Although we aspire to become a superpower as soon as possible, the country is beset with rampant corruption, financial indiscipline, overpopulation, and a power struggle within political parties, which hinders progress.

India, the largest democracy with a population of nearly 140 crore population lacks in many aspects like housing, electricity supply, drinking water, and unemployment. This year, it is the 75th anniversary of the Indian Constitution, which was enacted in 1950. Till now, the Constitution has been amended 106 times to make amendments to different acts and policies.

Financial indiscipline

The financial indiscipline in the country is proved by the fact that bad debts or Non-Performing Assets (NPA) of public banks worth Rs 16.35 lakh crore were written off in the last decade, as per the reply given by the Union Government in Parliament during the recent budget session. The NPA is a loan or advance where a borrower has defaulted on payments for 90 days or more. Such assets do not generate revenue and can adversely affect the banks’ financial health.

A series of scams

The country has a long history of scams in banking and other sectors. The list of financial frauds includes a Rs 13000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) (unearthed in February 2018) engineered by fugitive Jeweller Nirav Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others. The scam relates to the siphoning of money using fraudulent letters of undertaking issued by the bank.

A Rs 6000 crore fraud (unearthed in 2014-2016) involving business tycoon Vijay Mallya, who allegedly obtained a loan from a consortium of 17 banks, including State Bank of India (SBI) and diverted the funds to offshore/personal accounts, is another irregularity. The SBI consortium, led by SBI, included PNB, Bank of Baroda, and Canara Bank among others. All three scamsters- Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, and Vijay Mallya subsequently fled the country and are yet to be deported to India, although the extradition process is on. These scams expose irregularities in the security transactions of banks and financial companies. They also expose the collusion of certain well-paid bank officials who abetted the crime.

A Rs 30,000 crore 1992 Harshad Mehta securities scam is termed as the biggest financial fraud in India. The stockbroker, late Harshad Shantilal Mehta, was engaged in circular trading, by buying and reselling the shares to a group of investors to raise stock prices artificially. He exploited the loopholes in the banking system, especially the ready forward (RF) deals for government securities. He misused the practice of banks issuing Bank Receipts (BRs) as collateral for short-term loans. He connived with bank officials and obtained fake BRs (not backed by Govt securities). He used them as a paper currency to obtain funds from other banks. The BRs were passed on to other banks, which sanctioned loans. Mehta then diverted the funds so generated into the stock market, causing artificial inflation in stock prices. This caused heavy losses to the banks, and due to this stock market crashed. He was convicted in 04 cases, served 05 years imprisonment, and eventually died due to a heart attack in Thane prison in 2001.

SEBI

To curb investment and such other frauds, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was set up in 1988, much before the Harshad Mehta scam broke out in 1992. SEBI gained a statutory status in the same year, with the enactment of the SEBI Act 1992. The country was experiencing economic liberalisation post-1990. The SEBI Act aimed at protecting the interests of investors and promoting the development of the stock market. Thereafter, the SEBI has been in operation. However, despite the act, investment frauds involving private groups, banks, including cooperative banks, have continued to surface with the collusion of certain bank employees. The people also fall for the false promises of money doubling given by the private parties.

Investment frauds

A Rs. 49,100 crore investment fraud, by the Pearls Agrotech Corporation Limited (PACL), in which nearly 5.50 over people were duped by a Punjab milkman late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo and others, by promising them land at cheaper rates, although they did not own even an inch, has been the biggest fraud which originated from Punjab in 1996 and soon assumed Pan India proportions. Now, the work of auctioning PACL’s properties to refund the investors’ money is being handled by the SEBI.

The Saradha scheme

The Saradha investment fraud broke out in 2013, involving over Rs 2,500 crore collected from nearly 17 lakh investors, promising heavy interest. The investors hailed mainly from North Eastern states, including Odisha, Assam and Tripura.

UCO Bank

In another example of financial irregularity, credit facilities were given to M/s Concast Steel & Power Ltd. (CSPL) by the UCO Bank in Kolkata in West Bengal. The company siphoned off loan funds worth over Rs. 6210.72 crore. Subsequently, UCO Bank CMD Subodh Kumar Goel was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate.

New India Coop Bank

In yet another case, Hitesh Mehta, GM of New India Coop Bank, was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police on charges of embezzling Rs 122 crore from the bank’s funds.

Torres investment fraud

Then there have been frauds like the Torres Investment fraud in Mumbai, in which nearly 3,700 investors were duped to the tune of Rs 57 crore. The scan broke out a few months ago.

Corruption

The deep-rooted corruption has been the biggest impediment. While there is a quid pro quo between politicians and Government officers for awarding public work contracts at inflated rates, there is no accountability for the timely completion of projects. Abundant number of cases of corruption are being handled by the Enforcement Directorate(ED), Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) and other investigating agencies across the country.

Projects

With money changing hands between those awarding the contracts and the beneficiaries, there is heavy cost escalation, and hardly any project is completed on time. Besides, the work is of inferior quality due to a lack of supervision while implementing the projects. In Maharashtra, crores of rupees have been invested in various Irrigation projects ever since the state was formed in 1960. However, no summer passes by without the compulsion to provide water by tankers to certain districts every year. No one can answer why the dams get dried up, and why there is no proper system to harness and conserve the water. Such a situation occurs despite a plenty of water supply schemes announced by the state and central government.

Populist Measures

While financial indiscipline is reflected in Government work during normal times, the economy goes topsy-turvy during elections due to the allurements given to voters to seek their votes. The recent example is that of the "Mukhyamantri - Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana", a scheme launched by the Maharashtra Government to give a financial benefit of Rs.1,500/- per month through direct benefit transfer (DBT), to women in the age group of 21 to 65 years, to improve their health and to strengthen their decisive role in the family. However, it has put a financial burden of nearly Rs 36,000 crore on the state exchequer. Besides, a promise has also been given to increase this amount up to Rs 2100. In that case, the burden is expected to increase up to Rs 55,000 crore.

Besides the ruling “Mahayuti” Government, a three party combine-BJP-Shinde Sena-NCP (Ajit Pawar), announced a stipend for HSC pass students, according to which the students who have passed their 12th class examination will receive a monthly stipend of rupees 6000, the students pursuing the diploma will receive a stipend of rupees 8000, and the students at the graduation level will receive a monthly stipend of rupees 10000. The total cost is around Rs. 24,600 crore.

The state is already reeling under the debt burden of Rs. 8,39,275 lakh crore, and due to various schemes, it is expected to rise to Rs 9.32 lakh crore (18.87 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product of the state. Ironically, all these soaps were announced a little before the Assembly elections held in November 2024. All such soaps are assured in anticipation of votes, in nothing but corruption in the strict sense.

Court Interventions

A lopsided administration and indecision by bureaucracy lead to pending decisions, and in several cases, the court intervention is sought by the affected parties by filing lawsuits. In the last few years, the courts across the country have been overburdened with plenty of litigations, and they have to give decisions even in matters supposed to be handled by the administration/bureaucracy.

Floor crossing

Amid this, a horse-trading by political parties continues. There have been growing attempts to engineer defections among leaders and elected representatives from other parties to strengthen their political party. This is despite the Anti-Defection Law (91st Constitutional Amendment Act (2003) which stipulates that two-thirds of the members of any party can merge with another party by forming a separate group. However, going by the records of the last few years, poaching has been rampant, and the leaders are coerced to switch from one party to another, to prove a majority to cling to power. There have been several attempts to coerce leaders to switch to another party by misusing investigating agencies.

Education

While a power struggle goes on, many other fields, which are supposed to provide basic facilities, remain neglected since the implementation of various schemes is left to the government officers and staff. Although it is claimed by the government that the literacy rate in the country is above 80 per cent, the condition of primary and secondary schools in remote areas is deplorable. There have been 1,10,971 single teacher schools in 2023-24 as per the information tabled in the Parliament. Madhya Pradesh has over 16,000 single-teacher schools, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

NEP 2020

Although the National Education Policy was formulated in 2020, certain states have objected to it since education falls in the concurrent list, under which both the centre and states have equal say.

The literacy rate was around 80.3% among people aged 7 and above in 2022-23. Now the NEP has projected it at 80-85% for 2025. However, if the country has to progress from Kashmir to Kanyakumari on equal lines, then the curricula followed in Kendriya Vidyalayas should be adopted by all schools across the country.

Higher Education

The competition in the field of higher education, which covers engineering, medical, and other streams, the competition is much more intense. Due to a limited number of institutes, students find it difficult to get admission in the desired stream. The competition to seek admission in medical colleges is cut-throat. There are nearly one lakh seats in 706 medical colleges, of which 55 per cent colleges are private, across the country.

The break up of colleges is: Uttar Pradesh-85, Maharashtra-68 (30 Govt, 24 private, 01 AIIMS, 01 Central University, 12 autonomous Universities), Tamil Nadu-64, Karnataka-61, Bihar-19, Odisha- 15, Assam-13, Chhatisgarh, Punjab and Delhi-10 each, Puducherry-09, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand-07 each and Uttarakhand-06. Andaman Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim- one college each. Resultantly, the limited number of seats compels students to migrate to other states.

The strength of students in a moderate-sized college is 200 to 500, while the strength of a larger-sized college is 500 to 800. Out of nearly 24 lakh appearing for NEET, over 11 lakh students pass out every year. Since private medical colleges charge exorbitant fees, the Parliament Sub-Committee of Union Health and Family Welfare, in its 163rd report, has asked private medical colleges to reduce the cost of the 5-year course by half.

According to Dr Pravin Shingare, former Director of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, it is the lack of planning by the government that leads to the shortage of colleges. A medical college can be set up in a budget of Rs 600 crore within 03 years. Considering annual recurring expenses of Rs 150 crore, it is not difficult to set up 2 to 3 medical colleges in every district. Compared to the huge expenditure incurred for public projects, these expenses are negligible.

Health

There are 43000 private and 27000 Govt hospitals, having 20 lakh (12 lakh private and 08 lakh government) beds in the country. As per WHO norms, the beds in the ratio of 1000:03 are desirable. Sas of now, nearly 13.86 lakh doctors in the ratio of 1:811 are working across the country. However, going by the burgeoning population, by 2030, the services of over 21 lakh doctors would be required. The breakup of the doctors registered in some of the states is: Maharashtra-209540, Tamil Nadu-149399, Karnataka-141155, and Rajasthan-49049.

Unemployment

As per the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), India's unemployment rate was 5.1%.In April 2025. The unemployment rate for men was slightly higher at 5.2%, while for women it was 5.0%. A Period Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has also been launched by the ministry, offering real-time insights.

As per the data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Private Limited (CMIE), the labour force fell from 457.7 million in February to 453.5 million in March 2025. However manufacturing sector saw an improvement in growth momentum in April 2025. The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 58.2 in April, from 58.1 in the previous month.

The expansion was broad-based, with the fastest growth seen in consumer goods. New business growth, supported by strong domestic and international demand, remained solid, and export orders grew significantly. Despite a slight increase in input costs, manufacturers passed on higher prices, resulting in the highest inflation in selling charges since October 2013. Employment rose as companies hired people to meet growing demand. Besides purchasing activity saw a significant increase, the CMIE report stated.

Disputes

A host of issues, including caste conflicts, demand for more reservations, disputes over state boundaries, disputes over water sharing, and regional chauvinism, continue to raise their heads time and again. Instead of feeling proud of making progress in work, the people are eager to seek reservations in Govt jobs and college admissions, claiming backwardness. Besides, although 50 per cent is the limit for reservations, the attempts are repeatedly made by the ruling parties to promise more reservations to please the electorate, since more votes mean success in the elections. The underprivileged must benefit from the reservation. But with improved financial prospects, those who availed of the reservation benefits earlier should willingly give up their claim for the reservation. In the recent past, a Supreme Court bench comprising the present Chief Justice B R Gavai had made similar suggestions, placing “Haves” in “Creamy Layer”.

The vexed Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary row also continues to smoulder intermittently. The dispute is over the inclusion of cities like Belgum, Karwar, and Nippani in Karnataka as per the recommendation of the Meherchand Mahajan Commission. Maharashtra is opposed to this, saying that the division should have been based on geographical contiguity and the village as a unit as the norm.

Similarly, the dispute over sharing the water of the river Cauvery also flares up, particularly during times of water scarcity, between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. While the Cauvery basin also includes portions of Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry, the most significant and longstanding conflict is between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. A final award was made in 2007, after the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) was formed in 1990. The Supreme Court had also intervened, issuing orders regarding water allocation and had declared the Cauvery River a national resource.

Chauvinism

Regional disputes accompanied by chauvinism are another issue. Nearly 22 languages are spoken in our academy. However, differences go on. The Hindi language is considered as most commonly understood language, as evident from the popularity of Hindi films and music across the country. However, some of the Southern states are of the opinion that the Hindi language should not be imposed under the three-language formula since it is not a national language.

Spiritualism

India is considered a land of spiritualism and thus has hundreds of deities and festivals associated with them. Most of the festivals are based on seasons, like the spring season, the harvesting season, etc. However, we live with history; as such, there are plenty of festivals. Naturally, a host of holidays are observed during which the offices and establishments are closed and industrial production is down. The list of holidays associated with festivals is much longer compared to the two National Holidays. The strikes, agitations are other issues. No one bothers about how many man-hours are lost due to several holidays..

There is less fear of the law among people, and different ways are worked out to bypass the rules. What the country needs is a set of common rules for the citizens irrespective of caste, community, creed and religion, and they should be strictly followed. The control of the population, which has surpassed even the population of China, is most essential. A characteristic “Unity in Diversity” comes alive only during a war and a cricket match against the traditional enemy, Pakistan.

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