brahme@uicsl.UUCP (11/19/85)
Excessive Bureaucracies, Corruption & Development During my visit to india i noticed the development of a sizable number of small scale enterpreneurs. Many of them, with whom i had the opportunity to talk to, had started with less than Rs 100,000. The one complaint all of them had is the strangling effect the bureaucrats have on their enterprizes and on their planning of day to day affairs. In fact one is supposed to give (at the very least) some gifts to all the clerks. This is usually done on all occasions like Diwali, New Years day, etc.. In one case a private contractor supplied some equipment to the Navy. Subsequently the payment of check was delayed. In fact one of the clerks had the audacity to suggest that the contractor go to court, knowing very well that it would take upto 3 years for a preliminary hearing of the case. It looks like these are not isolated incidents. Its the normal way of functioning of the people employed by the government, i.e., the people in power. It is also true that the government being the largest employer controls a hell of lot activities. It is obvious that complex rules and regulation, excessive power and low pay of these government officials has a lot to do, with the exisiting state of affairs. Also the normal tendency of businesses to bribe their way through does not help in alleviating the problem. It would be interesting to hear some suggestions, which would help in reversing this trend of corruption/bureaucratic controls & retarded development. Also i am not branding everyone in the government & businesses as dishonest. There are ofcourse a lot of people with a very high level of integrity. However they seem to be overwhelmed by the majority. Dhananjay Brahme U of Illinois @ urbana-champaign