Shagun Mar - Apr 2014

MARCH - APRIL 2014

From the President 's Desk......................................................................

Looking Ahead ........................................................................................

Quarry Blast ing-Letter to the Collector ..................................................

• Fotos- Damage Due to Blast ing

M emorandum to Guardian M inister ......................................................

• Fotos-Joint Front of Industries

• Loksatta Report on Dumping Ground

• Times Report on Street light ing / Landfill

Dena Bank – Now or Never Credit Camp ................................................

Navi M umbai Police Commissioner K. L. Prasad

- A man with the common touch - ..........................................................

M eet your Thane Lok Sabha Candidate ..................................................

• Fotos-Shri Sanjeev Sane

• Fotos -Shri Rajan Vichare

M IDC comes full cycle .............................................................................

Local Body Tax –Quick Reference ...........................................................

Last Word ................................................................................................

stNarendra M odi - An Activist Prime M inister of the 21 Century ?

"I am always wearing the hat of the citizen and trying to think on his behalf"

1

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESKFROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

There are st ray art icles in Newspapers which cont inue to

feed the propaganda that LBT has been peacefully and

quiet ly accepted by Industry in Navi M umbai. It helps

that the LBT on Newsprint is now 0%. From 1-4-2013 to

2-2-2014 Industry will be paying, on average, 300% of

the local taxes they were paying in 2012-13. From 3-2-

2014 onwards it will be paying 200%. The simple answer

is that Industry is down and out . Nothing of what has

happened is accidental. Brick and mortar indust ry has

been st ruck a killing blow in Navi M umbai and the M IDC

and the Government have unfortunately been passive

part icipants.

Without any exaggerat ion, if things cont inue as they are,

brick and mortar Industry will be out of the TTC Industrial

Area in the next 10 years, which is possibly the intent ion

of vested interests in the first place.

And what are the reasons for this predict ion:

• Neglect of the Industrial Area by the M IDC t ill 2005

after which it abandoned all pretence of act ivity

• Permitt ing more than 300 acres of land to be

overrun by illegal shops, slums etc even as the

NM M C put up roads and st reet lights for them but

did very lit t le for indust ries.

• Ram pant i r regular i t ies in p lo t al locat ion,

const rict ion of nullahs etc. and squeezing illegal

premiums from industries that need to expand.

• Encouragement of innumerable plot allocat ions to

so-called PAP's who represent vested interests,

many of which have been turned into sleazy bars.

• M IDC paradoxically opposing the SSEA in Court ,

when SSEA fought a 10 year batt le to prove that

M IDC was the sole planning and local authority in

the 25 sq.km. TTC Industrial Area.

•

due to mult iple taxes, charges & fees ranging from

high Property Tax, Local Body Tax, Labour Welfare

Fund etc. to applicat ion of the M athadi Act .

• An unforgiving Propert y Tax and Cess/ LBT

Department which is grinding entrepreneurs into

the dust with an unprecedented 600 Criminal

Prosecut ions, 10 t imes penalty and 24 to 36%

interest rates,

The fact that Indust ry is somehow surviving and

cont inues to pay taxes is cited as evidence and

just ificat ion for doubling and t ripling the taxes. A simple

back-of-the-envelope calculat ion of the impact of such

inordinate and punit ive increase in local taxes by one of

our ent repreneurs shows that 18% of his Net Profit is

taken away by the NM M C. This is lunacy.

Whom will all this impact?

• The Industries, of course, a number of whom are

exit ing Navi M umbai or exit ing industry all

together.

• The cit izens of Navi M umbai who will have to

compensate with massive increase in taxes to

maintain the bloated financial requirements when

industries start exit ing.

• A large number of Navi M umbai's work force who

are employed direct ly and indirect ly in the 1000's

of small & medium industries who are st ill clinging

on.

If there is anyone in Government listening, the economic

& social impact of this art ificial dislocat ion needs to be

studied and counteracted with great urgency.

Or we can like Nero, play the fiddle and watch the TTC

Area burning.

The growing bureaucrat ic interference with SM E's

R. S. Saini

14

2

LOOKING AHEAD LOOKING AHEAD

Industry, and part icularly SM E's are rarely interested in

polit ics or polit icians, except to the limited extent they

impact his/ her part icular industry. He or she normally

feels that it is difficult enough running an enterprise in

this country without poking their nose into areas which

normally don't concern them.

After a decade and more of liberalisat ion in the 90's and

thereafter, there was a great wave of opt imism and some

actual achievements which percolated down to all of us

such as:

• Simplification of economic policies – which on the

ground meant that I did not have to bow and

scrape before the Joint Chief Controller of Exports

& Imports to get a licence to import a few tons of

steel. M ost of the stuff was on the Open General

List (OGL) and I could pick up the phone, order and

pay for it by filling up a simple form. Tax rates were

rat ionalised, M odvat , Cenvat and VAT int roduced.

After the init ial hiccups, there was a great

improvement in tax compliance as a result .

• Communications Revolution: Start ing with the

STD/ ISD and graduat ing swift ly from the RAX of

Sam Pit roda to mobiles, computers, the internet ,

cable TV, Satellite TV and a profusion of Channels.

This is a cont inuing revolut ion which has

t ransformed all our lives.

• Consumer Revolution: All this set off a massive

consumer revolut ion and the availability of a host

of products from cars to colognes and a mind-

boggling number of brands.

Even as the country and the world opt imist ically talked

of economic breakthroughs and pit ted the Indian

Elephant against the Chinese dragon, we snatched

defeat from the jaws of victory as we do many t imes in

cricket .

• Corruption- has seeped into every part of our lives

and has become a monster which threatens to

swallow all that whole generat ions have st ruggled

to build. M onstrous scams and massive stealing of

our Natural resources is the order of the day.

• There has been an entry of criminals

into virtually every polit ical party which should be

a cause of great concern to the Nat ion as a whole.

One can hardly expect such persons to act for the

benefit of the larger good.

In such a society it is hardly a surprise that the dirty scum

have come to the surface.

It was in this sorry background that the words of Shri

Anna Hazare resonated in our hearts and for a t ime all of

us were caught up in this social revolut ion experiment .

When this seemingly reached a dead end, there was the

spectacular rise of Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi

Party. Somewhere along the way, AAP seems to have lost

the plot and suddenly it is the NDA and Narendra M ody

everywhere.

If the newspapers and opinion polls are to be believed

Narendra M odi and the NDA are all set to sweep the

polls. What does it mean to us and our industries in the

TTC Industrial Area?

• It will herald for the first t ime in independent India

a business minded person as the Prime M inister

• The likelihood of General Sales Tax(GST) being

implemented quickly is very high.

• Narendra M odi himself and the NDA candidate in

Thane have expressed their intent ion to abolish

Local Body Tax. However, the stand of the UPA who

present ly rule the State is not clear.

That the UPA who were riding high on the back of

economic reforms should have brought themselves

and India to this sorry situation in 10 years is

unbelievable. All of us have, in fact, been left with no

alternative but to believe that the NDA [if it comes to

power as predicted] will lift us out of the morass we

find ourselves. India itself has no option but to embrace

peace and single-mindedly progress.

Criminals –

Sanjay Mehta

15

27

Quarry Blasting-Letter to the CollectorQuarry Blasting-Letter to the Collector

Collector,

Office of the Collector,

Thane Dist rict , Thane (West)

Kind Attn : Shri P. Velrasu I.A.S.

Sir,

Sub: Damage to Property and potential loss of life – Illegal quarries –M IDC, TTC Industrial Area-Thane Belapur Road

The issue of illegal quarries and dest ruct ive blast ing which causes substant ial damage to factories in the M IDC, TTC

Industrial Area has become a fact of life in the M IDC, TTC Industrial Area as test ified by the t railing email and the photos

attached above.

It has been taken up with various authorit ies, intermittent ly, for the last decade and a half with very lit t le effect . It is

almost as if the authorit ies are wait ing for a disaster to occur before they are pushed into taking act ion. Factory owners

have approached us from t ime-to-t ime as in the case of the factory, photographs of which are attached above.

Compound walls are cracked, cracks run through walls, columns & beams, chunks of plaster have fallen from the ceiling

and the absence of injury or loss of life is merely by chance.

Staff & workers employed in these factories run a continuous risk due to unregulated blasting & explosions in the

quarries, which may be running illegally. A number of factories in the vicinity are affected to a greater or lesser

extent. In most cases, the owners have spent considerable amounts of money to repair the cracks and damage.

In the circumstances, we request you, Sir, to take the matter very seriously with the following act ions:

1) Kindly let us know the name, addresses, quant ity and durat ion for which legal quarries in the area are

licensed by your Office.

2) Kindly let us know the names and addresses the quarries which have operated/ are operat ing illegally, if

available

3) Kindly depute your Officers to ident ify and stop, illegal quarrying, if any being carried on in the area.

4) Please do let us know the act ion you have taken or propose to take to put a stop to illegal quarrying in the

area.

5) Kindly let us know if there are regulat ions and rules prescribing the t ime, method & manner of blast ing to

be carried out , part icularly when quarries are close to factories employing large number of staff & workers.

6) Please let us know the names & other details of Quarries with details against which your office has taken

act ion and the nature of their offences.

We do hope your office, Sir, will assist us with the speed and alacrity which is required when not only property but life

and limb is daily threatened. Please do let us have the informat ion requested such that act ion as necessary may be

taken up at our end as well.

With warm regards

R. Seshan

Chief Execut ive Officer

c.c 1. Shri Yashwant Sontake – Regional Officer, M PCB, Navi M umbai

2. Shri C.P. Paseband – Joint Director of DISH, Thane

29.04.14

26

FOTOS- DAM AGE DUE TO BLASTINGFOTOS- DAM AGE DUE TO BLASTING

Crack in Slab / Column

Cracks in Concrete

Large plaster Chunks crash

through false ceiling

Crack running around

compound Wall

15

3

M emorandum to Guardian M inisterM emorandum to Guardian M inister

JOINT M EM ORANDUM OF

THANE BELAPUR INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION

SM ALL SCALE ENTREPRENEURS ASSOCIATION, TTC

INDIAN M ERCHANTS CHAM BER (Navi M umbai Chapter)

Industry Interaction with Hon'ble Guardian M inister Shri Ganeshji Naik & Hon'ble M ayor of Navi M umbai Shri Sagar

Naik on Saturday, 5th April at the White House @ 5 p.m.

Sirs,

As the Associat ions substant ially represent ing Industry, large, medium and small across the 25 km M IDC, TTC Industrial

Area, we are placing the following issues for your considerat ion, immediate comment and urgent act ion.

A) Local Body Tax: Indust ry is deeply affected and sorely disappointed at being completely let -down on

the LBT issue.

• From Rs. 422 crores last year this year's collect ion is right now Rs. 738 crores without count ing

arrears which will be paid in 2014-15

• The lion's share of this ext ra 75% has come from the 300% increase in tax from 1-4-2013 to 2-2-

2014 and the 200% increase thereafter, borne almost exclusively by Indust ry.

• 1.5% LBT is applicable only on 270 items most of which are chemicals no longer manufactured

in this area and guns, grenades etc. It is hence a mirage.

• In the case of Job-work there is zero act ion for our request to add processes to the list which

the Commissioner has power to do and which has been already done by the Pune/ Thane

Commissioners.

Action sought:

1) Roll back LBT tariff to 1.5% on the entry of all goods brought into Navi M umbai by Industry.

2) Waive interest/ penalty for payment of arrears, if any, in respect of 2013-14

3) Include processes already submitted in the list of exempted Job-work processes.

B) Infrastructure:

Roads:

• The key roads from Thane Belapur Road going inside were supposed to have been concret ized in

2010-11 but the work has yet to commence.

• The internal roads are in a shambles

Drains:

• Storm water drains are non-existent in many places

• The sewage/ effluent drainage system is falling apart in most places, especially with the load of large

new IT Offices.

Garbage:

• Garbage Disposal is pathet ic. Despite repeated demands for a “Ghanta Ghadi” system there is no

act ion whatsoever.

Street lighting:

• St reet Light ing, which is the easiest thing to improve, is terrible, part icularly in the interior of the TTC

Area. Large areas cont inue to be in darkness and insecurity.

Illegal Construction:

• Illegal Construct ions, scrap shops, hutment colonies, including polit ical offices are brazenly being

put up in the TTC Area, which have both short -term consequences of insecurity and long-term

consequences of displacement of indust ries.

No Bus Service:

• Bus Service: After 50 years, the TTC Area st ill does not have a proper internal bus service. Lakhs of

our staff & workers have to walk to and fro to the Railway stat ions in darkness & bad weather

th5 April, 2014

4


Criminal Cases-Cess :

• M ore than 600 criminal cases are going on since 2007 against indust ries despite the fact that many

have paid the taxes for the period for which the complaint was made by NM M C.

Action Sought: Cont inuing this any longer will make it appear than NM M C is vindict ive, since the Associat ion has

agreed and the industries have accordingly already paid or are in the process of paying the Principal

Tax amounts. Hence these cases should be withdrawn.

C) Cess Assessments

The Associat ion has taken a clear stand for payment of all outstanding principal payments and accordingly

most of the members have fallen in line and paid up or are gett ing assessed for payment , which the

Department itself will concede.

Action Sought : In the circumstances, waiver of penalty/ interest be given to all indust ries who have paid the principal

tax amount on or before 30 September 2014.

D) Property Tax –Old Issue

In line with the directions of the Association member Industries have been paying all principal tax

amounts.

Action Sought: Only Not ice Fee but no interest or penalty is applicable for the period prior to 1-6-2010 and only

penalty is applicable thereafter. In the circumstances penalty be waived for indust ries which pay past

outstanding Principal tax amounts by 30-9-2014. [Commissioner is empowered u/ r 51 of the

Taxat ion Rules]

• Not to adjust payments against a non-existent Penalty, Interest or DPC prior to 1-6-2010

• To rect ify substant ial errors in computat ion of Rateable Value and denial of 35% rebate in

Rateable Value announced by Hon'ble Guardian M inister in 2006 for some indust ries.

E) Property Tax: Industry is equally amazed and disappointed at the arbit rary increase in Property Tax from

60% of the Rateable Value to 68.33% without any just ificat ion whatsoever and contrary to the Guardian

M inister's own earlier promise made in 2006.

The increase in General Tax component from 32.5% to 40.5% is contrary to the proviso to S 129 which

st ipulates that any increase of General Tax Rate u/ s 99 or 150 cannot exceed by more than half the rate of

resident ial land and building which stood at 23.5%

Action Sought: As the increase of 8.33% is contrary to the promise made by Hon'ble Guardian M inister and also the

law it should be rolled back with immediate effect .

On behalf of more than 3500 Large, medium and small indust ries in the M IDC, TTC Industrial Area

and several lakhs of staff/ workers, t ransporters, service providers etc who are direct ly or indirect ly

affected by what happens to industry, we would like to state that , quite unfortunately, there is a

growing feeling that decisions are being made and act ions taken which are against the long-term

growth and even the existence of indust ries in this area.

It is hence important that there should be immediate, clear and helpful pronouncements on the issues and actions

sought by us such that industry and the lakhs of people directly and indirectly dependent on us are able to continue

with the confidence that Government at the local and State level is sympathetic and understands the need to

nurture industries.

FOR THANE BELAPUR INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION

FOR SM ALL SCALE ENTREPRENEURS ASSOCIATION, TTC

FOR INDIAN M ERCHANTS CHAM BER (Navi M umbaiChapter)

25

Sanjay M ehta Hon. Gen. Secretary of SSEA & Bipin Shah President of TBIA kick-start the joint meeting on LBT


R. M . Kedia, Vice President of TBIA in a hundle with R.K.Jain President of IM C (Vashi)

24


14

5

Dena Bank – Now or Never Credit CampDena Bank – Now or Never Credit Camp

R.S.Saini SSEA President flanked by

Shri Agaskar, Treasurer & Shri. K.S.Churi

Past President in conversat ion with

M eenakshi Suresh, Chief M anager,

Dena Bank

Sandeep Kundra of Kun-Chem

Pret reatments Pvt . Ltd. seeking

clarificat ion from M eenakshi Suresh,

Chief M anager & Shrirang Kamble

M anager - Airoli Branch

D. Raju, Zonal M anager of Dena Bank

with R. Seshan CEO of SSEA

Shri Satyanand Rao of Narsipur Chemical

Pvt . Ltd. & Shri M andar Deshpande of

M ahalaxmi Grain Processing Company

understanding the details from M eenakshi

Suresh, Chief M anager

15

6

Navi M umbai Police Commissioner K.L.PrasadNavi M umbai Police Commissioner K.L.Prasad

A man with the common touch

Hon. Gen. Secretary Sanjay M ehta greeting Police Commissioner Shri K. L. Prasad

SSEA Delegation meets Commissioner K. L. Prasad (L to R) Raman Khurana, Vice President

Sanjay M ehta, Hon. Gen. Secretary, CEO R. Seshan, (Behind) Clifford Gomes,

& R. S. Shetty M anaging Committee M ember

14

15

A TATA Enterp rise

V-Trans

OUR VALUABLE CLIENTS

23

M EET YOUR THANE LOK SABHA CANDIDATEM EET YOUR THANE LOK SABHA CANDIDATE

SSEA has never done anything like this before. We have

so completely steered away from polit ics of any sort that

we have even avoided meet ing the persons, who in a

sense determine the fate of all of us.

We finally had a consensus that prior to this Lok Sabha

Elect ion we would send out invitat ions to the candidates

of the principal polit ical part ies in the area to visit us and

share with us their views, part icularly on issues which

affect indust ry. Accordingly, we invited Shri Sanjeev Naik

of the NCP/ Congress, Shri Rajan Vichare of the Sena-BJP

and Shri Sanjeev Sane of the Aam Aadmi Party

While invit ing the candidates we gave them an idea of

the issues we would want them to touch upon, clarify or

commit such as:

• Local Body Taxes

• Autonomy of the 25 sq.km. TTC Industrial Area

• Infrast ructural improvement of roads, drainage

systems & sanitat ion

• Rampant growth of slums, illegal shops & other

st ructures post -2000

• High level of M unicipal Taxat ion w it hout

commensurate services

• Imposit ion of M athadi Act on SM E's

• Single Act and Single Window for SM E's to remove

bureaucrat ic hurdles.

Shri Rajan Vichare and Shri Sanjeev Sane accepted our

invitat ion prompt ly. However, though it appeared that

Shri Sanjeev Naik of the NCP-Congress would accept the

invitat ion, he did not make it in the end.

The Interact ive M eet ings with both Shri Rajan Vichare

and Shri Sanjeev Sane, held on 20th and 29th M arch

respect ively, w ent of f splendidly w it h a good

enthusiast ic gathering at relat ively short not ice. What

was part icularly not iceable was that both candidates

were thoroughly natural, unassuming, friendly and

freely interacted with our members. On the issues

raised both candidates expressed themselves in favour

of removal of LBT, which as far as the NDA is concerned is

in any case its stated posit ion.

On the other issues, considering the complexity of the

issues involved neither candidate committed himself but

they agreed to study the issue. The younger team

accompanying the AAP candidate was very vocal and

passionate on the issues they believed in and wanted

feedback for their Business Outreach Program. Radhika

Nair, in part icular, impressed all those present with a

very passionate exposit ion of what AAP stood for. All of

us were put on not ice that a generat ion impat ient for

change had risen.

On a very realist ic note and considering that we are

almost at the fag-end of the electoral process it does

seem that AAP has no chance at all in Thane. The current

wisdom according to pre-poll forecasts, TV channels and

newspapers is that Narendra M odi and the NDA are on a

roll and the UPA is likely to be steam-rolled in Elect ion

2014.

However in M aharashtra the percentage of votes cast

while much higher compared to 2009 does not seem to

indicate public favour one way or other. This is as it

should be. It is always interesting to be kept wondering

till the last minute. So toss a coin….heads …status

quo…tails….change!

7

Sanjay M ehta Hon. Gen. Secretary

int roducing SS-BJP Thane Loksabha

candidate Shri Rajan Vichare.

Shriram Athri of Dhanvanthri Engineers

Pvt . Ltd. making a point to

Shri Rajan Vichare.

A packed conference hall intent

on drinking in every word.

Shri Rajan Vichare accept ing a bouquet

from Shri R. K. Jain President IM C (Vashi)

flanked by Sanjay M ehta Hon. Gen.

Secretary & Shri Raman Khurana, Vice

President of SSEA


22

Shri Sanjeev Sane receives a warm

welcome from Shri Sanjay M ehta

Hon. Gen. Secretary & Raman Khurana

Vice President

Shri Sanjeev Sane reading the

latest issue of Shagun

Shri. U. C. Gupta of Beegees Confab

Pvt . Ltd. - Want ing a radical Solut ion

A very frank & int imate exchange

with Shri Sanjeev Sane


8

M IDC comes full cycleM IDC comes full cycle

Shri Kshirsagar Executive Engineer M IDC, Thane Div II proposing that M IDC partly take up the work

of internal roads. Flanked by R.S. Saini, President of SSEA & H. U. Patange, Dy. Engineer of M IDC

Treasurer Himanshu Aagaskar seems to say "ITS TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE"

” M IDC ‘U’ Turn. Wants a hand in TTC Infrastructure”.

21

LOCAL BODY TAX – QUICK REFERENCELOCAL BODY TAX – QUICK REFERENCE

Quite a few members are st ill confused about the rate of Local Body Tax applicable for the goods they bring into Navi

M umbai. In the case of Cess, it was very simple. You were uniformly paying 1% Cess.

But in LBT since you have different rates, any mistake in classificat ion will prove cost ly as you will know only at the t ime

of assessment after 4 years and be levied a 24% interest not to speak of penalty for the amount you have not paid.

So far Government has issued 3 Not ificat ions giving the rates applicable on various goods.

To make it easy for you we have summarised the 3 Not ificat ions above in a “LBT Rates-Quick Reference”

• Using this you can find out the Schedule, Group and Sr.No. of the goods

• You can also find out the rates applicable for the period

a) 1-4-2013 to 2-2-2014

b) 3-2-2014 onwards

• The List of Exempted Goods is also given on which there is 'Zero” rate of LBT

Despite many clarifications many members continue to be under the impression that all inputs are coming under

Schedule A/ Sr.No.54/ Group II “Industrial Inputs and other Packing M aterials”

Please note:

• That the rate of 2% from 1-4-2013 to 2-2-2014 and 1.5% from 3-2-2014 is applicable only on 270 items as

per 4 M aharasht ra VAT Not ificat ions specified in the Entry.

Disclaimer: Informat ion provided in the “ LBT- Quick Reference” is with the sole intent ion of simplifying tax compliance.

However, though all care is taken SSEA disclaims responsibility for any consequences of relying on the same without

independent verificat ion.

Summary

From 1-4-2013 to 2-2-2014 you have to pay

• 2% on limited number of 270 items as per VAT Notns. Referred in Sr.54 (Group II) Schedule A.

• 3% on all the balance goods

From 3-2-2014 you will be paying:

• 1.5% on limited number of 270 items per VAT Notns Referred in Sr. 54 (Group II) Schedule A

That means most of us will end up paying 200 to 300% of the Cess we paid in 2012-13

Date of Notn. Changes rates

with effect from

28-3-2013 Original Notn. 01-04-2013

nd06-07-2013 2 Notn reducing rates in some items 01-04-2013

rd03-02-2014 3 Notn.reducing rates in some items 03-02-2014

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14

28

In India we have so many things to weep about that I

have now decided to stop weeping as I edge close to my

60th birthday and t ransit ion to 'senior cit izen'. So I have

decided t o con t inue feel ing young at hear t

[considerably dented and stented] and look on the

brighter side of things for a change.

• Change at the Top: It looks like there will be a

change at the top and Narendra M ody who sounds

and looks capable will take over as PM come M ay.

It will be a great change from M anmohan Singh. If

he simply holds the scales of just ice st raight and

maintains peace, India will progress by leaps and

bounds as it ought to.

• Exploiting the Demographic Dividend: The next

10 to 15 years are crucial as we have to ensure that

the so-called “ populat ion dividend”, the majority

youth who will make up this country are educated,

skilled and t rained for the jobs and services we will

require them to do. If they have a great future,

India will automat ically have one too.

• What do we want? It 's t ime we stopped blindly

following the West . India and China represent ing a

sixth of the human race are two great nat ions who

should follow the path of their own genius. The

West has many things to teach us and many things

we must cont inue to learn, but it cannot tell us

what we want as a people. The techno-Industrial

mode and infinitely cranking up consumpt ion as a

recipe for prosperity will lead us all nowhere.

As SM E's what do we want?

• Nothing from the Government: If you really come

to think of it we really want nothing from the

Government except basic infrast ructure such as

good roads, power, st reet lights, drains, gutters etc

which any ordinary cit izen might also want .

Government should be happy we have such low

expectat ions!

• Reasonable taxes & No red tape: The single

biggest crime of our rulers is that they have st ifled

the genius and innovat ive powers of a whole

generat ion of talented entrepreneurs and reduced

them to clerks, legal experts and bribe-givers. The

main aim of all taxat ion should not be t ransfer of

resources from the rich to the poor but constant ly

re-cycling and divert ing money to the most

product ive uses with higher standards of human

welfare as the end goal. For starters, the

Government should implement GST and include

Central Excise, VAT & local taxes in its ambit .

• Single Window: Stories of how entrepreneurs are

made to run around from one regulatory body to

another to gather together dozens of “ No

Object ion Cert ificates”, permissions etc. are no

longer funny. Those who think they are very

“ pract ical'' bribe everyone in sight and think they

have solved the problem. What they have done is

to solve “ their ” problem and create a sickeningly

shoddy system which threatens to swallow “all of

us”.

• Rationalisation of Laws: Simplify all applicable

laws. Instead of thinking how to cont rol indust ries,

law makers should think how to free them to do

the thing they do best and simultaneously provide

employment and resources needed to provide a

safety net for the poor in the short term.

Recall the t remendous product ive energy which was

unleased with the first wave of liberalisat ion. Between a

third and a half of our populat ion pulled themselves out

of the morass of poverty and misery which seemed to

have become a permanent feature of India. If we did it

once, we can certainly do it again.

All that we as a people and our rulers need to keep in

mind is the shining vision of what India can be! We

should unleash the tremendous advantages of being

the worlds' largest democracy and aim to also become

the world's largest economy to give our people a life of

dignity and comfort to attain our highest potential.

LAST WORDLAST WORD

R. Seshan

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Shagun Mar - Apr 2014