‘Transparency in poll funding a must to root out corruption’

The Hindu: Chennai: Wednesday, January 31, 2018.

As long as political parties need corporates for funding elections, the politician-business nexus will be a fact and corruption in India will continue, said Anu Aga, Director of Thermax Ltd. “A few years ago, there was an attempt to bring all political parties under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which all political parties resisted. Unless there is transparency in electoral funding, we will have to live with some form of corruption,” she said while delivering the K.S. Narayanan Oration 2018 on the topic “Doing business in India today Does it call for a compromise?”

Ms. Aga said that businesses which are most susceptible to constant government intervention are likely to be corrupt. “In spite of liberalisation, there are certain sectors which need several government clearances, and this breeds corruption,” she said.

Citing examples, she said the politically sensitive Indian sugar industry with its roots in agriculture is one such industry wherein successive governments have routinely intervened in every aspect from the price of cane to the selling, marketing and distribution of sugar. “It is accepted and well known that mill owners can survive only by bribing State-level politicians. This seems to be improving but still there is a long way to go,” she said.

Mining is another example wherein government needs to grant access to scarce resources. “Nothing can be achieved in the mining sector without greasing the palms of the bureaucrats and government officials. Until the entire system goes through a drastic clean-up, not much can be achieved,” she added.

She highlighted how labour disputes get engineered by local politicians. “You are aware that if you refuse to pay, the consequences could be unpredictable and could seriously affect business,” she said.

Uday Kotak, founder and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, recalled his early life and how he started his career in a 200 sq ft space. He explained how being transparent with customers and business partners helped in the growth of his business. The K.S. Narayanan oration is held annually on his birth anniversary which falls on January 30.