India is a democracy with a population of 131 crores. The key to the country’s economic growth is the long-term sustainable development of infrastructure. It is the moral responsibility of the government to find the finances it needs and to implement it on time.
If you look at the annual budgets of the Central and State Governments in India, they are all deficit budgets. Salaries, pensions and day-to-day expenses of government departments controlled by the government-controlled bureaucracy, government-regulated PSU restructuring processes, infrastructure statements by the Central and State Governments show that our governments do not have the financial security required for infrastructure development once the financial allocations have been made for the rehabilitation process, etc.
Therefore, it seeks to finance infrastructure development through bonds, loans from international financial institutions, and privatization of public sector enterprises. The country and ordinary citizens are responsible for the financial obligations thus created by governments. Today’s democratic government is pushing our country and people into unnecessary financial obligations. Need it? The question of whether our country does not have the finances for infrastructure development without risking the country and its people is very relevant.
Where Does The Government Source Its Income From?
There are three main types of government finances. The first of these is tax revenue. In India, a direct tax is lower but indirect tax is higher. Direct taxes are mainly income tax, profit tax, and capital gains tax. Of these, income tax is exempt up to a certain income limit. When it comes to that, it is 10-30% depending on the income limit. Capital tax is up to 20% and the profit tax is 30%. Indirect taxes come in many forms: Property tax, building tax, registration tax, sales tax, excise tax, service tax, labour welfare fund, and education cess.
Taxes levied in this way range from 5 to 30%. There are also taxes such as the luxury tax and the entertainment tax. On average, more than 40% of each person’s income is tax paid to the government in various forms. Think about the tax revenue of India, which has a population of 131 crores. We talk to someone on the phone and even L is taxed in India. It will be clear if we check our phone bills.
The second-largest source of government revenue is forestry, water resources, and mineral mining. We have a lot of forests and water resources. Although a few minerals like petroleum are in short supply, our country is rich in minerals like coal and iron.
Third in government finance comes from public sector industries. It’s in two ways. Service-oriented industries such as road transport, communications, water supply, electricity, and other services charge a modest fee to the public for such services provided by the government. Besides, there are other industries based on agriculture and mining.
We have a lot of lands suitable for agriculture and the climate, rainfall, and water resources required for it. Agricultural resources and minerals required for industries are plentiful in our country. Skilled and unskilled labour resources are plentiful in India.
Lack of infrastructure and energy crisis are the major challenges we face. But the government is getting the finances to fix these. Excess taxes are collected from the people and income from public sector industries and forest, water, and mineral resources. But in the absence of strong-willed political leadership and an active bureaucracy, the economy is being misused or wasted. The country and its people are being mortgaged in the name of financial mobilization. The fact is that infrastructure development is not effective.
Address the economic vulnerabilities of our governments in our political bureaucracy today. Because the reasons for this exist in the political bureaucracy. Non-principled politics, lack of will power, political greed, lack of foresight, mismanagement of government and government departments, corruption in all spheres, waste of money, wasted economy, inappropriate laws, conditions, conditions, and practices all contribute to the economic disadvantages.
There are no clear rules or regulations regarding the procedures of government departments or the penalties for breach of duty. Change of venue, or suspension for a short period, does not constitute a maximum sentence. Being in a permanent job does not mean losing a job. Written orders are brief. Most orders are given orally. Such orders have no clarity. Orders, conditions, and conditions will be changed and changed according to political pressures and personal interests. Opportunities for any form of corruption, loopholes, and rules and regulations that create loopholes to escape punishment.
It is doubtful whether there are people in our society who do not suffer the consequences of corruption in government departments. To get a permit for the construction of a house, to get a return on the property purchased, if you want to get a certificate, you have to submit the return along with the application. The fact is that there are figures of handouts to be paid for each thing. Failure to do so will result in disqualification of the application or delay.
You have to go into and out of offices for as long as possible. Our government does not have a system of notifying the applicant except to inform if there are any deficiencies in the submitted application. If the applications are not submitted after their submission, their place will be in the trash. Sometimes the appeals themselves may not be seen. In a democracy, the condition is that the bureaucrats who receive the wages of the people must be public servants. But corruption in government departments is becoming exploitative instead of services.
The ration is a project implemented to eradicate food poverty in our society. But it is doubtful whether it will reach those who deserve it. There is a guideline to find the deserving but it is not followed. There are clear and precise criteria for determining eligibility. But according to the influence of political bureaucrats, disqualification is often ordered and disqualification is given to the deserving. There is also a tendency for more than half of goods, ration debtors, and wholesalers to sell off their dividends. This is due to the lack of rules and regulations. If such assistance is not forthcoming, then why such schemes?
We Need Better People In Governance
When a plan is formulated, it should be implemented after learning the benefits of it in the future and how to reduce its duration and cost. Infrastructure development is no different. Long-term planning is essential. Just as important as planning is that it is implemented promptly. This does not seem to be of much importance. Most of the projects are run in such a way as to satisfy the needs of the public by meeting the temporary needs. Lack of foresight necessitates short-term reconstruction.
The financial cost of the project doubles. Land acquisition and issuance of permits are delayed due to a lack of centralized governance and coordination between different departments. This also leads to an increase in project costs.
A general pattern of construction activities in Kerala; The higher the amount is shown in the estimate and the lower the cost of the work, the more likely it is that politicians, bureaucrats, and contractors will share the profits. The general opinion is that 40% in cash and 60% is a loan. This is how construction and maintenance work is done here. Lack of coordination and coordination of government departments.
Forests and water resources are all sources of government revenue. But are their uses effective? Ineffective use of natural resources can lead to environmental degradation. It is not possible to sustain life or carry out construction work without changing the environment.
But we need to think and act on how far the impact of these can be mitigated. Clear and precise legal terms are required. Sand is essential for construction activities. But there are no conditions on how and to what extent such required materials can be mined. The authorities do not try to calculate or set a time limit if permission is granted. The government department is now responsible for the destruction of nature. Here the rules are blowing in the wind.
Public sector enterprises are government sources of revenue. For that, they have to work profitably. It requires administrative efficiency. We don’t have that. In our country, the purpose of the PSUs is not for profit but for the political parties to develop their trade unions. When there are excess and selfishness in the group, the public sector institutions lose out and it becomes a political necessity to continue.
If government governance is to be good, departments are to be efficient, public sector enterprises are to be profitable and corruption is to be reduced in the bureaucracy, their governing leadership must be controlled by competent, competent, educated, and skilled people.
There should be clear and precise rules, regulations, rules, and regulations for procedures and penalties. If there is any country in the world today that does not give importance to talent, it is our India. Everything here is a reservation. If you want to be educated, if you want to make promotion possible, if you want to contest elections, you just have to look at reservation. The governance of public sector institutions will be politically divisive.
We elect members of the Legislature to make rules and regulations. ‘Who’ remains a question mark? According to the constitution, any adult Indian citizen can contest elections. Anyone can be a member of the Legislature and participate in governance. But the Constitution does not say anything about their ability, educational qualifications, chastity, and innocence.
Indian politics is not principled. There is no intra-party democracy in them. It doesn’t matter if you are a religious or a communal criminal. The only equal right that an Indian citizen has is to hunt. But they have no right to be disqualified or recalled if the members of their choice do not act out of genital mutilation.