In India, conducting business still remains a herculean task and the constant bottlenecks and bureaucratic red tape that one has to confront on almost a regular basis is enough to break the back of any businessman and put him under severe strain. The last letter of CCD founder VG Siddhartha in which he recounts how he was harassed by tax authorities should serve as another grim reminder of the oppressive conditions that our businessmen are forced to operate in today.
The high-handed attitude of the government towards the businesses, its inability to carry out a much-needed fresh set of reforms and its reluctance to acknowledge the troubles in the economy today is killing the spirits of the businessmen and in the absence of new incentives, they are finding it impossible to run their businesses in an effective manner.
The unprecedented crisis in crucial sectors like the auto industry, the decline in both investment and consumption and a high rate of unemployment are all symptoms of an economic crisis that is staring us in the face.
In its first term, the Modi government decided to adopt a welfare approach rather than a development-oriented one as its primary focus then was to consolidate its political hold with various pro-poor measures such as providing LPGs, building toilets, constructing new houses intended to woo impoverished voters by improving the quality of their lives.
After it returned to power with a thumping majority for a second term, it was widely held that this BJP government under PM Modi will use this newly earned political capital to make the environment in India more conducive for conducting business and will not shy away from taking bold steps to revive the ailing economy. But, the first budget of the new government has dashed all such hopes and has instead burdened the rich with more taxes. The response of the markets post budget and the cries of alarm by some prominent voices in the field of business has made it clear that this further leftward shift in an already socialist approach of the government hasn’t gone down well with them.
Far from allaying the fears and concerns that have gripped the whole business community after the budget, the finance minister has decided to rub salt on their wounds by making a voluntary exercise like CSR mandatory, adding to their financial woes and opening more avenues for the corrupt babus to further harass them. For a rightist dispensation that puts so much emphasis on ease of doing business, it is ironic how they have made the lives of businessmen so much more difficult within just the matter of days of its assuming office.
The extreme left of centre economic approach of this government has again vindicated the fact, that in India, no matter whether you are on the right side of the political spectrum or left, when it comes to the economy, your approach will always be a socialist one. This is the reason that making money in India is still viewed as some sort of sin and businessmen are always looked down upon as unethical and corrupt persons and are regularly tried by the authorities as guilty until proven innocent.
It is nothing but a tragedy that despite the tremendous progress that this country has made after the economic reforms carried out in the 1990s, we are still unable to shed our socialist mindset and still unwilling to appreciate contributions that these very set of businessmen have made for this country in terms of taxes that they pay and millions of jobs that they create.
In the past also, in this country, governments have shown a tendency to turn a blind eye to an economic crisis until it reaches the brink and it is left with no option but to act. This economic crisis is on its brink and if the government still chooses to ignore it then it should do at its own peril, keeping in mind that it may have to pay a heavy political price for its misadventures.