65 years of independence from a foreign power, and the common Indian man still does not trust the Indian Government to utilize his hard earned money for basic amenities and infrastructure in the country. An even bleaker fact is that 65 years after independence from a foreign rule, and the Indian Government still does not trust the common Indian man to enable him to live in his own country with dignity. We are at a constant threat by multiple enforcement agencies, that have the power of stripping us bare of our hard earned respect, by treating us like terrorists.

This lost trust between sons of men who stood shoulder to shoulder to fight for their freedom, is killing the country. The air of distrust and suspicion that perforates the Indian social fabric has been proven to be the only bottleneck in the robust growth chart that India can embark on.

The innumerable bomb blasts and terrorist attacks that have been ripping through the country for the past decade expose the glaring flaws of corruption and total disregard for Ethics that grips Indians.

The loss of trust and support amongst ourselves, has resulted in this quicksand of deceit and terror that we find ourselves in. Our “Chalta Hai” attitude has spun a dangerous web that is not just a far off hazard, but a menace that touches our family and friends.

We at Global Steel representing the steel corporates, do consider it our duty and responsibility as a concerned civil society member, to do our bit in creating awareness and to lend our voice to mitigate the crisis facing the Nation. It is time that we involve ourselves in the intense debate as to how to salvage the Nation from this predicament.

We have been speaking on the subject for quite a few years and have been involving the youth of our country at various forums through presentations, panel discussions, etc. Notable among them include, The Gujarat NRE National Integrity Theme Presentation contest, which has been an annual affair at NIRMA University, Ahmedabad for last 3 years as well as that in IIM Ahmedabad.

We have been fortunate to have the association of Foundation for Peace Harmony and Good Governance (FGG), an initiative of Mr D R Kaarthikeyan, President FGG and Former Director, CBI. During 2011 alone, FGG has organized major National Conferences on Integrity, Black Money, RTI and Citizen’s Charter and it has been our privilege to be a part of these noble initiatives. We started 2011 with National Conference on Integrity being organized on the sidelines of Global Steel 2011, which was a huge success as were the other conferences which have been successful throughout the year.
Corruption which was rarely acknowledged, despite having an all encompassing prevalence, and always spoken in hushed tones, is today a matter of intense debate both within the parliament and on the street. On 18th January, 2011 when we organized National Conference on Integrity, no one had ever dreamt that we would have a Lokpal bill being debated day and night in the Parliament. We never thought that bills pertaining to whistleblowers, judicial accountability would be taken up to see the light of the day. We are proud to be witness of a landmark awakening among all sections of the society which Independent India had not experienced for decades.

However, this is just a beginning and we all know that we have just made a beginning. We have just set our feet and we have miles to go... A good governance mechanism can be successful only when the element of trust between the citizens and the government exists. Our tax system needs to be more trust-based for better compliance. Several antiquated laws require urgent overhaul to reflect contemporary realities. Reciprocity and cooperation increases only in a trust based regime, where the Government and the people trust and repose trust in each other.  The prime essence of good governance lies on 3 T’s: TRUST, TRUTH and TRANSPARENCY.  We feel that as corporates, we should not restrict ourselves to board room discussions but also take up the cause of the society and participate in Nation building. It might not be feasible for us to take to the streets, but we can raise our voice against the prevailing air of mistrust that is engulfing all. We cannot live in isolation. We need to understand that if we do not speak now, it might be too late and we would have no one to blame for our plight, except our inaction.

As we stand at the dawn of 2012, the time is ripe for us to sound the conch for the 2nd struggle of freedom, to win our respect and dignity as proud citizens of India.

“Arise awake and stop not till the goal is reached…….”

Concept Note

The critical challenge to keep India's growth story intact is "providing good governance". There may be several challenges to acceleration of growth, and identification of these areas and drawing up plans to address them is the relatively an easy part. But what is infinitely more difficult is the translation of those policies into action, where the criticality of good governance steps in. It is the quality of governance that separates success and failure in economic development.

Besides other evils corruption and its proliferation are byproducts of no governance and bad governance. Our governance record in poverty alleviation programs, development of tribal and backward areas, public distribution system, has been disastrous, which has led to various internal disturbances, public agony and mistrust in the system. With 17 percent of the world’s people, India accounts for less than 2 percent of global GDP and 1 percent of world trade. Hence, we currently stand at the threshold of a unique opportunity regarding governance and public management reform.

Through this Conference our sincere endeavor is to set the house in order by taking all steps necessary to ensure introduction and application of good governance measures. The conference would focus on the following key areas in governance:

Governance by the Government
We have a reasonably vibrant democracy and a civil society, which enables the procedural aspects of democratic governance to be largely sustainable. However, the substantiate aspect is mostly elusive, with public institutions being inaccessible to a large section of the populace. Despite a promising institutional context, India’s structures of governance have remained ineffectual in fulfilling the basic needs of her citizens. The biggest danger for the country comes when the governance by the government shows signs of crumbling.

The session would primarily highlight the following issues:

Corporate Governance
A firm commitment and adoption of ethical practices by an organization across its entire value chain and in all of its dealings with its wide range of stakeholders is what good corporate governance is all about. This can be achieved by readily embracing certain checks and balances. In light of the recent events in India which have put the spotlight on corporate governance practices of Indian companies the session would debate on :

The newly introduced Company’s Bill can also be taken as a reference in discussing this issue of immense importance, which would regulate the health of Indian Industry in the years to come.

Electoral Reforms
The central problem of democracy is how we manage our elections in our present  political system. Over the years the way democracy has been practiced by several practitioners and political parties, it has been maligned. Corruption of unthinkable proportion has crept in into political parties and elections. The issues of imminent importance include:

Compliance in our Democracy – Is it Trust based on Enforced?
A functional democracy requires that the law of the land be complied with. On the other hand the laws need to be such that they are compliable by the majority of the citizens. Trust is a valuable social asset that forms the basis of democracy. It is true that while “taxes are the price we pay for civilization”- civilization cannot sustain itself without trust. The session would try to delve on the following pertinent discussion points:

For registration send your request to iggdlehi@gmail.com

29th January 2012