Chanakya's New Manifesto: To Resolve the Crisis Within India (34 page)

5.30  It is recommended that all voluntary and charity groups be provided with single-window clearance. Instead of having to negotiate an opaque and confusing bureaucratic maze, the government should proactively and institutionally facilitate the involvement of NGOs in the public space. For this to happen, it is essential to enact a central law ‘which would review, integrate and include the best provisions of the various laws now in force and apply to trusts, registered societies and Section 25 alike’.
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Parliament should be competent to make this law since charities and charitable organizations come under Entry 28 in the Concurrent List of the Constitution.

5.31  The new law should also create the office of a Charities Commissioner with nationwide jurisdiction modelled on the Charities Act of the UK. Given the size of our country, there could be, in addition, state-level Charities Commissioners. Of course, there is always the possibility that even in a streamlined and simplified structure, regulators appointed by the government, and the officials working under them, could become corrupt. There can be no absolute guarantee against the possibility of this happening, but if the right people are selected for these positions, people of public eminence, that would be the first step towards creating an important initiative, whose only reason for existence would be the public good.

5.32  The purpose of the revamped structure would be to integrate under one head the government’s interface with volunteer groups. But if it is difficult to integrate all of them, the attempt should still be to work out a more seamless way to connect with them. For instance, if the power to give exemptions must remain with the income tax department, at least the department can create a special section that expeditiously clears such applications in close consultation with the office of the Charities Commissioner.

5.33  At the same time, volunteer groups must also work to justify the confidence placed in them and remain within the prescribed regulatory framework. A voluntary association created by NGOs themselves, the Credibility Alliance, which seeks to impose on its members a policy of self-regulation is the sort of initiative that inspires the confidence of officialdom in the NGO sector.

5.34  The potential of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is also hugely underutilized. The government needs to tap into the managerial and entrepreneurial strengths of the corporate sector for predefined projects, especially in the fields of poverty alleviation, employment, skill upgradation, education and health. If proactively and intelligently encouraged, CSR can become a very significant source of support for the government to efficiently meet its welfare goals.

5.35  However, the Companies Bill, 2011, that seeks to make CSR contributions mandatory is probably a step in the wrong direction. The bill stipulates that companies with an annual turnover of
1,000 crore, or those with a net worth above
500 crore, must compulsorily earmark 2 per cent of their average net profits of three years towards CSR. Such a provision, far from encouraging social responsibility, would be seen by most companies as an additional tax, and would, therefore, defeat the very purpose of motivating privileged India to be a partner in the elimination of deprivation. Unless this foundational change in attitude is brought about, companies will once again ‘pay lip service to the law and show all sorts of expenditure as CSR expenditure’.
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5.36  A better way would be for the government to carefully devise a comprehensive list of projects which could benefit from CSR; these could be decided upon after discussions with organizations that represent industry such as CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM. The apex bodies would themselves work out the contribution that would best suit their constituents and farm out responsibilities for the implementation of projects. An independent CSR regulator consisting of a panel chosen jointly by the government and corporate apex bodies would monitor the projects and certify completion. A panel of NGOs, again jointly agreed upon by both partners, would be at hand to provide design and technical support where needed.

5.37  Such an approach would yield a triple benefit. First, it would ease the resource crunch in the government for development projects and provide it with a valuable new partner; second, it would help make the corporate world a stakeholder in the development of the underprivileged; and, third, it would harness the managerial and entrepreneurial skills of the corporate sector to help where they are most needed.

5.38  It is possible that such an arrangement would provide opportunities for corruption. These must be plugged to the extent possible, including through the office of the independent regulator monitoring CSR projects, and the vigilance of the NGOs involved.

5.39  Several reputed corporates, such as the Mahindras, the Tata Group, Procter & Gamble (P&G), Godrej and Hindustan Unilever, are already doing significant developmental work. What the Tata Group has done in the fields of health and education around its steel plant in Jamshedpur remains a benchmark. It has been reported that the Mahindras have taken on the responsibility of building a dam in a thirty-two-village project that will irrigate 10,000 hectares and benefit 20,000 people in 4,000 households. Godrej Consumer Projects (GCPL) has taken a major initiative in the area of training rural youth. P&G is working in the area of education for underprivileged children. These companies have undertaken philanthropic initiatives of their own volition, but others might need to be nudged into such activities and this is where creative government schemes are required.

5.40  When the government has reached out, the corporate world has reacted positively. In April 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made an appeal to the private sector to take affirmative action in education employment opportunities and employment for the weaker sections of society. In response, CII and ASSOCHAM immediately set up a task force to outline what industry could do. A voluntary plan for affirmative action began to be implemented from January 2007. Nearly 100 member companies of CII drew up affirmative-action agendas for SC/ ST youth under four heads: employability, entrepreneurship, education and employment; forty-eight companies sponsored the creation of customized training modules for SC/ST youth; CII, and separately Tata Communications, partnered with Ahmedabad’s Entrepreneurship Development Institute to train SC/ST youth in the fundamentals of entrepreneurship; organizations were encouraged to make companies owned by members of the SC/ST communities part of their supply/vendor chain; scholarships were provided to SC/ST students; 636 CII member companies signed a code of conduct committing to discourage any discrimination in their employment policies, while the Tata Group went a step further to commit itself to positive discrimination in favour of meritorious SC/ST youth.
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5.41  The possibilities are, literally, endless. If a voluntary welfare group adopts a government school where underprivileged children study, the Charities Commissioner should recommend a tax rebate for the members who are part of that group; if a citizens’ grouping undertakes to equip a primary health centre, its constituents should be similarly rewarded; if resident welfare associations decide to provide scholarships to underprivileged children, they should be rewarded for their initiative. If a group of public-spirited students—to quote just one example—procures solar lamps to light up 4,000 village homes,
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thereby dramatically improving the performance of poor children in the board exams, they must be lauded as heroes. Public recognition by the government of positive action by socially conscious citizenry should become part of the governance agenda. And, as pride in what one can give back to society grows, and more avenues are institutionally provided for its expression, competitive socially-motivated volunteerism could become the norm rather than the exception, thus changing the texture of Indian society.

The time has come to make a new beginning, with unflinching resolve, conviction, courage and an open mind, so that India, beyond the rhetoric of politics, moves definitively towards becoming a pro-actively inclusive country with results that are verifiable. Only then can India claim to be a truly civilized nation.

EPILOGUE

Chanakya’s New Manifesto
proposes a comprehensive blueprint for change. We cannot continue as we are, and must gather the resolve to bring in effective governance, a true democracy, a corruption-free State, a security-conscious nation and an inclusive society. If we fail, India may never succeed. Our future is at stake.

But ideas for change don’t bring in change by themselves. They remain unproductive until people are willing to adopt them, to consider them, to debate and discuss them, and finally, to act upon them. Ideas are orphans until they find a home in the minds of people willing to work towards implementing them.
Chanakya’s New Manifesto
will remain just a book until all of us, the people of India, begin the process of taking charge of the change that must take place.

It is a myth that entrenched systems change volitionally. When systems are entrenched, they entrench powerful vested interests. Such interests do not usually disenfranchise themselves, it is the power of the people that makes vested interests yield. Popular opinion, expressed legitimately, is a powerful engine for change. It cannot be ignored, even by those who’d be happier without it.

The change that
Chanakya’s New Manifesto
seeks is attainable within the four corners of the Constitution. It is constructive change. It seeks not to dismantle, only to rebuild on foundations which are not disputed. It espouses change in the endeavour for a better future for all Indians, not a recipe that seeks to destroy the unalterable values to which the republic is committed.

Those in power, in a better position to usher in change, must see the manifesto in this light. It is an appeal to their good sense. It presents them with a plan of action to fulfil the expectations of the people, ideas that could change the future of our country. Ideally, they must be proactive in working towards this change. The eyes of the people of India are watching them.

I do not claim that
Chanakya’s New Manifesto
is flawless. It should be debated and modified should that be in India’s best interest. But, with great humility, I believe that the ideas it represents cannot be ignored or blindly rejected. Nor can its proposals be responded to by inaction, or worse, the pretence of action.

The resolve to become agents of change, rather than just passive critics of the status quo, must be taken in our self-interest. If India triumphs, so will we all. If India becomes a genuinely vibrant democracy, all Indians will be more empowered. If we are more ethical in our conduct, all of us will lead a happier life. If the threats to our security are dealt with more effectively, we will be safer. If the lot of our poorest improves, all of us will prosper.

Let us, therefore, act in cohesion, unison and wisdom to bring about the much-needed change India needs. Millennia ago, our sages made precisely this appeal:

Om, Sahnavvatu, Sah Nau Bhunaktu
Sahvirya Karvaav Hai
Tejasvinah Vardhimastu
Ma Vidvishva Vaav Hai
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantiha!

May God protect us together
May He accept us together
May we break bread together
May wisdom illumine our minds
May we be free from all discord.
Let there be Peace, Peace and Peace.

NOTES

1
    Jay P. Desai,
Accountability: Angst, Awareness, Action
, Pearson, 2012, p. 187

2
    Praveen Dass and Atul Thakur, ‘The seven per cent hitch’,
Times of India
, 19 February 2012.

3
    Arun Kumar, ‘The cost of the black money’,
The Hindu
, 20 August 2011.