The revelation is contained in prominent economist and former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan’s newest book, The Future of India: Politics, Economics and Governance.

Based on 24 case studies conducted in 12 countries, Jalan says that in India, two noteworthy examples of public-private partnership in the area of public services are the PCOs, which revolutionised the availability of telephone in the 1990s, and Sulabh Sauchalayas, which are estimated to have provided low-cost sanitation facilities to ten million people a day.

A Rajya Sabha member, Jalan points out that in several countries, the model of public-private partnership has replaced the old system of public ownership and public delivery in certain important sectors. In India, in respect of telephones as well as sanitation services, the new initiatives were supplemental to the public sector facilities.