Last but not the least, the best learning from Singapore was its approach to governance. The best part is its focus for development. We were told that Singapore does everything for a purpose. They think of a target, they plan for it, prepare for it, chart out a policy, and implement it. They make sure that the policy succeeds, and if they see that the policy has failed, they do not shirk away from abandoning it and starting afresh. They respond to the feedback and change themselves accordingly. As Lee Kuan Yew once said, that he does not theorize, he instead finds the best approach that can work, and then lets others to derive theories from that approach. This can be applied in India both at Government level as well as governance level. We find it very hard to give up our schemes and tend to stick to our policies, making incremental changes that not only makes our government a cobweb of inefficiencies, but also leaves a lot of loopholes for exploitation by few smart people. It was delighting to know how if Singapore wants to make, say, a water treatment plant, they would make a team, send that team to various places to learn the best practices. The same team would then choose what is best for Singapore, chart out a work plan and execute it. We on the other hand keep on wandering aimlessly. Out trainings are too generic without specific goals. Our experiences and learnings often get lost in interdepartmental reports and literature.

Singapore has promoted multiculturalism and meritocracy. Four of the 16 Cabinet ministers of Singapore are Indians who are holding four most important ministries, despite Indians being only 8% of their population. Can we expect something similar in India? If we can’t let the best lead us, we cannot rise up to be the best. Singapore also follows a zero-tolerance for corruption and is one of the least corrupt countries of the world. This has become possible due to the reduced human interface in various public services, reduced discretion, independent anti-graft agencies and sufficient remunerations to government servants.

However, the masterstroke of Singapore I believe has been its Trampoline approach, as termed by its Indian Deputy PM Tharman Shanmugratnam. Singaporean government believes that there is no replacement for individual responsibility of citizens; hence they must adhere to discipline in their lives. It does not believe in the safety net, or in giving out doles to the people. It just makes sure that they have the capability to rise up, and hence acts as a trampoline for those who fall down, enabling them to bounce up again. This is in contrast to our social welfare policies where we are unable to change the dependence attitude of people.

While it is easy to copy projects, it is not easy to copy philosophies and hence shape the attitudes so easily. But who says that success comes easily. While it is obviously impossible to replicate the Singaporean way in the socio-political environment of India, we can nevertheless expand our horizons and look for ways to reach the similar outcomes. Many of above interventions and policies can also be brought in the daily life approach by administrators in their offices, sub-divisions, cities and districts in piecemeal manner and the results shall definitely be quotable.