Journalism of Courage
If there is a weakness in our society it is in our ability to implement plans. If plans were horses we would have been a heaven on earth by now. In the 1950s we started planning rural development,industrialisation,family planning. It is said that Prof Mahalonobis,the architect of our early plans,claimed that with the public sector producing surpluses there would not be any need for taxes in our country! We know what has happened!
This streak continues. What has made it worse is that our governance structures are becoming pillars of institutionalised corruption and are also throwing away public money in populist schemes to buy votes. CWG scam/ Adarsh Housing Society are mere symptoms of this situation. How do we reconcile this rather dismal view with the buoyancy in the economy?
Make no mistake. I am an optimist for my country. I have toiled for almost 50 years to create wealth,employment,develop technology,export and have something to show for it. But I believe we need to be accurate self-critics to move forward.
Let me first say why I believe we are doing well. It is because of the immense hard work of our people outside the state structures. First, Indian parents work hard to educate and develop their children,making huge sacrifices to build their future. Second,the economy has steadily slipped into the hands of private enterprise. Right from the 1950s,despite the government,and since the 1990s with the government stepping aside to allow most essential business decisions to be taken by business. With the tiger out of the cage,a million if not a billion efforts are on,by entrepreneurs of all hues,and I deem the farmer also as an entrepreneur. It is the cumulative efforts of all these people that is leading to good growth. We are seeing this even in Bihar. This growth will not stop so easily.
But a jungle is not a good place. It is better than a jail or a stagnant pool but can not be an ideal for human society. It breeds Bellarys,2G Spectrum scams,Maoism.
I see a huge ray of light in business itself. Most services can be better provided by private enterprise. And now there are enough cases of viability at the bottom of the pyramid. Microfinance is a case in point. Sulabh toilets is another. The proliferation of private schools and colleges and health facilities,are others. They have their down sides but are on the whole better than the reality of crumbling by design public structures.
So,what we need to implement is an enabling environment for enterprise. Besides infrastructure of roads,power & ports,and greater private participation in them but also with greater competition; we need enabling economic policies,be they on labor,developing the GST system,more economic and less political trade policies,a rupee rate that is driven by fundamentals and not footloose global money etc..
We need computerised transaction systems that reduce the entrepreneurs interface with the bureaucracy.
On its part,private enterprise,especially larger entities,need to understand that they have to keep building publics trust in the private system. This first and foremost means operating their companies well,delivering growth,employment and paying taxes; and with impeccable governance standards. Not just by the book but in its true spirit. We have to offer a credible alternative to the state,in ideas and action.
This also means shouldering a certain amount of social burden. In the areas we operate in we should bolster the public structures of education,health & sanitation. Or anything that would add to the public good. Unless we give a stake in the system to every one,we will neither prosper consistently nor be a society worth living in.
I have been associated with the India Economic Summit since its inception 27 years ago because of my links with the World Economic Forum which go even further in the past. WEF and CII have been pioneers in developing blueprints of ideas and action for the government and companies in creating a better future for all.
