Interpretive Structural Modeling and Micmac Analysis of Public Investment System in India

Efficient planning for sustainable growth is an imperative requirement for every country of the world, especially the so-called developing countries. But the most formidable challenge involved in adopting the desired developmental process lies in grappling with the complexity of the socio-economic systems. Given its size, varied socio-cultural sub-systems, great disparity in the distribution of income, varying degrees of sophistication in agricultural and industrial practices, and such other factors, the complexity involved in developmental planning in the Indian context is of a very high order. However, Soft Systems Approach makes it possible to visualize a consensus-based mental model as a digraph, depicting the structural connections between relevant elements of the system in a contextual relationship. The present study has exploited this approach to structure the potent elements of the public investment system of India through Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) method, which is a computer-based technique that enables groups and individuals in visualizing the relationships between system elements and developing graphical representations of complex systems. Prior to the ISM, the system elements of the public investment system of India were arrived at through Nominal Group Technique that involved participation of 15 domain experts. The ISM exercise with the domain experts resulted in a systems model (digraph) of 37 elements, which was also subjected to MICMAC analysis. The major contribution of the study is that it gives a bird's-eye view of the public investment system of India to assist the policy makers in focusing on the required inputs at the desired nodes of the digraph, for optimizing the output of resources in achieving the desired developmental goals.