Submission #31

I was told it would take five years for me to get a permanent certificate for my financial services company and until then a temporary certificate would be issued. I bribed Rs. 6,000 and got the registration certificate in three days. My father already had one manufacturing business and intended to open a new business. Since he did not have the time to run around for completing the formalities, we had to hire an accountant and he charged us Rs. 40,000. Like most of the other entrepreneurs, even I had experienced what it really meant to go to bureaucrats and experienced red tape. I had to go various people for ‘n’ number of signatures and stamps. There were so many corrections I had to make in multiple documents to get my company registered. I don’t think there is anything called as – ‘single window clearance’.
My father had to set up a chemical plant and had to wait for a year to get environmental clearances. He also had to pay bribes along the way and despite wait for a year. How do we make in India if we are not allowed to make in India?
There is no clear knowledge about how to start a company. Most of the people are of the opinion that a lot of money is required to start a company. I started my company with Rs. 8,000 out of which Rs. 6,000 was a bribe. Even if people have some really fascinating ideas, they don’t start a company because they think that it will cost them a lot.
The tendering process of the government is flawed and corrupt. It is always given to people who are ‘known’ to the government officials. Once when we managed to get a contract on a fair basis because we really did quote low prices, we were called and blasted by an official. He asked us how we could take up the project when we had no clue about the place where the project was going to start. He finally introduced us to an agent who had taken care of all the previous people who had managed to get the contracts.
This is my experience of Pune, Maharashtra. I have no clue how does it work anywhere else in the country.