India needs 'antifragile systems' to emerge stronger from disruptions: PK Mishra

Principal secretary to PM PK Mishra

NEW DELHI: India must increasingly build an “antifragile system” that emerges stronger through uncertainties and disruptions, principal secretary to PM, PK Mishra said on Saturday while highlighting that the nature of risks and vulnerability is changing. He also stressed on the need to “introspect and analyse” why all ideas and insights known and often talked about are not implemented and delivered on ground. Mishra’s observations at the golden jubilee celebrations of National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) are significant in the light of multiple global disruption since the Covid-19 pandemic, including the current West Asia conflict, that have impacted nations and the chronic governance issue of gap between ideas and implementation on ground. Country’s top bureaucrat said that disruptions are no longer isolated or temporary and they can cascade rapidly across sectors, institutions and economies. “This requires us to think differently about development itself where resilience must be understood as the capacity to anticipate, absorb, adapt, transform and increasingly build antifragile systems that emerge stronger through uncertainty and change,” Mishra said. He said that as cities remain at the forefront of climate related stresses, future urban development must focus on proactive planning, nature-based solutions, green infrastructure and sustainable urban systems to build resilient, inclusive and climate sensitive cities. Mishra added while traditional approaches often focus on ‘bouncing back’ after disruption, the emerging paradigm requires systems that can learn, adapt, and emerge stronger through disruption, moving towards bouncing forward and increasingly becoming antifragile systems. “The objective today is not only recovery but building stronger institutions, infrastructure and governance systems capable of managing future shocks and uncertainties,” he added. Highlighting how implementation of ideas remains a challenge, he said, “The issues of implementation and effective delivery of services need deeper research because we see people always talk about this can be done, this should be done but the question always is how it can be done, why it is not being done. I think these are some of the challenges which possibly should be the focus of research.” Urban affairs secretary Srinivas Katikithala said India’s journey towards a developed nation requires cities to be planned not only for growth, but also for resilience, sustainability and long-term adaptability.