- Contributed by Tapan Bhatnagar
As a Senior Minister recently stated during an International conference, “Approaching the Government is for help is like asking for a Kiss of Death”, but what I fail to understand is Why is it that the Government which is Of the People, By the People and For The People portrayed in such a Mafioso style.
Though there can be many reason for this the two reasons I can attribute to this is Corruption and Red Tape. Let me talk from a personal perspective for each of the reasons I have stated.
Talking about corruption, it is definitely not news for most of you who are reading this, corruption is like a cancer gripping the country. It is no surprise that we come so low down in any ranking for honesty in comparison to almost the entire world. Corruption is prevalent in almost all levels in the country, the DDA housing scam can be the most recent example for this. But, speaking from the personal front, let me tell you about a visit to a Government office. One approaches the reception desk which is manned by two low level clerks, the job of these clerks at the reception is well, to issue slips and direct the visitors to the correct office/officer. One will think so how can there be corruption at this level. Right? Wrong! The first thing they ask when you approach them for a pass will be and I quote, “Sirji, Abhi toh hamari dosti kachhi hai, kuch chai paani ka intazam kar do toh dosti pucci ho jayegi!” (Sir, right now we are just acquaintances, give us something for tea/coffee so that we can become friends) And the worst part is, that the statement remains more or less the same in most Government offices almost as if they have been trained at a central place. It seems they have a central training institute for this like the others around. Keep this in mind that this is at the lowest level in the Government; I cannot get to the higher levels without raising heckles of everyone in this ecosystem but I am sure you get the hint of what I am talking about. Surprisingly in a recent study carried out by Milagrow almost 98% of all the respondents directly or indirectly agreed that Corruption existed in the system. The sad part is that it has now become an accepted practice within the ecosystem.
Getting to the next point which as per me is the next culprit due to which it becomes virtually impossible to approach Government, Red Tape or the excessive bureaucracy in the government. It must be noted here that the policies and schemes that the Government implements from time to time can lead to India beating China in development or at least the rate of growth, but unfortunately most of the time the schemes are known only to a select few and even if the scheme is known the paperwork involved in getting a sanction from the Government can make any person who is an expert in documentation and enjoys it lose the sanity. Please do not think this is just a ranting against the government. No, not at all, I have been fortunate enough to have been supported in almost all endeavors, agreed I am yet to receive any kind of assistance but I can safely say it is in the pipeline. But, saying this, let me also run you through a simple process of applying for a scheme for financial assistance to entrepreneurs for attending and exhibiting at International trade shows. The scheme which has been recently updated (for the better, I may say) has so many different forms to fill and such complicated filling instructions that most of the entrepreneurs will not understand what needs to be filled and which form does not need filling, this is also compounded by the fact that the scheme has four sub schemes. So effectively if you have to apply under the said scheme, you have to find the sub scheme you want to apply for, based on the required sub scheme one needs to fill the first form but not the second, but you may have to fill the second part of the second form but you will have to submit it after the visit, Confused!! Well most probably you would have either missed the trade show or cancelled the plan by now.
Having said this and this is just the tip of the Ice berg I am sure you can come up with many other reasons for inability to approach the Government, but the Government is evolving and at a fast pace. There are many enlightened officers which are taking the necessary steps for this evolution. As Confucius says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” I hope the government has taken the step in the right direction.
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