Make in India and subconscious sabotage

Image - Sony Music

My last post was about how India is perfectly poised to seize the Covid opportunity with ‘Make in India’. Well, this piece, in continuation, tries to look at another angle – India’s relationship with Business – from a socio-cultural lens.

The troubled relationship has been written, analysed and discussed endlessly- more so in the coming days as the stimulus package becomes clearer. This piece, is my attempt at trying to decode the subconscious psyche, of this couple stuck in a seemingly toxic relationship (I have no late night RJ ambitions) –

Government – the possessive partner – is convinced its bed-fellow (businesses), cannot be trusted. That they will cheat through non-compliance, lie and evade taxes, manipulate the system, and exploit labour, among other self-serving horrors.    

Partner’s paranoia – government continues with a variety of rules and restrictions in the name of labour, consumer, national interest (very different from wedding vows of love and cherish). These laws make it tough to start, run, and even shut businesses. Bureaucracy and endless red tape turn the key in the chastity belt.  

Abusers remorse – government occasionally feels bad about behaving this way with businesses. It promises fewer rules and sectorial reforms (like at happy hour last evening) – most turn out to be cosmetic (like improving ease of business ranking), with different ground realities (interviews with MSME entrepreneurs tell their story)

Businesses – the weary partner – seems to be giving up on its abusive partner changing. They have begun moving offices, plants and funds abroad. Indian operations survive by exploiting loopholes and systemic weaknesses, and bribes. Ironically, resorting to tactics the government suspected them of. They survive despite everything, as beautifully detailed in India Grows at Night by Gurcharan Das.

While the above analogy is debatable, I feel the relationship suffers from ANTICIPATED BETRAYAL! Both parties EXPECT to be short-changed, cheated and lied to! The counter-intuitiveness of the situation got me thinking about the psychological evolution of this relationship –

To begin with, India was traditionally an ‘artisan’ nation - not industrial. As per Chanakya’s Arthashastra, rulers provided a conducive business environment with limited state role. Artisans and tradesmen freely moved to kingdoms with favourable policies and patronage. Businesses were taxed basis a kings policies or needs (mostly military or debauchery). One could expect leniency in tough times (‘deferred’ payments perhaps?)  

Colonial era – India became the cash-cow to be milked (remember Bengal famine?). Laws were punitive and harsh – to catch evaders and exemplify. This could possibly be the period of inception for ‘institutionalised corruption’ of today (personal corruption being old as human greed). Industries exploited colonial workforce with little or no recourse. Benefits to locals were purely incidental.  

1947 – 1990 - Nehruvian economics – naturally, I suppose, viewed its industrial inheritance as negative and exploitative. Armed with laws made to control a colony, our first industrial laws were based on Socialist ideals – to prevent concentration of wealth and power. This combination birthed ‘License Raj’ – white overlords replaced with brown ones. Ironically the objective remained the same – to catch the evaders! We have been playing cops and robbers ever since!

21st century – India’s marriage with businesses continues to suffer due to past baggage and consequent ‘trust deficit’. Liberalisation changed our course, perhaps not our core. We seem to be held back by our contradictory Colonial-Socialist business conditioning. We need to deal with this conflict to stop subconsciously sabotaging ourselves.

Subconscious sabotage – shooting ourselves in the foot without meaning to. The latest ‘reforms’ promised by the Centre and State Governments in the wake of Covid are a live example as they unfold. UP government’s ordinance ‘suspended’ 30 of its labour laws (Epidemic Disease act 1897) - instead of permanent reforms relevant in 2020. Also, the three year duration seems much like an abusive lover’s remorse – temporary, inadequate, unreliable. Most large industries might take that much time just to set up! Then the question - what after three years? What if the government does a retrospective U-turn as it has in the past?

Abusive lovers and subconscious sabotage – Centre and State Governments are hastily ‘reforming’ their labour laws (largest perceived stumbling block) to capture China’s industrial exodus. However, the world has been watching India for a long time – like stalking ones crush. They are sceptical and weary of being promised an epic love story, and ending up in an abusive, controlling relationship.   

While businesses and businessmen are no paragons of virtue either, governments cannot afford to assume the worst of the ally they need the most. Labour laws and frameworks are indeed needed for businesses to operate within. However, the trick, as in any healthy relationship, lies in picking your fights and moving forward.

‘Make in India’ needs to work at two levels – products, and our laws – both Made in India, to take on the world!