From the Editor : Anil Tyagi

Jiss ka Raja vyapari, usskiPrajabhikari—it’s an old Indian saying. This is valid even now though monarchies have been replaced by democracies. There are no kings, emperors and aristocracy today; their places have been taken over by Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers, MPs, MLAs, corporators and sarpanchs. The former Prime Minister of India, Chandrashekhar, used to say, “Politicians should not have any businesses and businessmen should not have any political affiliations, both can’t go together.”

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Corruption : FROM RAJ TO RAFALE 9 Predators on the Prowl

It started with a seemingly inconsequential policy to woo NRIs. In the 1982 Budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee allowed Indians settled abroad to buy shares in Indian companies. The idea was to replicate the Chinese investment model, which hoped to attract huge inflows from the non-resident Chinese. What Mukherjee never anticipated, or may be the decision was designed to achieve this objective, it led to hostile takeovers and corporate wars that dragged in the government, including the prime minister, financial sector, including the Reserve Bank of India, and most of the business community.

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COVER STORY : Political Catastrophe

India’s overall economic growth over the past three-four decades has had a negative side effect. As the country became a two trillion economy, the overall wealth grew. But it grew in a skewed manner, inflating inequalities—the rich became richer and the poor, poorer. The wealth got concentrated in the hands of few people, who could use it in different ways, including entry into politics. No wonder then, politics soon became business, resulting in exploitation and manipulation of the political system. The elections in the country, including the one currently on for the Lok Sabha, sees a large number of such candidates who have played the system to their advantage, even resorting to criminal means. These politico-businesses thrive at the expense of the common citizen of the country and this trend portends much disastrous future. Alam Srinivas analyses.

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COVER STORY : Will there be a Parliament for the People?

The crawling process to elect the 17^th Lok Sabha is nearing completion. Political parties are working overtime to capture power and manage India’s democracy and all that it entails. Ironically, since India became a democratic Republic it is these political parties that have diminished democracy, abandoned liberty, inclusiveness and justice, encouraged polarisation, promoted crony capitalism and pursued predatory policies and projects that has made India among the most unhappy and inequitable countries in the world.

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SCAM : Jignesh ‘Unfit and Improper’

On June 8, 2018, a National Company Law Tribunal division bench declared Jignesh Shah, chairman emeritus and mentor of 63 Moons, and nine other persons not fit to be directors, or hold any other office connected with the management of 63 Moons and its subsidiary National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL). It is reported that 63 Moons held 99.99% of NSEL’s equity.

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