And for a Friday after 100 years of CPC, some thoughts….. some musings…..
On 1 July 1921 when CPC (Communist Party of China) was founded by two Chinese intellectuals Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu, who could have ever in the wildest imagination envisaged a Xi Jinping who has rolled himself into CPC chief, Defense chief, Government chief, in short All-in-All. A very subtle description put out by the Communist party describing the current fifth generation leader Xi Jinping as “Amid ten thousand Majestic Mountains, there must be a main peak” says it all. Not withstanding arguments on civil liberties and individual freedom, China has grown to a 15 Trn$ economy, five times the size of India at 3 Trn with almost similar sized population and Wuhan Virus further dampens Indian economy.
In 1978, India’s Per capita income was 203$ higher than China’s at 156$ and the Chinese GDP was 149Bn$, almost similar to India at 140Bn$. Then what did China do right and India do wrong? Of course as Indians we need to factor in the cost of being a Democracy. We need to find our own models. But each State in our Federal Democracy has to rise to the challenge of improving Productivity post the COVID crisis. State Government have to cut all unwanted staff costs, increase investments in health, education, Law and Order. They have to find resources not by taxing further but by increasing efficiencies and reducing leakages by curbing CORRUPTION. We have to choose the best strategies from the Kerala Model, Gujarat Model, Maharashtra Model, Tamil Nadu Model, Karnataka Model, Orissa Model and Punjab Model but avoid the likes of Bihar Model. As CEOs Pinari Vijayan, Rupani, Uddhav Thakerey, Stalin, Yedurappa, Patnaik and Amarinder have to ask themselves – how to reduce costs, increase efficiency, create value adding jobs and curb corruption. We will have the answers. Let’s ask the right questions.
Each one of us, the Tax payers, have the right to ask questions. But we also have the obligation to partake in Nation building, reducing corruption and contributing to efficiency, the Ethical way, the law abiding way, the SEEGOS way.