I ‘INDIA 2030: THE RISE OF A RAJASIC NATION’ – Edited by Gautam Chikermane Reviewed by Riddhi Lalan, Chartered Accountant
The world, beset by uncertainties and crumbling under the weight of a global pandemic, has now ushered in a new decade with socio-economic disturbances, sluggish growth and global disorder. This new decade shall surely mark the resurgence of a new world order and the revamping of the old. India 2030: The Rise of a Rajasic Nation is a book to read if you are curious about what the next ten years might hold and how India can charter its course towards 2030.
In the words of Editor Gautam Chikermane, Vice-President of Observer Research Foundation, ‘In the 2020s, the world will look at India to provide inner stability in outer chaos. It will bring out and turn into action the collective journeys of 1.3 billion souls. It will create new civilizational-spiritual narratives. It will pour out and share its knowledge of the intellectual-philosophical traditions in ways not seen before, through mediums that are still evolving. All this it will do while becoming the world’s third largest economy, a regional power and a shaper of world events. This it will do in an era of constant Black Swan events.’
What is intriguing is the use of the term ‘Rajasic Nation’. In his introductory essay Gautam talks about how the nation has been under the pressure of tamas – inertia, inactivity and dullness – since the war of Kurukshetra. Independence and the surge of nationalism were expected to see the transformation from tamas to rajas – action, force and passion. As these transformations take time to gather momentum, he expounds that the last seven decades were a preparation for the domination of rajasic forces that the 2020s shall witness.
He has comprehensively woven together essays by Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, Ajay Shah, Amish Tripathi, Amrita Narlikar, Bibek Debroy, David Frawley, Devdip Ganguli, Justice B.N. Shrikrishna, Kirit Parikh, Manish Sabharwal, Monika Halan, Parth Shah, R.A. Mashelkar, Rajesh Parikh, Ram Madhav, Reuben Abraham, Samir Saran, Sandipan Deb and Vikram Sood into a single volume that looks towards the next decade leading to 2030, beautifully describing the nuances and complexities of various subjects ranging from health, politics, justice, defence, economy, education, intelligence, science and technology and foreign policy.
Keeping this thought in mind, this annotation could either be considered a book of ideas, a guide for citizens, a handbook for policy-makers, or simply a collection of essays. At first it may seem partly like crystal-gazing and partly a wish list; on a closer reading, it turns out to be a scientific and strategic estimation of the future based on an analysis of historical and current facts. While ten years is a long time frame to look at, especially in an era when tomorrow seems to be as different from today as one’s imagination allows, the extrapolation of the future based on the current patterns and trends makes for interesting reading.
The underlying theme of optimism and assertiveness that emerges from it does not distract the reader from the challenges that the nation must overcome in the next decade. This is evident in most of the essays.
The essay on health by Rajesh Parikh points out that the less sensationalised problems of lifestyle, climate change, pollution and existing infections have been killing us from long before the advent of the novel corona virus. He also describes the looming danger of bio-terrorism and anti-microbial resistance. According to him, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and nature’s wisdom will be the future of healthcare.
The essay on economy by Bibek Debroy shows how the existing policy, focusing on inequality rather than inequity and wealth redistribution rather than wealth creation, is flawed. He points out that the policy shall now shift to wealth creation to reduce inequity. While inequality will still exist, that does not matter as long as the absolute standard of living improves.
In his essay on justice, B.N. Shrikrishna touches on the collegium system which will change in the 2020s. He unabashedly points out that the justice system resembles a mansion in utter disrepair and stresses the need to focus on technology, educating citizens about enforcing their rights, further strengthening the independence of the judiciary, the rise of the written word against oral arguments and faith in fiat justitia ruat caelum.
Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, writing on defence, gives an interesting insight into the Balakot strike, highlighting the flaws of the current defence system. He has listed nine trends that will dominate the defence sector in the 2020s. These include a shift from offsets to work share, empowerment of Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs), privatisation and bifurcation of economic and security policy, among others.
Amrita Narlikar brilliantly brings out how the pandemic has taught certain nations that ‘weaponised inter-dependence’ is not just an academic theory. Emphasising the importance of India’s stubborn adherence to principles and values, she predicts that a new robust and deeper multilateralism shall replace the old one, based on a commitment to shared principles reinforced by India.
In his essay on energy, Kirit Parikh predicts three concurrent trends: a fall in energy intensity at the level of industries, increasing use at the household level and greater use of clean energy. Pointing out that the share of renewable energy is currently low, he postulates that India’s rising energy consumption will be cleaner, greener and more sustainable compared to that of the rest of the world.
Manish Sabharwal gives us a thought-provoking line: ‘The problem in India is not unemployment but employed poverty’. Predicting a shift towards productivity, he highlights the key areas that will bring the required change, viz., increased formalisation, urbanisation, industrialisation, better governance and higher skills. The problem, he believes, is that we have created corporate dwarfs which remain small instead of babies that can grow. This will change by 2030.
Amish Tripathi in his essay on soft power, calling out the downsides of consumerism and individualism, anticipates that India could be a strange confluence of both materialism and spiritualism. He highlights how the Indian spiritual path helps us to be liberal while still being traditional. India will become a source of soft power that is gentle, compassionate and inclusive. It will reset the new principles of global co-existence.
Each essay in this compilation highlights the importance of strong and exemplary policy formulation along with disciplined implementation of these policies. We, as citizens, play a role in influencing such policies and manifesting the collective rajasic force emerging within us, too. As overwhelming as it seems, this idea is thought-provoking. It is for this that the book is worth a read both for the common citizen and policy-maker alike.
‘Philosophers have described the world in thousands of ways. The point, however, is to change it.’ This Karl Marx quote referred to by Manish Sabharwal in his essay is an appropriate description of what this book is about. Thought leaders from twenty diverse fields attempt to describe what 2030 could look like for India. Together, they lay out a path for the nation’s evolution in the coming decade. The point, therefore, is the synchronised efforts of the citizens and the policy-makers to take forward this daunting yet adventurous journey towards 2030.
Only time will tell whether this is a book of mere wishful thinking, a collection of informed predictions for 2030, or a prophecy for 2030. To some readers it may seem tilted towards the right and exceedingly optimistic. However, this illuminating book gives positive vibes that there are better times ahead and a hope that India will emerge as a ‘Developmental Superpower’ even while grappling with constant internal disruptions and uncertainties. For someone interested in comprehensively understanding the implications of the historical and current trends in various subjects and influencing policy-making, this book makes a good read.
II ‘INDIAN ACCOUNTING STANDARDS (Ind AS) – Interpretation, Issues & Practical Application’ by Dolphy D’Souza, Chartered Accountant
Reviewed by Bhavik Jain, Chartered Accountant
Many years ago the author had published two small pocket-edition books on accounting standards. From those days to now, we have seen the ever-widening scope of accounting standards. These three volumes, and they are really voluminous, contain exhaustive guidance to help understand the principles and practices prescribed by these ‘principle-based’ accounting standards. It goes without saying that Ind AS has made accounting not just complex but also complicated and treacherous. This fifth edition containing 3,000 pages of analysis, including a third volume containing reference and application material, make a must-have compilation for preparers and auditors of financial statements.
The author has been an eminent writer and contributor to the BCAJ every month for more than 18 years. He has been involved in the standard-setting process at the ICAI as well as at the IASB. Hence his ‘word’, to be fair, carries both weight and value.
Coming to the book under review, it is structured to cover all Ind AS’s. Specifically, it exhaustively covers new Ind AS 115, 116 (more than 300 practical illustrations and examples each) and guidance on the new definition of business under Ind AS 103. It handles these with illustrations, examples, references to EAC opinions, ITFG/IFRIC interpretations, where necessary and issues as well as the author’s response and that, too, industry-wise. A section that covers the differentiation between IFRS and Ind AS is of particular academic interest especially for first-time users. The book is replete with numerous illustrations and examples. Some of the examples feature actual working cases and solutions with comments.
Ind AS’s are particularly complicated when one comes to Financial Instruments (FIs). The book devotes more than 600 pages to them. Business combination draws particular attention. Charts, explanations of definitions, accounting, group re-organisation issues and more offer the clarity that one seeks. The book also covers tax implications arising from Ind AS Accounting.
The book reproduces the text of both Ind AS and ICDS. It also gives significant changes made in the Draft ICDS on Real Estate Transactions vis-a-vis the Guidance Note on Real Estate Transactions issued by ICAI, making it handy for the Real Estate Sector. Electronic copy of the illustrative financial statement blending Schedule III and Ind AS makes it beneficial for preparers, especially during Work from Home / Remote Working situations. The last part of the book consists of some useful circulars / notifications on Ind AS issued by Securities and Exchange Board of India, related to Banking and Insurance Sector and Company Law such as the format of publishing financial results, formats for limited review / audit reports, clarification on ‘appointed date’ under the Companies Act, 2013 and more.
This book carries an enormous amount of content packed in three volumes with practical resources. The author once again deserves a pat on the back for writing on a subject which is in a constant state of flux (changing, blurry and ephemeral). I am sure that this book, like Dolphy’s previous works, will remain a handy tool for both practitioners and preparers.
