It would seem like this is fast becoming a forum for opinions that advocate the government’s exit from all interventionist and restrictive areas of civic governance, and permit the parties concerned to govern, control and restrict themselves. And yet, I see nothing wrong in this.
The captains of Indian industry, in the wake of the Mittal-Arcelor triumph, have asked the government to allow ‘self-certification’ and end the current ‘inspection’ regime, wherein the government assumes the responsibility of maintaining the quality at the industrial facilities, whereas all the industrial doyens are to do is to conform to the government’s policies. The problem lies in the implementation.
The government of India is known for its lackadaisical approach towards structural reforms; so it is futile to expect that the government would have the time to periodically or rather frequently review minutiae of industrial control policy in line with technological advancements and altered local conditions. Also, entrenched political trade unions and vested interests in both the industrial world as also the political system are wont to allow such changes, as they would facilitate the efficiency of the industries, ensuring better remunerations to the employees in the wake of better profits, and it doesn’t take an Einstein to understand that it is impossible to induce a happy workforce to strike work and create trouble.
The proposal entails permitting the inspection system to be retained, but with a diminished role as merely akin to that of an independent auditor. This may even mean that the countless corruption issues arising out of industries trying to impress and please the inspection teams could be reduced substantially, as the inspection teams may no longer have the authority to order cessation of operations. At most, they could recommend the revocation of the industrial license, but that too only in extreme cases.
People are wont to say that industry hasn’t had a very good track record on self-governance, and doesn’t exactly inspire confidence as far as self-certification is concerned. I should like to retort: the Government of many a state doesn’t have a good track record on basic governance, so should we dismantle the system of democratic authority therein and install an autocrat, working on the orders of the Union Government?
Reforming the taxation systems, labour laws, the power policy, et al should be the prime priority of the government, and sadly it finds itself grappling with issues which really could have waited, but were raised by the government itself. Maybe we have started on the process, but it is a long and arduous road, and the faster it is traversed, the better for India.
The captains of Indian industry, in the wake of the Mittal-Arcelor triumph, have asked the government to allow ‘self-certification’ and end the current ‘inspection’ regime, wherein the government assumes the responsibility of maintaining the quality at the industrial facilities, whereas all the industrial doyens are to do is to conform to the government’s policies. The problem lies in the implementation.
The government of India is known for its lackadaisical approach towards structural reforms; so it is futile to expect that the government would have the time to periodically or rather frequently review minutiae of industrial control policy in line with technological advancements and altered local conditions. Also, entrenched political trade unions and vested interests in both the industrial world as also the political system are wont to allow such changes, as they would facilitate the efficiency of the industries, ensuring better remunerations to the employees in the wake of better profits, and it doesn’t take an Einstein to understand that it is impossible to induce a happy workforce to strike work and create trouble.
The proposal entails permitting the inspection system to be retained, but with a diminished role as merely akin to that of an independent auditor. This may even mean that the countless corruption issues arising out of industries trying to impress and please the inspection teams could be reduced substantially, as the inspection teams may no longer have the authority to order cessation of operations. At most, they could recommend the revocation of the industrial license, but that too only in extreme cases.
People are wont to say that industry hasn’t had a very good track record on self-governance, and doesn’t exactly inspire confidence as far as self-certification is concerned. I should like to retort: the Government of many a state doesn’t have a good track record on basic governance, so should we dismantle the system of democratic authority therein and install an autocrat, working on the orders of the Union Government?
Reforming the taxation systems, labour laws, the power policy, et al should be the prime priority of the government, and sadly it finds itself grappling with issues which really could have waited, but were raised by the government itself. Maybe we have started on the process, but it is a long and arduous road, and the faster it is traversed, the better for India.
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