Indian leader Must Learn from Blair

by Indra

Dec. 16, 2006

British Prime Minister recently announced a list of 500 concrete steps, large and small, to cut red tape in the nation bureaucracy. The measures, which range from simplifying forms to providing fire safety certificates more easily is estimated to save individuals, corporate and charities over 14 billion pounds (Rs 119,000 crore). And Blair promised to come out with another 500 administrative ‘burdens’, which would save them another 2 billion pounds.

Are India’s highly qualified and experienced Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, or for that matter the vice-chairman of Planning Commission not aware of the timeworn, and useless administrative procedures that must be costing billions in cost of red tapes? How can India attract the FDI that it is seeking so aggressively, if as per an Assocham, nearly 62,000 proposals, involving a cumulative investment flow of around Rs 1,550,000 crore, are pending approvals from various states and central government for the past 18years or so. “ It is observed that even at 40% fructification of these investment proposals, investment of Rs 644,000 crore can come through, generating employment for about 7.4 million people.” The sectors involved include food processing, textile and clothing, leather goods, automobiles, auto components, minerals, steel, cement, electronic products and components, paper and paper products, chemical and allied products and polymers and plastics. How can one have confidence in the intention of the leaders in the driving seats after going through these reports? Why can’t a proposal that is unacceptable, be dropped?

Why should they waste so much of energy and resources of their own and the country, if they can’t improve the basic requirements for getting the foreign investment? Can the investment climate be called congenial if it takes 89 days to start a business, 67 days to register a property, 425 days to enforce a contract and seven days to a month to clear goods from customs, and almost 155 of management time is wasted to deal with officials? Is it something that the Prime Minister can’t get corrected? Why can’t he confess this?

Though the British Empire where the sun never used to set is dead, but the nation and its leaders are conscious of the competition from the emerging economies specially ‘Chindia’ to give a sharp competitive edge to British business in global trade. Chancellor Gordon Brown, the next prospective tenant of 10 Downing Street has been talking of the threat, “ Once responsible for just one-eighth of the world’s growth, China and India will soon capture almost half. They are competing not just on low cost, but on high skill.” And that is reason for the steps to cut the prevailing red tapes. The nation is preparing to face the challenge. For information, in the same process of restructuring the administration, UK is having an ambitious target to cut unnecessary bureaucracy by 25% by 2010. At least it appears the national leaders of UK are following the strategies necessary to correct the situation, if it is bad and correctible.

Why can’t similar steps be taken in India? Why can’t India take a cue from the story from Britain that has given India the present bureaucracy as legacy and act?

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