Image courtesy:efilelabourreturn.gov.in

 

 

(Published by taxindiaonline.com on 18th November 2014)

 

“Look at the positives,” a friend of mine in the BJP advised me. The advice came against the backdrop of this column’s criticism over the Modi Government’s delay in clearing UPA-spun web of regulatory hurdles in the path of economic growth and mass employment.  Appreciating his advice, I told him that the Government is hardly sharing developmental news with the media. 

And now the social media-savvy Government has given the biggest proof of its reluctance to disseminate positives to the public through the conventional media. Neither Prime Minister nor the Finance Minister tweeted the disclosure of 8-page ‘India Employment Plan 2014’ (IEP) and 35-page ‘Comprehensive Growth Strategy: India’ (CGS) at the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane. 

The websites of respective administrative ministries and Press Information Bureau (PIB) have not yet uploaded these documents. These ought to be communicated effectively to millions of voters waiting for the dream jobs.  Communication is important to reduce the prospects of analysts highlighting elements missing from the two documents. They delineate NDA Government agenda for inclusive and fast development. Entrepreneurs, workers, stock market and all other stakeholders have a right to know what the Government is doing to galvanize the economy.  

In its eagerness to publicize Mr. Modi’s interventions/speeches at the Summit and his pictures at different events, the Government also overlooked the need for sharing certain other vital G20 disclosures with the Indian public. 

It, for instance, has not uploaded on its websites its anti-corruption measures disclosed as a 32-page reply to Accountability Report Questionnaire 2014. The questions were put by G20 Anti-corruption Working Group to all G20 members.