Meaningful  Interim Budget 2024-25

This refers to Low Key Interim Budget but drab is fab, FM (ATM, Feb 4). The FM's interim budget is politically stimulating, economically encouraging, socially acceptable and desirable and technologically sensible to put it in a nutshell. The FM deserves all kudos for making the budget a meaningful exercise to take the economy forward with all ingredients devoid of any popular attractions particularly freebies. This is something unique in all her budgets highly appreciable and worth commendable as budgets are not intended to offer freebies to canvass votes but are official documents to guide the policy makers and people to plan the economic growth, perform to the best of abilities and share the fruits of development equitably and enjoy the wealth for the welfare of all. The culture of offering freebies, incentives etc are nothing but corrupt practices spoiling the culture of healthy democracy and ruining the initiatives and skill of the people to excel and display their potential to perform to the optimum. From this angle , the FM's budgets deserve all appreciation , support and encouragement. It makes the democratic system more mature and enlightened.   

T V G Krishnan

Bengaluru.   

   Jai Sri Ram  

The budget 2024-25 Some Random Thoughts. 

The ensuing budget 2024- 25 is important not only from the point of view of augmenting the much needed resources for economic growth but also equally important in the equitable distribution of the wealth, keeping inflation both domestic and imported under control, by containing the fiscal deficit and managing the dynamics of international socio- economic -political scenario and the resultant economic consequences in the prices of oil, exchange rate  movements etc. No doubt the economic growth momentum witnessed in the country thanks to political stability , dynamic economic policies in the midst of the unprecedented pandemic covid19 , fluctuating weather conditions, revolutionary  social and technological changes being experienced  day in and day out, has given a moral boost and kickstarted the performance of institutions and individuals aiming at 7% average growth per annum for a few years more. It is indeed a pleasure to read from the Goldman Sachs report ‘Rise of Affluent India’ recently published that Affluent Indians may number 100 million in four years earning an income of over $10000 per annum.  Hence, in this favourable background, I would like to present  some random thoughts and suggestions to consider perhaps in the coming budget for giving a further boost to the economy. 

Ensure effective Governance everywhere 

Governance deficit seen in Manufacturing and Service Organisations needs to be closely monitored and wiped out by incentivising through budgetary measures. Public Sector Undertakings have to account for their commitments and fulfilment of optimum utilisation of resources avoiding delays in the execution of projects and wastages of resources. To cite an example, the Gail has installed gas pipelines years back investing huge resources in several places but the intended connections have not been given for no known reasons. The pipelines get rusted and perhaps need replacement before actual gas supply is made available. Such idle investments are nothing but a national waste of resources without any known accountability to the public and their tax money. The need to incentivise PSUs through budgetary provisons to recognise their contribution to boost the economy without wastage of resources is paramount and this itself will help to give a boost to the economy in multiple ways. Public have also apart from undergoing inconveniences, some negative assessment of the overall administrative mechanism in such uncalled for delays for unknown reasons.   

Introduce Monetary Rewards and Monetary Punishments through budget Provisions 

Technology has been doing wonders for the nation but at the same time technology adoption has taken away the accountability for service deficits. Banks , Insurance Companies and other service providers do not provide their phone numbers , email contacts and widely  advertise the grievance mechanism unlike in the past  if any available for deficiency of Service and complaints . The Complaints portals introduced need a revisit  and the authorities have to ensure that the Complaints redressal has really happened by cross checking if required with the complainant . Once in a while, the authorities or the Regulators should take an opinion /  survey to assess whether the Service providers are really providing the intended service and the customers are really happy. Ecstasy of Customers definitely not expected in any case though. The grievance mechanism should serve the purpose and the concerned authorities should be sensitised enough to ensure that the service providers really satisfy their customers and Customers grievances are really taken care of in the interests of the Customers and more in the Interests of the Service providers themselves. The deficiency in service not only  affects the mobilisation and  optimum utilization of resources but also damages the build up of image  and reputation nationally and internationally when the whole world is expecting the country to outsmart the advanced and other fast emerging economies. The Grievance mechanism needs to be incentivised through budgetary process and the service providers should be rewarded or penalised for their performance  based on transparent assessment. Incentivising the regulatory compliance through budget provisions can be a workable solution to satisfy the Customer service. Such an approach can definitely add to the efficiency of the Institutions reflecting on their enhanced productivity and all round progress augmenting the  economic growth through improved quality, enhanced quantity and satisfied service all around bringing in positive change all around. Nothing wrong in giving a trial through budgetary provisions.  

Containment of Inflation.

Monetary policy  measures alone cannot contain the inflation particularly retail inflation which needs to be administratively tackled . Corruption, corrupt practices, wrong doings,  black money, and cash transactions seen in and around the economy at the time of innumerable elections , land deals, offering freebies,  miscellaneous services involving grant of driving licenses, issue of Aadhar cards, leave and license agreements , and services like obtention of certificates of all kinds like Birth, death , notary signatures, power of attorney, etc  from Governments and Government agencies, marketing and distribution outlets , garbage collection, garbage removals from wholesale and retail market yards, etc involve lots of money and they reflect on prices of commodities and services  and cost of living ultimately making the life miserable particularly for low income groups and others as well. It is time to think of introducing some solution through budgetary provision through incentives / disincentives and Artificial Intelligence to prevent wrong practices and undesirable and antisocial activities. It is an area requiring lots of education , canvassing and motivating people to enlighten them to keep away from practices having an impact on quality of life and cost of living. It is time to think of having some budgetary measures to deter people from encouraging wrong practices affecting the quality of life and environment cleanliness in all respects. This is an area requiring action from all politicians, administrators, educationists, professionals from all fields, social activists, welfare associations, Various Cultural Forums, etc .The budget can think of incentivising and disincentivizing by  disciplining the politicians / bureaucrats for introduction of best practices worth emulating and educating the public administrators.    

Identifying  and delinking taxes from inflationary impact.

Since inflation affects the poorest of the poor very badly and treating the poor and the rich alike for tax purposes particularly the  salaried and fixed income earners without going by the number of dependents to be taken care of by them  seem to be unjust and unreasonable in a society where the living standards and cost of living, and income levels and wealth creations differ vastly and no comparison whatsoever. A Person earning 2.5 Lakhs and less with many dependents to be taken care of  and a person earning in multiple lakhs and crores with or without dependents to be taken care of are treated prima facie equally except for different rates for different  slabs of income. Exemptions by way of Savings and Insurance are at a very high cost for the lowest slab having dependents.  There is  absolutely no comparison whatsoever on the quality of Living between the Poor and The Rich although the poor struggle to make both ends meet. This needs to be reviewed and corrected to provide a level playing field for all kinds of income earners and wealth creators.      

Like Security Transaction Tax which is non inflationary in Character, there are several taxes which are non inflationary  to be identified and considered for levy from  different classes of people who can definitely afford such levies  and are unaffected  for their living standards by any reckoning. For Instance the professionals like Doctors , Advocates, Chartered Accountants,  Film Stars , Brokers, Real Estate Dealers, Middlemen engaged in all sorts of Services earning above a cut off limit needs to be brought under a special category of income earners and not to be mixed with salaried class. Inequality in income levels and wealth Accumulation capacity need to be well factored into arriving at the tax rates notwithstanding the fact that the inflation kills the poor and at the same time protects the rich. It involves a tough exercise but such an  exercise is inevitable in a society where the majority struggle to survive and a few enjoy the best of luxuries. Broader shoulders should carry heavier weights is one of the canons of taxation and this needs to be convincingly implemented and adhered to benefiting the society, the economy, the rich and the poor justifiably.

Assets and Liabilities Of Affluent People 

It is high time to make a revisit to Income Tax returns and there should be enough data on the Assets and Liabilities of Individuals and families. The linkage of Aadhar Card and Pan Card would be an ideal objective in the long run to fix many of the problems in the, Country. The tax returns should be simplified and they should attract people to volunteer and submit the returns. For instance fixed income earners like salaried class and only interest income earning less than say Rs 10 lakhs should have only a single page return and those having earnings from multiple sources can have returns running into a maximum of two or three pages. Professionals , business class people and those having income from real estate , capital markets , and other sources can have detailed returns and can be certified or non certified depending on the levels of income. Those who earn above Rs 25 lakhs should submit only certified returns . Of course an expert committee can decide the type of returns. However , in general, the approach should be that All are honest and very loyal taxpayers unless and until proved to be otherwise.

Time has come to have information on the wealth of Affluent People and how the wealth gets employed for the benefit and growth of the economy. This may have to be separately compiled by the Income Tax Department and should be readily available for policy decisions. The income tax return of affluent Individuals should be different from base level Income tax payees. This may be of immense help to keep track of movement of funds and change of asset prices .   The steep increase envisaged in financial and physical assets including equities gold and property as and when the economy expands and prospers, needs to be closely captured and factored into arriving at the tax rates without getting them into black money and wrong doings.     

Digitalisation of transactions and widespread settlement of transactions through UPI 

This is a remarkable achievement the country can be really proud of. However, the circulation of cash and generation of black money simultaneously along with the digitalisation of payments do not augur well to the overall governance system and this needs to be seriously introspected. The generation of data becomes easy in respect to digitisation and there should be some ways and means to capture cash transactions and reduce / eliminate them over a period.Since agricultural Income is exempted from tax, at least some returns from the angle of knowing the income generations from agriculture and related activities need to be introduced or collected indirectly .This may prove to be a boon to initiate many a policies to strengthen democracy,  Governance standards, bring in Structural reforms and meaningful financial planning,   Adoption of Artificial Intelligence can be considered to generate data in respect of  agricultural income and black money generated through various ways in the system. Technology can be well utilised to fix frauds, corrupt practices and evasion of taxes by various means, resorting to taking advantage of regulatory  and compliance gaps seen in the Governance system. 

The setting up of a Gold Bank to find resources for the economic development and saving of foreign exchange by minimising / avoiding import of Gold can be seriously thought of through this budget.  This measure may also facilitate the internationalisation of rupee and saving of foreign exchange for international trade. 

 Annual budgeting and Accounting information can be a good source of resources for planning and execution of all developmental policies and overseeing the fruits of development and spread of welfare among the people provided they are supported adequately by various tools and support systems to detect evasions and related headaches. The budget can think of rewarding some Universities for bringing out Research papers on Public Finance and helping the Government to come out with policy measures in the area of inflation, containment of black money, bringing in efficiency in the management of funds of institutions particularly Public Sector Undertakings etc. Let this year's budget exercise be a landmark for fulfilling the aspirations of all segments of the society alike and turn out to be a  Ramarajya in letter and spirit.  May the people anywhere and everywhere enjoy the economic growth and welfare measures and have an improved and enviable quality of life.                     

                                Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu. 

T V G Krishnan 

(views are personal)

 Sustaining Capital Market and the highly bullish Sentiments

Apropos your editorial sustaining Sensex’s scorching Bull Run (ET dated 13/12/2023), though the trend is encouraging and capital market is getting a boom with enhanced and the very  much needed retail participation, the fact remains that the entire bull run does not seem to have  the full backing of the very fundamental strong macro economic factors like mass physical production and employment expansion in tune with the global expectations and not so encouraging global trends in terms of growth, employment and favourable geopolitical conditions. Even domestically, the widening inequality and uncertainties seen in retail inflation in particular  affecting national savings , employment, investment and production trends can have an adverse impact on the capital market as this segment alone cannot prove to be a support system to sustain the economic growth envisaged. No doubt political stability and the well deserved  psychological boost earned in the system can do a lot of wonders , but the real success can be counted only through very imaginative fiscal and monetary policies capable of taking the potential of the country to the optimum level to meet the global challenges seen politically, economically, socially and technologically. The capital market boost is welcome but needs to be  made healthy, reflective of all round progress in terms of sustainable savings, investment, employment, production and above all fair and equitable distribution of wealth. All round Welfare of the masses everywhere should be the objective and the end result should be peace , prosperity, happiness and the satisfaction of having a fulfilling life.

T V G Krishnan    

Very Benign Monetary Policy( 8th Dec 2023) to add strength to Political Stability and Strong Policy reforms for Economic Growth.

This has reference to the monetary policy announcement made on the 8th December 2023.

Kudos to MPC and RBI for announcing  the bold Monetary policy very  conducive to the thinking of the Government, expectations of the market and well in tune with favourable macroeconomic factors particularly the robust GDP GROWTH witnessed at 7.6 % and benign inflationary conditions, though certain uncertainties continue to persist in and around the world . Keeping all the policy rates unchanged is a welcome measure at this critical stage of the economy where tightening of liquidity is a requirement in view of increase seen in fiscal expenditures and lending activities seen particularly to unsecured segments. Market exuberance though seen as a positive sign politically, cannot definitely be seen as a healthy sign from the economic and social sides of the economy . The financial system stability cannot be taken for granted as long as there are connected  and interconnected loans and risks of unsecured loans and NPAs exist for all sorts of reasons, particularly ineffective Governance. The build up Foreign exchange Reserves is a good sign but needs to be cautiously handled not only from the angle of exchange rate stability but inflation expectations. All said, the monetary policy announced has a positive side to the economy as it supports economic expansion and growth with possible price stability particularly when the scope for imported inflation is comparatively less. With some imaginative and very benign tax policy keeping in mind the suffering of middle class and lower class and fast widening inequality among different classes of people and meaningful and result oriented governance at all institutions both private and public sector, the management of the economy can bring in wonders to all segments and all round welfare for all people all around. The much needed Political stability is getting stronger with every passing day and successive elections, which itself adds a strong base to achieve economic growth , social welfare and enhanced equality and rapid technological advancement. The latest monetary policy adds strength to the Government to influence its own policies for further advancement of the economy keeping the immediate target of $5 trillion economy and reach further ambitious targets set for the long term. ie by 2047. The close coordination seen between the RBI and the Government in shaping out policies is something remarkable and perhaps unheard of in the history of RBI. Good going indeed both for the RBI and the Government and best for the people at large to benefit in the long run.

T V G Krishnan

 

The need for Good Roads in Bengaluru is very urgent and paramount

 Make  Namma Bengaluru More Beautiful, attractive and enjoyable with well and professionally laid and quality roads and disciplined traffic. Let us all be proud of having very good roads and enjoy jolly rides in and around the city. 

The growth of Bengaluru is fast and fantastic and it  attracts the attention of the whole world as a City next to Silicon Valley. The Information Technology Development has shot this city into fame in such a short time that it is equated with Silicon Valley  for all its IT Strength,  Economic Contribution and Political power. No doubt, anybody associated with Bengaluru can be proud of, for all its undisputed glory and economic achievements. All said, is it not time to evaluate the City’s potential and  enhance it  /  expand it even further and better its infrastructure to beat not only  Silicon Valley but reach on top of the world  in terms of its infrastructure, economic and all round growth and justify its own worth enviable to one and all .The City has all the potential but seems to lack the mindset and determination to perform optimally and reach the pinnacle with all its capacity and  all round performance.

The presence of  Good and wide Roads not only adds beauty to the city but also brings with it the attraction to invest in the city, peace, enhanced health  and better prosperity to enjoy for all. Citizens miss the joy of good rides and pleasure in the absence of good roads is a ground reality and this situation is definitely avoidable if the authorities pay a little more attention and care and commit themselves to provide and maintain good roads as a matter of Right to Citizens. Emotional quotient is equally important along with material quotient to evaluate social and economic performance. 

 

The major and  perhaps the only irritating handicap limiting the City’s  performance as of now is  absence of good and smooth roads and the slow movement of traffic and congestion experienced for want of adequate wide roads and free flow of traffic. This can be to a very great extent sorted out by the authorities Viz BBMP and City Traffic Authority provided some initiatives are taken eliciting the cooperation of all and prompt steps are put in place  with close monitoring and continuous supervision. Readiness is all that matters. Citizens need the facilities and being the direct beneficiaries, their cooperation can definitely  be taken for granted with appropriate motivation and active involvement .    

The roads planned and laid out (perhaps on the background of some archaic rule in vogue though prior to the fast development witnessed) are not wide enough throughout its stretch uniformly to absorb the pressure of traffic. Even then, the problem is, the envisaged width of the roads is not uniformly made available for free flow of traffic is the ground reality The roads whether they are 30 ft  40 ft, 50  ft or 60 ft are not fully available through out for free flow of traffic because of unauthorised interruptions, encroachments and all sorts of blocks freely created for private conveniences and comforts taking advantage of casualness of authorities to enforce the rules strictly for the benefit of greater good of the public. The urgent remedy  is to measure all the Roads and ensure that the intended and planned width is uniformly available for flow of traffic without any interruptions whatsoever. One can find all imaginable encroachments by way of gardens, parking areas earmarked for  personal and private conveniences, foot paths of uneven surfaces, and dumping places for all sorts of things .The loss of space on account of encroachments seems to be substantial and uncared for affecting the flow of traffic and convenience of citizens. This may require some harsh measures to evacuate encroachments forcefully but in the larger interest of the society, this is inevitable .This measure alone will make good roads for free flow of traffic throughout the City. This is possible if the authorities decide and take a very serious action. No one has the birth right to encroach the roads meant for public use.

The maintenance of the Road without pits and falls and without ups and downs needs constant and continuous attention, supervision and quick remedial measures  to ensure  accident free and smooth flow of traffic. Haphazard ways of repairing and maintaining the roads by non professionals though temporarily help to save some expenditures, but they turn out to be very expensive later on in different ways. The authorities cannot have a short- sighted view on the maintenance of roads which require strict regulation and supervision. A committee approach involving even good samaritans can be thought of to monitor and report to authorities at periodical intervals on the conditions of the road. The vehicles dancing and moving on the roads because of uneven surface and hindrances of various kinds and natures is a very common sight which often results in accidents and slows down of movements which can definitely be avoided if some steps are initiated based on observations, reports,  comments and experiences of all road users by all sorts of vehicle owners. The money saved for maintaining roads and vehicles can definitely be a good contribution for creation of national wealth and enjoyment. A tripartite insurance to maintain the roads by the parties involved can be a viable solution. Professionals should be engaged to lay and maintain the roads. 

The  approach to footpaths and sidewalks need a total relook and remedial steps. Two wheelers riding on footpaths is very common and the very maintenance of footpaths as such is very pathetic. Footpaths should serve its purpose as otherwise it is a waste of resources and loss of space even for traffic flow. The conditions of many footpaths are pathetic and luckily citizens adjust for the sake of adjustment and living peacefully without murmuring.Silence of pedestrians here is not to be taken as approval by any reckoning. A joint Inspection of footpaths by the authorities and Contractors themselves can expose the quality of work and waste of resources in laying down foot paths without having any intended benefits. This definitely calls for a practical view and remedial measure as otherwise the resources are simply going into the drain. The Desired result can be there only if footpaths serve their purpose.   

Traffic Police and BBMP should jointly take a review of all roads where some traffic pressures and bottlenecks are experienced for want of authorities’ attention and remedial actions. With some involvement of traffic police and thinking practically, some workable solutions can be easily arrived at to ensure free flow of traffic with some small adjustments and convincing measures.Examples are plenty. 1 Near Corporation. 2 Near 24th Main 3 National College. 4 Jayanagar 9th Block etc. Some buildings seemingly unauthorised project onto the road creating hurdles and irritations to move freely on the road and invariably every passerby curses the authorities for their lack of vision or reluctance to take some inevitable action.There are several points in the city roads where some quick action for smooth flow of traffic is possible provided the authorities wake up and act swiftly and sensibly in consultation with traffic police, motor vehicle users and citizens.This requires only a discussion and some site visits where pressures for free flow of traffic are felt continuously and initiation of some workable solutions with some adjustments and alterations of routes or appropriate steps to smoothen the flow of traffic. Even the regular road users can offer suggestions to the authorities. What is required is a Proactive approach, some involvement and possible action with good intentions. Cooperation of the citizens would definitely come if the authorities approach convincingly. After all, citizens are the ultimate beneficiaries. 

Signals.

The other area requiring a bit of research and better attention to ensure smooth flow of traffic to save time, avoid accidents and make travel a pleasure in the city roads is signal points. Signal Jumping seen in the roads is an art and a smart driving scene and experience in the City  even by four wheelers leave alone autos and two wheelers. Sometimes many wonder as to whether this is a permissible offence as per the license . If at all the authorities care for  augmentation of revenues, it would be sufficient if some steps are initiated to catch signal jumpers and fine them at periodical intervals if not on a regular basis to make up for their revenue gaps.There are hundreds of signals and there are thousands of signal jumpers and revenue collection by way of fine is an easy source and less cumbersome. It may also help to reduce accidents and improve easy flow of traffic apart from creating a better image of the traffic police for their sense of  imparting traffic discipline. A very badly needed discipline requires to be enforced at all signals. 

Similarly the other area where serious attention is essentially  required is stopping the habit of seeing the gap and driving pursued by many drivers of all sorts of vehicles irrespective of the Road discipline envisaged and experienced by all road users particularly at crossroads and junctions without signals.It not only creates a chaotic condition but scares many riders and co-passengers who are sick, physically mentally and otherwise. This is a very pathetic situation which needs to be tackled at any cost as a matter of culture, decency and a sense of compassion, care and consideration for fellow drivers. This discipline enhances the image of the traffic police several fold than what is even imagined. Here the possible solution would be to take the services of Volunteers and well wishers available free of cost and interested in regulating the traffic with the guidance  and support of  traffic police. Intelligent inputs by IT veterans to align the signals and bring down the timings at different signals based on the pressure of traffic flows would be of immense benefit .  

The general approach to dump wastes, spit lavishly and liberally and throw anything on the road and dig / block the road for some private requirement of any kind seen particularly in many interior roads in and around the city poorly reflects on the lack of civic sense and consideration for fellow citizens.This needs to be eradicated by proper education and propaganda and eliciting the cooperation of all and impressing upon the citizens the need to be proud of our public roads and its upkeep in top condition. Good Roads and very disciplined observance and conduct  of traffic rules would certainly be appreciable by all and would only add value and prestige to the City bringing happiness and pride to all.Driving should be a pleasure and Joy. 

The conversion of garage  and road side houses into  business establishments do affect the free flow of traffic as shoppers have a tendency to park vehicles in a haphazard manner  near such establishments without bothering / caring for the free flow of traffic. Besides, road side parking without worrying about the availability of space for vehicles to pass conveniently is a very common sight inside and even trunk roads as well. In this regard, it would be advisable to allot vacant sites and  plots for business and parking purposes either for a fee or on a license basis.

This is easily implementable as such parking lots can fetch some revenue for vacant site owners and the Government as well besides enhancing the image of authority’s concern for free flow of traffic. Road side vendors also can be provided such vacant sites for doing their commercial activities for a fee and a license. This would turn out to be a win-win situation for all having commercial interests, vehicle owners, authorities and public.

This write up is only from the point of improvement of quality of life and not to cast aspersion on anybody or find fault with the system of Governance.  We have to have a spirited and cooperative approach to make the living comfortable ,happy , safe and peaceful. Good Road is a basic necessity for all these and therefore deserves topmost priority and all the attention. One cannot ignore the truth that a good road reflects the Character of the Government and is definitely one of the major  indicators of Governance standards and also an  influencer / carrier of decision making messages.  

The inconvenience of inadequacy of road and undisciplined traffic is common to all; the solution has also  to come necessarily  from all particularly from those who govern. 

 

T V G Krishnan

A Senior Citizen and Well Wisher of Welfare for All Always and in All Ways. 

           

 Issues to be taken note of for ensuring speedy and sustainable economic growth and enhanced per capita . Some Random Thoughts .

The country is  very vast  and  has  all sorts of resources adequate enough to take care of its economy and  its huge population . Fortunately, the democratic system of governance and the political set up has also enabled the Country to harness the resources and shape the economy in tune with the national and international dynamics of social, political and economic scenario and is in a strong position to influence economic growth fast  and reach higher and enviable levels.  But unfortunately the utilisation of resources  and the achievements thereof do not seem to be fully justifiable as some of the macro economic indicators fall far short of expectations and do not go with the aspirations of the majority of the  people to lead a happy , comfortable and tension free life. The high cost of living and ever increasing prices of all commodities without exception , travel, education, insurance , medical and other expenses  not only adds to financial worries but also increases emotional and psychological pressures and tensions affecting day to day life and relationships among the people eroding the very credibility in the system of administration and Governance policies in vogue. The so called common Man a  VIP so to say during election time in particular , in whose name Legislation, judiciary and Execution, policies get propagated, evolved, formulated, practiced and checks and balances are kept in place, unfortunately gets ignored and suffers the worst not knowing as to how to survive in life with some dignity , decency, honesty and some minimum quality. The Class and mass system not only prevail but knowingly or unknowingly  allowed to show off with the power of POWER , MONEY and WEALTH. No doubt, the  economy is growing fast and is all set to achieve the target  (to supersede the advanced economies ) set but who benefits , how one benefits and how and where the branded common Man fits in, in the scheme of things is a matter to be seriously or rather introspectively  analysed and remedial measures introduced without further loss of time and erosion of  TRUST in Democracy and Democratic way of functioning. Some of the areas which perhaps call for review and special attention may be

Simultaneous Existence of Varieties of Taxes and levies over and above GST on almost all items need a revisit in public Interest and  greater public good. 

 Per Capita Income continues to be low and  far behind compared to even some of the poorer economies and not in tune with the growth of GDP needs a relook and calls for policy initiatives to correct the imbalance. The fast widening inequality seen among the people is definitely a cause for worry as it adversely affects the envisaged economic growth and living conditions of the vast majority of the population. 

The Financial System though seems to be sound and very dynamic carries risks of very high order in the form of camouflaged and potential NPAs through connected lending, favoured lending and creative accounting practices. The method of subsiding loans and losses through depositors and other stakeholders  of institutions cannot  go on forever to keep the Financial system stable and steady . Time has come to remind the management that the Customers are the base and Customers cannot be an ignored lot for the very survival of the business.This awareness should be the very  theme of Governance and this should be understood, digested and kept in mind at all levels of management including accounting, auditing and regulation. Technology is good but technology ignoring and condemning human resources for their intelligence, emotions, sentiments and positive  manoeuvre abilities can only do more harm than good.  There should be a judicious mix of Technology and Human resources to enjoy the optimum benefits of both. 

Prevalence of black money and Corruption affect the society and the economy  very badly and unfortunately getting legalised and institutionalised with the increase of freebies and mushroom growth of service providers for all  sorts of services like issue of Aadhar Cards, Passports, Pan Cards,Driving Licenses, , Power Of Attorney  and services related to Real Estate Registrar  etc. 

Since the fruits of development do not get adequately and evenly distributed for some policy or other,  Is it not time yet  for all  directly or indirectly associated with Economic development   to  strive constantly to serve for the welfare of all by devotion to selfless work. To quote Bhagavat Gita “one attains the supreme Goal of Life through selfless service and pursuit of the greater good”. The action and inaction of all involved in public service can only  be evaluated based on the welfare of the masses.

       

                               Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu

 

T V G Krishnan

A Senior Citizen.

LET NOBLE THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS COME FROM EVERY WHERE AND EVERY ONE FOR UNIVERSAL WELFARE

Economic Development is the need of the hour to take care of the 1.4 billion population and is not by itself a mean task. The growth rate for the past seven and half  decades cannot be considered to be adequate enough either to meet the needs of the population or justify to the capacity of the country in relation to its resources of all kinds or its own performance as a nation much before independence as per the data widely circulated and discussed every now and then. Not only the generation of wealth but its inequitable distribution has caused wide disparities allowing knowingly or unknowingly emergence of all sorts of corrupt practices and erosion of values in the society resulting in the exploitation of resources of all kinds and percolation of practices unworthy of our own values and culture. Unfortunately wrong practices and wrong doings got multiplied in the absence of effective Governance and allowed prevalence of sets of wrong standards in the guise of welfare activities for the brand Common Man taking away his thinking capacity and volunteer actions benefiting the society at large. Major ills of the economy are Corruption all around,  mis governance and non accountability, absence of integrity of data, erroneous policies resulting in lopsided development and ever widening disparities in income and wealth distribution,  erosion of values and carefree attitude among the people perhaps due to weak judiciary pursued without having any care for build up of healthy justice system, and generation  of good thoughts, deeds and resultant consequences benefiting the society. These are ills definitely avoidable in the betterment  of the society,   but systematically and intentionally ignored without appropriate educational policy and understanding of the real losses the nation and the people suffer perennially in terms of happiness, emotions, welfare, peace and poverty in the midst of plenty and missing opportunities  and not knowing the values of missed opportunities and costs thereof the nation puts up with for nothing. Democracy is good but democratic principles need to be statutorily defined and meticulously practised keeping the morale of the people in tact and ensuring all round happiness and welfare in letter and spirit.   Let NOBLE THOUGHTS  and ACTIONS Come from ALL ASSOCIATED WITH NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.        

The nation’s total resources and the yields from the resources need to be matched once a while just to ensure that the wealth creation, distribution of wealth among the people and poverty elimination  do stand justice and the welfare of people and happiness among the people do seem to be real, fair and equitable proportionate to the efforts and resources spent without giving scope for undue criticism of the democratic ways of administering the eco- socio and political system . The gross  natural resources and their utilisation to benefit the nation also needs to be closely monitored to ensure against wastage of resources and their exploitation. 

The Human Resources are really talented and highly potential but they lack opportunities and exposure to give their best is the ground reality. Education has a key role and the right to get the proper education and skill to get employed adequately with  job safety and dependable source of social security needs to sustain themselves on a long term basis should get  top priority from the  Politics, Economic  and Social angle. Playing  bad / cheap politics exploiting the economic and social weaknesses of the majority cannot be a fit and desirable formula in the scheme of things in the management of the economy. Human Resources are unfortunately the worst exploited without allowing the majority to enjoy benefits of economic  growth affecting all round progress and welfare.While political stability can ensure economic growth to a great extent by enhanced trust in Governance, savings, better  investments and production through sustainable tax, interest incentives, employment opportunities, social justice and technological advancement are equally desirable to ensure fair and equitable distribution of wealth produced . The role of  ethics cannot certainly be undermined or rather ignored  to sustain the growth and its fair distribution to reach 140 crores of people.Good politics with sound ethics can certainly bring in strong and long sustainable economy benefiting the Government and all stake holders of the Economy.   

Politically, the democratic system continues  successfully despite the emergence of several  regional parties and presence of multi languages and multi  religions and caste based influence of voters .Trading of votes through offers of freebies and cheap incentives, exploitation of   poverty and the subsistence needs continually present since independence has become an irritant and nuisance to the otherwise healthy democracy spoiling the development of the value system and other essential principles of democracy.This only reflects the failure of the administration pursued for decades to enlighten the people and making them to think and support parties and leaders based on their patriotic feelings and fruitful contribution to upgrade the standards of living and parameters of economic and social developments to benefit all. No yardsticks seem to have been developed and put in place  over a period to assess on a realistic basis the contributions to the national developments by various parties, their leaders and support systems in terms of developments of Institutions and parameters to point out the  social and economic achievements. Is it not time after 75 years of Independence to assess the guidelines in place enabling the country to move forward on strong fast track based on democratic principles and justice systems, the economic, social, and technological advancements, benefiting majority of the people to have a peaceful, prosperous and fulfilling life in line with the philosophy of Vasudeva kudumbakam. The aspirations of the people are definitely not to have wealth or power beyond their capacity to manage, enjoy and survive comfortably.  All said, the political Stability Visible for the past few years has brought in some sense of credibility that the nation is capable of surpassing many advanced nations in all round development and can perform better through Reforms in all areas .          

Socially observing, the Legislation, Execution and Judiciary systems are all well in place but  an in-depth analysis of their working would prove that in practice the systems and procedures laid down are designed in such a way that corruption is inbuilt and corrupt practices are encouraged. Any service industry for that matter is engraved with corrupt practices and time management is literally unknown so to say. The effective and meaningful Governance talked about and well desired seems to be elusive and very cleverly camouflaged perhaps in effect.  

Technologically analysing, the Country has earned name and fame worldwide and enriched itself considerably and commendably, but has it brought optimum benefits to all its unexplored full potential is a million dollar question and many millions remain to be earned . No doubt, the digital payment evolution is an enviable  revolution and a revelation of its enormous potential to take the economy fast forward beyond any imagination, a lot remains to be done and achieved and herein lies the much needed initiative, thinking and actions to fix all the  ills that kill  the economy and its growth. Technology can provide goldmines of  information and data which if put into use optimally, the very administrative and Governance practices can bring in a sea change in eradicating all kinds of malpractices seen in policy enunciations and their effective implementation. Technology is perhaps the only quick fix to take the country and its people forward politically socially and economically. It is a God Given Gift that the Country has all the Resources in terms of talented Human  Resources in particular  and what we need is a clear thinking, direction and action to change the destiny of the 140 crores people for ache din.      

Culturally and morally, the achievements so far  seems to be a bit unimpressive  as corruption is rampant and has spoiled the very performance of the economy in terms of its capacity and utilisation of all kinds of rich and abundant resources.

The enrichment of Politicians and bureaucrats among others since independence if assessed unbiasedly and the ever increasing inequality in the generation of wealth and its distribution over a period of more than seven decades if taken into account would indicate that something has seriously gone wrong some where /everywhere in the management of the whole economic system and the optimum utilisation of its resources and capabilities. We can and should do definitely better.   

Unfortunately corruption and Corrupt practices seem to be  getting legalised and institutionalised  by the powers that be illegally taking advantage or rather exploiting  the democratic principles, weaknesses seen in the Governance and judicial system and also the prevalence of  massive crowd in need of some service or other from various essential and other service providers for a hefty fee which gets shared between service providers and authorities authorised to approve . One can see mushroom growth of service agents in and around cities and villages offering assistance to get AADHAR card, Passports, Driving Licences, and all sorts of legal documents right from nomination forms to power of attorney of various natures. These agents provide a very quick service which the citizens cannot think of without visiting half a dozen times the related authorities and spending money, energy and valuable time. Common man  has no value of time is what is perhaps established by the way the powers that be in the country works. 

The driving licence, a learners licence, Aadhar card, Passport , Khatha Certificate, birth and death certificates etc get  arranged on payment of some money  and there are offers to get  any services within a specified time even without  relevance on the payment terms. Arrangements are ok for those who do not  care for values or money but time is precious above all,  but  it is a matter for doubt  for more than 80% of the population who vote the Governments to power and perennially suffer from inflation, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy,  emotions, attachments and care for whatever values and morals highly talked about as virtues worth adhering to at any cost enjoy any quality of life . Politicians promise, propose and offer heaven  but bureaucrats dispose without any tangible benefits to the society but solid benefits to themselves and a section of people who are directly or indirectly engaged in some economic activity. Implementation of any policy conceived is practically designed to benefit the implementing authorities and herein lies  the art of making black money and accumulating wealth circumventing the good intentions of samaritan politicians and blind hopes of innocent and gullible public. Both Politicians and bureaucrats keep the people on high hopes and make them wonder eternally as to what is happening and witnessing both politicians and bureaucrats enjoying wealth, power and keeping the promises as promises for ever as the need for the Survival of democracy is more in the interest of the leaders and the nation. The position of Common Man and how he enjoys the benefits of democracy in practical day to day Life seem to be a mystery without any clarity in sight.  It is an art developed meticulously and pursued by the powers that be enjoying the support of people through votes and keeping them on hopes perennially and eternally .

Though, It is a pity or rather misfortune that the Country is nearing eight decades of independence and almost 80% of the people are still surviving without knowing what exactly is  the quality of simple life, leave alone high standards and luxurious life, meaning of democracy and  how a major  segment of the population suffer and  survive,  allowing an insignificant number  of the population who significantly include  politicians, bureaucrats, industrialists, rich  farmers and service providers  to thrive at the cost of many a people , the values and principles they care dearly  and adhere to. JANE  DO attitude adopted by the Common man seem to be  the key understanding widely in practice in EXECUTION of policies under the Democracy. The net result is, Gradual Erosion of Credibility  and  irreparable   damage  and the unbearable  cost borne by the nation and the people for no fault of theirs. Something is amiss somewhere though not intended perhaps necessarily.   

As a senior citizen and having been part of the system for more than 75 years, I still wonder what happens to the promises to the people and how the administration ensures that people continue to remain and suffer for survival at the cost of personal and family bonds sentiments , emotions, values, culture and civilisation. 

The present inflation,  the pandemic induced problems and the mischiefs played by media perhaps have demoralising impact on the  masses  and their silent suffering only speak of the insensitiveness of the way the politicians and bureaucrats handle the Common Man of the country . There is nothing called Fact Checks when news and messages spread through different media which include mushroom growth of  social and mass media both print and visual.    

Time has Come for the  People from all walks of Life to introspect and rework to arrive at the rights and wrongs of democracy  and  approach to take the Country forward with all its richness of CULTURE, HERITAGE ,RESOURCES, and aspirations of all living beings to see happy days to lead a peaceful, healthy and simple life.

SINCE The POLITICAL,ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL (PEST TREATMENT) PURSUED FOR LONG SINCE INDEPENDENCE WITH ALL GOOD INTENTIONS HAS NOT YIELDED THE DESIRED RESULT IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS , IT IS BETTER TO INTROSPECT AND STEP UP MEASURES TO BRING IN SOLID SOCIAL AWAKENING AND CHANGES USING TECHNOLOGY OPTIMALLY AND ACHIEVING  ECONOMIC GROWTH WITH NEW POLITICAL THINKING TO STRENGTHEN DEMOCRATIC VALUES BASED ON PEOPLES’ PARTICIPATION AND INVOLVEMENT WITH UNDERSTANDING of OUR CAPABILITIES AND DERIVING MAXIMUM BENEFITS TO all  BY CHOOSING LEADERS AND PARTIES CARING MORE FOR THE WELFARE OF MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION AND CREATING A NICHE IMAGE FOR THE NATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL SCENARIO. Accountability and Achievements should match with the full potential of the nation and the result should reflect in the overall welfare of the  people with peace and happiness all around. Chaos and Confusion should end ensuring stable and dependable Governance.It is time to combine Natural intelligence with Artificial Intelligence sensibly to derive the optimum advantage to enjoy the nature and all natural given resources for universal welfare . 

Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavanthu is the only thought behind this write up. May GOD GUIDE AND BLESS US WITH RIGHT THOUGHTS, WORDS AND DEEDS AND LET ALL THE LIVING BEINGS ENJOY GOD GIVEN LIFE SHARING THE RESOURCES AND BENEFITING FROM THEM.   

T V G Krishnan.