Rai - Not Just an Accountant: The Diary of the Nations Conscience Keeper

NOT JUST AN ACCOUNTANT

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Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd 2014

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Copyright Vinod Rai 2014

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The views and opinions expressed in this book are the authors own and the facts are as reported by him/her which have been verified to the extent possible, and the publishers are not in any way liable for the same.

eISBN: 9788129134509

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I dedicate this endeavour to my parentsto my mother for giving us roots to keep us firmly grounded, and to my dad for teaching us how to fly.

Our education was her only worldly wealth, and he was my first and only hero.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

When I received Not Just an Accountant from Vinod Rai, I wondered what I could share with readers. On going through the manuscriptwhich deals with vital issues like transparency, accountability and ethicsI was convinced that our youth had to be sensitized about these principles, and the unique quality of righteousnessrighteousness in the heart. For, as I have often said, where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in character.

Righteousness can be injected by only three great people up to the age of seventeena father and a mother in a spiritual environment, and a good primary school teacher. Can governments and institutions create good human beings? The answer I arrive at is: no, not at all. The process has to start in homes and schools.

I find that in countries across the globe a new paradigm is emergingthat of transparency in functioning, not only within the government but also in private institutions and civil society, with morality and righteousness being fundamental principles. Not Just an Accountant draws attention to these principles and emphasizes the importance of ethical governance in our country. This has to be the long-term goal of all nations.

My conviction is that to weave the moral fabric of society, we need to target energetic youth in the country. Democracy is a great gift to the people of India. Our thoughts and actions should ensure that we use our most creative efforts and dynamism to promote rapid economic growth. Vinod Rai has discussed such essential issues of governance which will make our economic growth sustainable in the long term.

Let us work to make India a great nation, with righteousness in the heart and the pursuit of excellence in our endeavours.

Dr A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM
Former President of India
August 2014

PREFACE

Benjamin Franklin once said, If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

I do not think I have done anything worthwhile for others to write. So the next best option was that I consider penning my thoughts and experiences, which may be worthwhile for some to read. The decision was taken for no other reason but for posterity to know something about the accountability of the government towards its people. There was a moment of hesitation though, when it struck me that my words would attract the usual vituperative utterances from those who have the irresistible urge to be in media light. But then I found that Benjamin Franklin had also said, Anyone can criticize, condemn and complainand most fools do.

It was then that I decided to persevere, regardless of the opportunity being provided to such people. In pursuit of that decision of mine, I am going to narrate to you a storythe story of my life, a story of how events and people touched me in myriad, simple ways, releasing immense energies and inspiration which I did not know existed in me. I hope my thoughts will resonate with the people who read this book and wonder what holds them back from doing only that muchnot too muchonly that much which society expects of them. It is not a tall order. Each one of us has it in him or her to do it. Maybe your time to seize this opportunity is yet to come. I am writing this for thousands of young men and women who see it all happen; have the resolve and inspiration to meet the challenge, but may not rise to the occasion when the opportunity arises and so, sadly, may see it pass. I would, therefore, alert them to keep their radar fully functional because there is no advance warning. Life gives only one chancedont fritter it away.

Hence, I present to you this book. It is not about creating a sensation or revealing mysteries. It is not about running down anyone or deriding the administration. It is not about finding fault and paraphrasing audit reports of the comptroller and auditor general (CAG).

This is a book about accountability. It is about transparency. It is about that vital quality in society of which we seem to have created a huge deficit. It is about ethics. It is about how a nationwhich prides itself on the greatness of Ashoka, the nobility of Akbar, the compassion of Buddha and the courage of Gandhiseems to have lost its moorings. It is about how we are now mired in a whirlpool of decadence and malevolence in society, opacity in administration and, above all, a total lack of leadership in the higher echelons. The book is about how we have renounced excellence and settled for mediocrity as our guiding beacon. The book seeks to reinvigorate among us, especially GenNext, the spirit and quality for striving for the very best in every pursuit of life. It seeks to delve deep into the conscience of the reader, provoking him into seeking a higher order of accountability from institutions, so that the vision of the framers of the Constitution is fulfilled. It is all about our responsibility to bequeath a system to the coming generation which not only strives for excellence but is also built on an edifice of probity, transparency and accountability.

We are a proud nation with an ambition to see the country become a superpower in all sphereseconomic, scientific, military, sportsand we wish to assume leadership in international affairs. In an endeavour to look at some of these areas, I have drawn on five case studies based on the audits done by the officers of the Indian audit and accounts department. I have relied on them as no study of the financial dealings of the state can be more authentic than a scrutiny of these reports. The facts in the audit reports are unimpeachable. The methodology is transparent, and the inferences unassailable. We may certainly differ on the conclusions derived from these inferences, but that is a matter of perspective.

I have no regrets whatsoever about the reports put out by the department. We do not have to be contrite about anything that was stated in them. In fact, I am proud of having had an opportunity to be part of a professionally sound and totally apolitical teama team which has commanded respect and approbation all over the globe, a team with impeccable professional credentials, whose findings resonate well with objective commentators in the country.

Audits were done by specialists in different areas of administration. Their product, a labour of untiring effort, is there for all to see. In any other dispensation, these professionals would have been applauded. In ours, they have been called untrained. They deserve better. Maybe they had to pay for the direction and guidance provided to them by me. But I take solace from the thought that they are trained auditors and their audit capabilities have been honed to such perfection that no criticism or pressure from whatever source will detract them from the assigned task.