APRIL 10, 2024

By Vijay Kumar

WHAT do you call a function in which Suman Bery, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman (cabinet rank), Attorney General for India, R.Venkataramani, the world's top lawyer, Harish Salve, Former Parliamentarian, K C Tyagi, the one and only Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Nikhil Kumar, Former Governor, former Ambassadors, serving and retired Secretaries of GOI, CEO, GSTN, Member CBIC, CFO, Google, and many other stalwarts sitting in the audience? Spectacular! And that was our awards function on Saturday 6th April 2024.

On the illustrious evening of April 6th, 2024, the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi witnessed an extraordinary gathering of luminaries from various spheres of influence. From esteemed politicians to renowned scholars, the TIOL Awards ceremony was a convergence of brilliance and reputation.

A highlight of the evening was the rare gathering of Chairmen of four Finance Commissions, a constellation of financial expertise seldom seen together:

Twelfth Finance Commission C. Rangarajan

Thirteenth Finance Commission Dr. Vijay L. Kelkar

Fifteenth Finance Commission N. K. Singh

Sixteenth Finance Commission Arvind Panagariya

In a whirlwind of pomp and splendour, the Awards Ceremony unfolded like a well-rehearsed theatre production. The evening kicked off with a welcome tea, which, rumour has it, was so exclusive that even the tea leaves were feeling privileged. The function began with the National Anthem played, reminding everyone that patriotism can be quite the catchy tune.

The ceremonial lighting of the lamp was a true highlight, illuminating not just the stage but also the hopes and thoughts of the guests.

Dr. Shailendra Kumar's warm welcome speech set the tone for the evening, making even the most reserved guests feel like cherished members of a unified family.

Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, former Supreme Court Judge revealed the mystery behind the selection process, which turned out to be more complex than a spy novel but with less suspense. The virtual addresses by global figures like Dr. C Rangarajan, Prof Lord Nicholas Stern, Mr. Larry H Summers, and Prof Klaus Schwab made the audience wonder if they were at an awards ceremony or a United Nations assembly. A personal text message from the Hon'ble President of Singapore added a contemporary touch, showcasing the modernity of communication even among heads of state.

The arrival of the Chief Guest, Hon'ble Former President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, was met with deep respect and admiration, his composure setting a dignified tone for the proceedings.

The award ceremonies, themselves, were met with heartfelt speeches and gracious acceptance, though some wondered if the winners were rehearsing for an Oscar nomination.

The valedictory address by the Chief Guest wrapped up the evening, leaving everyone pondering the meaning of life, the universe, and why dessert wasn't served first. As the National Anthem reverberated once more, guests were wholly absorbed in the patriotic sentiments it stirred, their devotion to the country steady. The dinner that followed was a culinary delight, proving that even the most serious events can end on a delicious note.

Do you know who owns the Rashtrapati Bhavan?

Hon'ble Ramnath Kovind answered it, while he was the President. He once tweeted -

Hon'ble Kovindjee - you have honoured us with your presence.

The function was a little overcrowded with top class global scholars in Economics.

It is said that an economist is someone who, when he finds something that works in practice, tries to make it work in theory.

You must have heard about the physicist, the architect, and the economist marooned on a desert island with a can of beans. The question was how to open the can. The physicist observed that the can could be placed on the fire. Eventually the heating of the can would create so much pressure that the can would explode and the beans could be retrieved. The architect thought that this would be a rather messy solution to the problem and suggested building a small enclosure around the fire. Then, when the can exploded, the beans would splatter on the walls of the enclosure, from which they could then be scraped. The economist had a better solution. First, he said, "Assume that we have a can opener ..."

Back in the bad old days of the centrally planned economy, people in the Soviet Union had long, long, waits to get all kinds of goods and services. For instance, there was the fellow who went to see the electrician to make arrangements for some repairs to an electrical appliance. The surly electrician pulled out a calendar and said, "I can't schedule you any time soon. In fact, my next open appointment is three years from today." The guy said, "Three years from today, eh? Well, can we make that in the afternoon?" The electrician, somewhat taken aback, said "Yes. But why in the afternoon?" Came the reply, "Well, you see, the plumber is coming in the morning."

Harry Truman is said to have complained that he could never find a one-handed economist. Whenever he would pose a question for an economist, the response would be, "Well, Mr. President, on the one hand ... And then again, on the other hand ..."

The First Law of Economists: For every economist, there exists an equal and opposite economist.

The Second Law of Economists: They're both wrong.

Vajpayee said about JN Dixit, Manmohan Singh's advisor; "a good man, his problem was he used to work hard and worry a lot about the consequences." When reminded about Dixit's predecessor Brajesh Mishra who was also equally hard working; he replied, "Brajesh was hard working but then I had to worry about the consequences."

Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati received the TIOL Kautilya Global Award, 2023. In a poignant speech delivered through his daughter, the professor made us cry and laugh at the same time.

Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati recalls an incident:

In 1992, Dr. Manmohan Singh was in New York having a lunch for some top-level CEOs. When Padma (Mrs Bhagwati) and I entered, Manmohan in his usual charming, exaggerated way said: "These are two professors who wrote a book in 1970 asking for reforms we should have implemented then. If we had listened to them, we wouldn't be having this lunch because you'd already be in India.

And he is equally, if not more, at ease with Prime Minister Modi.

He is the second Gujarati who missed the Nobel Prize after Mahatma Gandhi. The most famous economist in the world to miss the Nobel bus. I am sure he will still get it, if not in economics, surely in literature. It was great to have the Professor, with us - virtually.

Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman was a student of Prof. Bhagwati and so was NK Singh.

Paul Krugman said,

There was a lot of discussion on who in the group was and was not a SoB - Student of Bhagwati. And I am, of course, a SoB.

He had a large if subtle role in keeping protectionism from becoming respectable.

The crucial point for me is that people didn't understand at all clearly how distortions in a trading economy relate to policy before Jagdish spelled it out. Once he did, it became so clear that it was hard to believe that someone had to point it out. In my view, that makes his work Nobel-worthy.

Dr. Vijay Kelkar, Padma Vibhushan awardee, is one who can think far ahead into the future. More than two decades ago he floated the idea of GST.

Addressing the BHU convocation a few years ago Dr. Kelkar said,

The income tax department should get British-style powers to raid a person only when we achieve British-style state capacity and rule of law, with strong protections of private persons.

In India today, we are veering towards "the administrative state", which essentially means the rule by officials who possess arbitrary power, and who creep into legislative and judicial functions. We need to push back against this. Laws must be drafted through negotiation in the legislature, and not by the joint secretary. We need a much better functioning judiciary. And the arbitrary power of officials needs to be replaced by a rule of law system with elaborate checks and balances, which give protections to private persons.

In his 2012 report outlining a roadmap for fiscal consolidation Kelkar suggested:

Therefore, CBEC should also develop a similar model for comprehensive cross-verification of claims for input tax credit. This will significantly improve the economics of non-compliance in favour of the tax administration. Further, this should be implemented immediately and need not wait till the introduction of the GST.

What a privilege it was for our columnist Pritam Mahure to receive the award on behalf of Dr. Kelkar. After the event, Dr. Kelkar messaged,

I and Lata sat through the event. It was a memorable event.

It seems when NK Singh joined the Vajpayee administration as the Secretary in the PMO, he asked Prime Minister Vajpayee what he was supposed to do; "everything", said the Prime Minister. And that is NK Singh for you - the man who was expected to do everything for the Prime Ministers - and he has been doing just that all these years.

In the function, a young boy was eager to be photographed with NK Singh. I took him to NK and told the boy of this incident. NK asked me, "how do you know this?" and recounted the whole incident.

NK Singh always had to face the dilemma of two choices, whether it was to go to his paternal grandfather who was a teacher or his maternal grandfather who was among the richest zamindars of North Bihar, during vacation. As far as he was concerned, the affluence and comforts of spending time with the maternal grandfather were vastly more enjoyable than the paternal grandfather would have liked. Then he got selected for IAS and IFS and had to choose one of them.

As usual, Dr. P. Thiaga Rajan was at his humble best recalling his experiences with the fiscal pundits of the Centre as a finance minister of Tamil Nadu.

Prof. Arvind Panagariya, Chairman of the sixteenth Finance Commission recalled his association with the awardees and mentioned that he was the Jagdish Bhagwati professor in Columbia University and Jagdish Bhagwati himself was also a professor in the same university, causing some confusion.

Hon'ble Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Shri Harivansh Narayan Singh regaled the audience with his chaste Hindi interspersed with erudite English.

Indeed, when the stars aligned on that momentous night, they illuminated not just the Taj Mahal Hotel but also the limitless potential of human endeavour.

Until next week