Every one of us eagerly waited for and watched Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic address to the Nation from the Red Fort on our 68th Independence Day. Over the last several years, a major ailment that has afflicted the vast majority, especially the educated middle class, is corrosive cynicism, as pointed out by the noted thinker Pratap Bhanu Mehta. He berated that the cynicism had become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Few believed anything could change, and so little changed. With this exhilarating address, the Prime Minister reinforced a much-needed hope that things can and will certainly change. The Prime Minister has rightly exhorted the Citizens to shed the attitude of “Mera Kya” and “Mujhe Kya” and contribute to the Nation building. This inspiring address will go a long way in helping the Citizen overcome the cynicism. Let us be a part of the change instead of remaining shackled as an argumentative Indian.
In this address, the Prime Minister raised an important and extremely critical issue that has been largely unaddressed in Independent India. An all pervasive filthiness has plagued large parts of our beloved country. A search on Google reveals millions of web pages full of articles about filth in India with nasty comments that make us feel deeply ashamed. Some critiques also allege that Indians by nature are unhygienic! The then environment minister Jairam Ramesh went to the extent of saying that if there was to be a Nobel Prize for dirt and filth, India would get it.
It has come as a pleasant surprise that the topmost leader in independent India is leading from the front in the combat against this menace of filth. Given the magnitude, this push coming from the highest level was perhaps overdue. As rightly stated by the Prime Minister Modi, the solution requires whole-hearted participation from every single Citizen of India. Mahatma Gandhiji made cleanliness an important priority in his ashrams, teachings and writing. He gave us the golden quote “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” He also said “…a meticulous sense of cleanliness, not only personal, but also in regard to one’s surroundings is the alpha and omega of corporate life”. Indeed a Clean India will be the right tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary in 2019. Let us all commit ourselves to this noble cause and contribute our mite to it.
It is not just physical space, the way society conducts itself has been affected by this filth. Corruption has enhanced the decline in ethical standards. Various institutions and organisations too have been afflicted by this malaise of corruption. They are in need of urgent clean-up as well. A case in point is recent revelations exposing corruption in Judiciary by Justice Katju in his blog. This has created a storm and triggered a debate about one of the most important pillars of our democracy. In reply to allegations that exposing corruption defames the judiciary, Justice Katju has rightly asked: does corruption by Judges defame the judiciary, or does exposing such corruption defame it? Hitherto, the response from the custodians has been largely to brush such issues under the carpet.
Going by the well-known quote by the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant” from his book “Other People’s Money, and How the Bankers Use It” published in 1914, such open forum discussions will certainly help in the clean-up process. Incidentally, Justice Brandeis, while being a counsellor to President Woodrow Wilson, continued his investigations of the implications for democracy of the growing concentration of wealth in large corporations and set down his anti-monopoly views in this book that remain relevant even 100 years after it was first published.
In this season of being candid and forthright, the RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, while delivering a lecture last month, expressed his concerns about crony capitalism. It was an admission that allegedly the rich and the influential have received land, natural resources and spectrum in return for payoffs to venal politicians. He lamented on how the vicious circle has perpetuated, whereas the poor and the underprivileged need the politician to help them get jobs and public services. The crooked politician needs the businessman to provide the funds that allow him to supply patronage to the poor and fight elections. The corrupt businessman needs the crooked politician to get public resources and contracts cheaply. And the politician needs the votes of the poor and the underprivileged.
The Governor suggests direct cash transfer instead of the promise of free or cheap public service as a solution to this problem. He believes that the financial inclusion and direct benefits transfer can be a way of liberating the poor from dependency on indifferently delivered public services, and thus indirectly from the venal but effective politician. This new approach seems ambitious and puts faith in the market economy. Let us hope that this innovation will eliminate corruption, reduce poverty and drive India towards true political independence.
As per the Annual Report of the Ministry of Finance for 2013-14, the gross non-performing assets (NPA s) of the public sector banks (PSBs) increased from Rs.1,55,890 crores (GNPA Ratio 3.84%) in March, 2013 to Rs.2,04,249 crores (GNPA Ratio 4.44%) in March 2014 (provisional). The Ministry reasons that the increase is due to sluggishness in the domestic growth in the recent past, slowdown in the recovery in the global economy and continuing uncertainty in the global markets. The recent arrest of the Chairman and Managing Director of a Public Sector Bank, however, suggests that growing political and bureaucratic interference in governance of the PSBs that has led to corrosive corruption is perhaps the major factor behind increase in the NPA s.
It seems that no lessons have been learnt from past episodes of such scandals and consequent bailouts. Bank finance is one more area that is in dire need of a clean-up. The debate is on as to how to improve the quality of governance in banks. Various suggestions are pouring in. However, the most effective remedy lies in stern and timely actions against the highly connected perpetrators without fear or fervour. While addressing recent meetings in Haryana and Maharashtra, the Prime Minister has termed corruption as a “disease and sin” deadlier than cancer and reiterated his Government’s commitment to banishing it from the country. One hopes these statements will translate into concrete and quick actions and help change the reality on the ground.
On the BCAS front, the new committees are lining up a slew of activities. The Human Resources Committee with the help of the Youth Brigade has planned a very ambitious program “JhanCAr”, a “Togetherness and Networking Carnival” for Chartered Accountants on 13th and 14th December, 2014. Do go through the announcement and look for further details of this very exciting event.
By the time this message reaches you, we will be celebrating the Teachers’ Day on 5th September. Our profession requires each one of us to be a student as well as a teacher and hence this day is special for us as well. I fondly remember all my Gurus, including my principals and seniors during my articleship and at the BCAS, and offer my deepest respect to each one of them. When we remember our great teachers, we should also think of how we should be a good teacher and mentor to the younger generation and be remembered for having inspired them and bringing positive changes in them.
