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When a Tamil Nadu-based logistics firm, Wintrack Inc., abruptly halted operations in October 2025 alleging harassment by Customs officials, it exposed more than an isolated grievance — it rekindled India’s perennial “regulatory conundrum.” Customs authorities predictably cited statutory violations, but the clash underscored a deeper dilemma between regulation and deregulation, between control and freedom.
The issue is not whether to regulate but how much and how intelligently. Beyond taxation, this dilemma cuts across all spheres of governance — trade, finance, technology, and environment. The challenge lies in designing rules that safeguard public interest without suffocating enterprise. The search for this dynamic equilibrium should define modern policymaking.
Historical Evolution of Regulatory Policy
The tension between state control and market freedom is as old as civilization. From Hammurabi’s Code to Kautilya’s Arthashastra, regulation has long been the tool to preserve fairness and stability. The Great Depression birthed the modern regulatory state, grounded in Keynesian principles of intervention to curb market excesses.
Neoliberal reforms in the 1970s and 80s swung the pendulum toward deregulation and privatization. Globaliz
