Hope and expectation
Dear Members,
The months of June and July are months of hope and expectation. The entire nation is hoping for a good monsoon, students who appeared for their CA examinations are hoping for a good result, and there is both hope and expectation that the change of guard in the Finance Ministry will bring cheer to a beleaguered economy.
As far as the rains are concerned, they have a knack of playing truant. In fact they defy the Meteorological Department with such unfailing regularity that when a near normal monsoon was predicted, one started worrying. The month of June has passed without much rain and as usual, Prophets of doom have started predicting a severe drought.
While it is true that no one has any control over the weather gods, very little seems to have been done in reducing the dependence on the monsoon for water requirements of both agriculture as well as domestic consumption. While one appreciates that increasing the area of land under irrigation is a long-term measure, developing water storage facilities for human consumption, conserving and ensuring minimum use of water are measures that will avert a crisis.
While there is uncertainty over the way the monsoon will behave, it appears certain that the former Finance Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee will assume office as the President of India. As he prepares for the presidential election the charge of the Finance Ministry has been taken by the Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh. One only hopes that as Finance Minister we will see a decisive Mr Singh and not a person bullied by his allies. He is credited with ushering in major reforms, which brought India back from the brink in 1992. Though the situation is not as grave there is need for certain urgent policy measures. The business community has huge expectations from him. In his new innings we expect him to introduce some long overdue economic reforms even at the cost of forcing the nation into an early general election. This is an opportunity for him to change public perception of being a weak Prime Minister to a true leader.
A leader needs to take responsibility for his acts of commission and omission as well as those of his juniors. In the recent fire that gutted three floors of Mantralaya, we saw the blame game in full swing. No Minister was willing to take responsibility for the unfortunate event. While the enquiry into what caused the fire will progress at its own pace and come to some conclusions, what one needs to see is whether the powers that be will learn from the mistakes of the past. This is one characteristic that we need to learn immediately. It is not as if one cannot learn from past mistakes and tragedies. Post 9/11 the U.S. tightened its security to an extent that it did not spare any individual.
It is this sense of adherence to rules and accountability that makes the difference between, a small fire being doused immediately and the disaster we witnessed. One hopes that the government will mend its ways and avoid the recurrence of such events. This issue of the BCAJ is a special issue on professions. We belong to the profession , members of which ,Society expects to have integrity and discipline. Sadly these two qualities are on the wane, among the public in general and our profession is no exception.
I believe that we may acquire all the technical skills, update our knowledge but if our members, do not imbibe these two qualities success will be short lived. As I had said at the outset this is a month of hope and expectation. My tenure as the President of this august institution will end on 6th July 2012 when I will be handing over the baton to the President elect Mr Deepak Shah. Post 6th July I expect some respite from the hectic schedule which I have had for the past one year.
From the month of August of last year I have had the opportunity of communicating with you through this page. I have enjoyed this monthly endeavour. I hope my readers have found the effort worthwhile. In my innings as the President I made a sincere attempt to ensure that the prestige of this Institution was maintained. In my small way I have tried to add some new programs.
I am conscious that I have left substantial unfinished agenda for my successor. I am sure that he will be able to complete them with support from his enthusiastic team. It is now time to bid adieu. It is said that that one should not feel sad about saying good bye, for it is the interregnum between two meetings and with friends meeting is a certainty irrespective of the interval.
Therefore bye till we meet again in person!
With warm regards,
Pradip K. Thanawala
