Was just going through a Government of India website. Found out that these are the ministries. Have a look:
Central Government (Ministries)
* Ministry of
Agriculture
* Ministry of
Chemicals and Fertilizers
* Ministry of
Civil Aviation
* Ministry of Coal
* Ministry of
Commerce and Industry
* Ministry of
Communications and Information Technology
* Ministry of
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
* Ministry of
Corporate Affairs
* Ministry of
Culture
* Ministry of
Defence
* Ministry of
Development of North Eastern Region
* Ministry of
Earth Sciences
* Ministry of
Environment and Forests
* Ministry of
External Affairs
* Ministry of
Finance
* Ministry of Food
Processing Industries
* Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare
* Ministry of
Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises
* Ministry of Home
Affairs
* Ministry of
Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
* Ministry of
Human Resource Development
* Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting
* Ministry of
Labour and Employment
* Ministry of Law
and Justice
* Ministry of
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
* Ministry of
Mines
* Ministry of
Minority Affairs
* Ministry of New
and Renewable Energy
* Ministry of
Overseas Indian Affairs
* Ministry of
Panchayati Raj
* Ministry of
Parliamentary Affairs
* Ministry of
Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
* Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Gas
* Ministry of
Power
* Ministry of
Railways
* Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways
* Ministry of
Rural Development
* Ministry of
Science and Technology
* Ministry of
Shipping
* Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment
* Ministry of
Statistics and Programme Implementation
* Ministry of
Steel
* Ministry of
Textiles
* Ministry of
Tourism
* Ministry of
Tribal Affairs
* Ministry of
Urban Development
* Ministry of
Water Resources
* Ministry of
Women and Child Development
* Ministry of
Youth Affairs and Sports
Central Government (Independent Departments)
* Department of
Atomic Energy
* Department of
Space
How do these names sound? Grand. Grand names for grand projects and grand areas. Nothing wrong really but if all the things are grandeur oriented, what's gonna happen to the essential and basic?
What's essential one can ask? I answer by asking, "What does it mean in the context of your living?" And then some would argue that that's included in one or the other of the ministries. I think that's the problem. Treating an essential thing as just one of the things out of many.
Cutting it short… For example, one of the things that's essential in human life is 'cleanliness'. The ministries in the above list look more remedial. That means 'reactive' in nature. That means 'act after a thing has happened'. Not to say that preventive measures aren't taken by these ministries. My point is there should be exclusive focus on 'prevention'; not as a part of certain ministry.
How about a Ministry of Cleanliness?
Another point is governance necessarily need not be economics/industry-related. Economics or industry is just one of the means of improving 'lives'. And government of a country, I'm sure, should be more about improving lives. If that's the case, then what stops us from having a Ministry of Creativity, a Ministry of Beauty, etc.? Doesn't creativity drive the industry? More than anything else.
One might argue that these areas are subjective? What about economics? It yet isn't a precise science (ironical phrase this) and it fails more often than not. It's as unpredictable as anything else. On the other hand, most people do acknowledge that Taj Mahal is beautiful. So is Aishwarya Rai, etc. The thing is just because something is perceived 'subjective' or seems fuzzy doesn't mean it doesn't deserve serious attention from the people governing the nation.
If I were to make a statement I would say, just ensuring that the whole country is clean and beautiful might do better for the people – poor and rich alike – and the country than all industry and commerce put together.
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