In the Budget the FM stated that honest tax payers would be rewarded, and this seems to be the intention of the government.
But does honesty pay? Looking to the plethora of scams breaking out, and the inability, or rather unwillingness of the system to give justice to victims, it seems that ‘honesty is the best policy’ is a moot concept.
If this government is to make India achieve its potential and become an economic super power, it has to take serious steps to put its words into action.
The FM referred to the Ponzi schemes perpetrated on citizens, and the ability of scamsters to get away with loot. He proposes to have more regulation.
Sorry, but India has enough laws in its statute books. What is missing is the willingness and ability to swiftly bring the scamsters to book.
The problem is well known — judicial delays make a mockery of justice. Other countries have a limit to the number of adjournments allowable, usually up to 2 per side, and a time frame for a judgment, counted in weeks, not in decades. For reasons unknown, India has none.
Mr Modi, what do you want your citizens to teach their children?
The scamsters, with stolen money, can afford to subvert the investigation process, delay the judicial one, and live in luxury with money not rightfully theirs, knowing that the system is lax. The victims, with their money stolen, can only afford mediocre lawyers, cannot prevent judicial delays, and have often lost their lives to serious illnesses.
Unless you sit with both the judiciary and the bureaucracy, and discuss a holistic and time bound method of delivery of justice, I am afraid your dreams of India achieving its economic potential will remain thus.
Consider that Singapore had about the same per capita income as India in 1947. Today, Singapore has a per cap income of $81,305 compared to $1,942 for India. Its people are 40 times better off, live longer and healthier, and have more jobs. This is because the first thing late PM Lee Kuan Yew did, upon becoming PM in 1959, was attack corruption and instil the rule of law.
This has several connotations, other than a better life.
For example, defence. Of the ₹2,58,000 crore defence budget, ₹82,000 crore is for pensions, ₹96,000 crore for salaries and the balance for capex (new weapons). The cost of acquiring Rafale aircraft was ₹36,000 crore and of the dreaded S 400 anti missile defence system from Russia was ₹30,000 crore.
One also finds that the enthusiasm of the government to pursue fraud is dependent on its own interest, political or financial. Last week, for example, the Supreme Court attached the Amby Valley property of Sahara India. The government is also pursuing with vigour, the case of Vijay Mallya, who has fled the country without repaying loans from PSU Banks owned by the government.
Yet, in cases where the laity is concerned and have lost money, such as NSEL, PACL, Rose Valley etc, the enthusiasm to pursue fraudsters is less. This is wrong and disheartening.
Yes, India will thrive, and will achieve its economic potential. Provided you take stern action and stop the loot. And do it within a time frame. The first, and easiest, step, would be to restrict grant of adjournments. Do that, Mr Modi, if you want to help deliver justice to the helpless individual.
The writer is India Head, Euromoney Conferences. The views are personal.