We have seen it all - from our glorious history of thousands of years to the invaders and occupiers who left us broken, divided and poor. To the current position of almost a 3 trillion dollar economy and the engine of global growth, we have indeed come a long way. I am really looking forward to our journey towards a 10 trillion dollar economy and the third largest economy in the world. Let’s look at how we can make this journey smoother and faster.
Embrace Make In India
Let us start demanding only make in India
products. Don’t look at the cynics who will point out that imports have gone up
after the “Make In India” campaign was launched. Other countries have a 30 year
head start over us. We will catch up with them. It is simple demand and supply.
If we demand “Made In India” the supply will come.
It will mean more investments, more jobs,
saving of forex and hopefully more exports down the line. Our large size means
we have a large domestic market and because of that, large corporates will come
and make here for the local and global markets.
Make All Payments Digitally
The government needs to earn to be able to
spend. No one likes to pay taxes, however its an obligation that we need to
fulfill. We have a wonderful digital payment network. When all payments are made
digitally, it is possible to track those and then tax the income. All payments,
large and small, should be made digitally. Only when the overall tax collection
up can the tax rate come down.
Be Socially Aware
In our daily actions, keeping our localities
clean, making sure all officials are doing their jobs, helping those who are
less fortunate than us, offering help to those who need it, taking care of
public property. Overall, taking our roles as citizens more seriously.
Exercising Our Franchise
Vote for the best candidate – not because of
the freebies they have promised or because they are from our
region/caste/community. Capability and experience of the person should precede
all other considerations while voting.
Nurture The Indian Community
By helping each other and not being divided by
the narrow regional identities which allowed outsiders to exploit us for hundreds
of years.
Proud Of Our Past. Shaping Our Future
We are kind. We are great traders. We are
simple people. Our country has assimilated the largest gold reserves in the
world without having a gold mine or invading other countries. Just by trading
our spices, garments and goods with other countries. We have an excellent past
with our architecture, science, technology, medicine, arts and craft and
religion. Our doctors, scientists, engineers, professionals are the best in the
world. We are a young country. We work hard. We are smart. We save a lot. We have
culture. We have yoga. The future is ours.
Also let us start demanding the below from our
politicians, these hurdles need to be addressed -
Clean Up Of The Judicial System
Our judicial system has become a joke. There
is no other way to describe the current state of affairs. The entire system
needs an overhaul. The way we select our judges, the working hours and summer
holidays of the courts, the manner in which cases can drag on for decades –
everything needs to be changed.
In a working system the “fear of law” is the
ultimate arbitrator of disputes. When two parties have a dispute, both believe
they are right. However, in most cases, it is fair to assume that one of the
parties realises it is wrong and hence, should be fearful of going to the court
and paying a large penalty. In India, because the system does not work, the
party at fault is not afraid of going to the court as they are relatively sure
of decades passing before our system delivers “justice”.
Clean Up Political Funding
Till the time politicians see their election
win as a way of “recouping their investment” we will not be able to achieve our
destiny. There has to be a way for an honest person to fight elections and have
a fair chance to win without being obligated to spend crores on getting a
party's backing and then spending further crores for his campaign. Till the time
this does not happen, the people sitting on a chair will exploit the system in every
way they can.
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