To run a government, three components play the significant role. First is the government machinery, second an ecosystem and third is of “policy makers.” All these three operate in a “jumbled pattern.” Apparently, what seems is otherwise not a reality, it’s the main point. This jumble pattern is so complicatedly woven like a labyrinth. Common people hardly can have some inkling of its working mechanism. The policy made by a government sometimes works so efficiently, even the succeeding government too adopt that cleverly by giving it a new name. No doubt, with slight differences. But no major changes are adopted, it’s like “an old wine in a new bottle.”
The flaring issue
Just to elaborate this to you. One example of this mechanism, I cite you here as an entire series of this working system. Once, in a dialogues with some friends and acquaintances at some tea corner, a gentleman raised an important point. The problem was issue oriented. The gentleman intelligentsia raised the issue in a simple questionnaire. He pointed, “Every year in the government food grains’ warehouses, thousands of tonnage of grains go as waste material. This all happen in want of proper storing facilities. We often go though the pics in news papers and on news channels about all this.
There in news, we find huge piles of grains spreads under the open sky being soiled by the heavy rains. Even such piles are not covered by the rain sheets. It seems all the warehouses either run by Central government or other Provincial governments are infested with the same ill carelessness. If government is unable to maintain its go down, how can it manage to provide the proper cost value to the farmers?” The question was logical. All people present there assented to the point.
Answer in a riddle
The same impression may emerge up in the mind of every person, hearing the problem. But the answer to this malfunctioning of the warehouses is wrapped in a labyrinth. It’s like a riddle. The Nation like India, who ranks in top five Nations in production of surplus grains in the World, why is so careless on this front. Not only this, this Nation provides a huge quantity of grains to its citizens on a heavy subsidized prices. Then, why she is careless about the proper preservation of food grains. It seems like a catastrophe in a Nation where a big population is to be fed by the government.
Here comes the point of complexity of the government concerned! How it operates? The operation of policy about which common people can’t apply their mind. Rather they don’t try to unravel the operational complexity. The fact is, government has adopted a policy. In this policy, it’s presumed that in loading and unloading of food grains in a warehouse, a loss of grains occurs. Since grains are packed in shape of sacks. This “loss of grains” is supposed about 10% of the total quantity or of total weight of grains. This “loss” government registers under the head of “dregs.” This dregs is collected by the food storing authority and sold at a very low cost. The cost of the dregs is so low that it hardly comes to the 5-10% of the original value of the grains.
Apparent corruptible nexus
The government run system, intentionally increases this wastage. No doubt, the corruptible nexus of politicians, officers and food grains’ Mafia play a big role in this dubious game. Out of this gleaned food grains, some good quality culled grains again comes into the open market. That is sold on the the market price. But as per the policy of the government, the major chunk of this so called “loss of waste grains” is sold to the “alcohol distilleries.’ This chunk is sold to “distilleries” to produce the brew.
Now putting aside the question of corruptible practice of nexus and other things, we come back to the issue of “failure of government.’ The question was in regard to maintenance of “food grains’ storing.” Just ponder over it! Can the failure of “storing of food grains” be easily digested as the “failure of mechanism” of the government? The government, who ably constructing the high tech big dams, high ways, bridges, even launching the complicated space mission and all this and that. Can the same government is supposed to have got no facility to erect simple food grains’storing warehouses? And this is when it requires a meager amount of budget to construct the simple warehouses!
Mysterious process of generation of revenue
The answer to the query is, “YES” government can construct. But why she doesn’t do that? The answer to the query contains various facets. The main facet is of government’s “finance generating scheme.” In our this big country with a huge population of about 1.5 billion people, out of them, only 3-4% pay the income tax. And a considerable numbers of these Income tax payees are of those, who are in government job. This category is under coercion of being in the radar of the government, is bound to pay the tax. Now, this tax payee group often raises a question, ” why the portion of our hard earned money is being wasted on the subsidized schemes of the government?”
Their objection too is sustainable. But whether these people are aware of the real fact. The amount they pay is so minimal. Further that amount is not sufficient to meet the expenditures, spent upon the all government run welfare schemes. By collecting some tax from a singular head and that too insufficient in quantity, can’t be helpful to the coffer. It needs a huge amount of money to run the “welfare schemes” of the government. The answer to the objection is a big “NO.”
The question is, how a government generates a fiscal revenue to run all these schemes? Other sources are there. One is, “Sales tax.” This sector is a new nomenclature now as GST or Goods and Service tax. Under this wing, whatever goods we buy or services we enjoy, we indirectly pay some amount to the government as a tax. Of course, this payment of tax is not perceptible.
The unraveling of the labyrinth –
The unraveling of the labyrinth, directly links to the issue of “failure of government” in not properly entertaining the warehouses of food grains, is not true. People are not properly acquainted with the great truth. The government, in reverse mechanism, even successfully collects the huge tax indirectly from the poor man, for whom it runs all the welfare schemes and other subsidized plans.
Being a “Welfare State,” government runs various schemes. These are for example, old age pensions, subsidized distribution of ration, construction of free homes for poor, free toilet construction etc. From where the money needed for all these various schemes is to be arranged? To find the answer, you simply need to peep into the budget index of the Government concerned. This index clearly indicates, the major chunk of fiscal revenue is generated by the “excise duty.” Although , under the head of “excise duty” so many segments are covered. But the main source to generate the fiscal revenue is ” breweries’ industry.” This industry produces the “hard drinks” that helps to generate the big amount of “fiscal revenue.”
The real game of tax
These “distilleries” are operated through the licence to produce the ‘liquor’ under the strict control of the government. They are bound to sell its “every drop” under the keen supervision of the government. This mechanism of supervision, is under the control and observation of the officials of “excise department” of the government. Here comes the ‘game of the government.’ This alcohol produced by distillery is sold on the government authorized ‘outlets.’
Of these ‘outlets,’ firstly government makes allotment through the ‘bidding and auction” procedure. To procure the licence for the outlet, government charges the ‘high licence fee.’ This high licence fee is simply for the allotment of a “point,” where the licence holder can run his outlet at a given locality, on his own cost. Then, this licence holder is bound to purchase a daily quota of ‘hard liquor’ from the distillery. Upon this quota, which he no doubt buys at a soothing price, he again is bound to pay the excise duty. This excise duty is normally 300% to 600% . If the price of bottle purchased from the brewer is rupee twenty, after payment of excise duty it costs to him at a minimal rupee 80 to 160.
With this, other expenditure to run the business, licence holder also bears. This is in shape of auction money, staff and rent of the shop as a place of ‘on counter sale.’ Eventually, this bottle he sells on counter about rupee 300. The “eye opener” facet of the game begins from here. To produce the ‘brew’, food grains needed. Government provides that at a down cost, in the name of dregs, to the distillery. If one Kg of food grain that bears an actual price of rupee 20 per kg, is sold at the rate of rupee two only as a dregs, is enough to produce five bottle of ‘liquor.’ These five bottle collect an excise duty to the government, round about of rupees 400 – 800.
Simple game!
The Government on purpose was wasting its grains. Another hilarious side of the game is, the man who consumes this “country made liquor,’ is the same poor man. He happily buys that to entertain himself. Not only this, he applauds government to provide him subsidizes ration, free toilets, free homes, pensions etc. He is not aware that whatever he has been given by the government, is extracted from his own pocket. Here comes the answer to the main question! Why government is not inclined to maintain the wastage of food grains. This is a ” mysterious policy,” which every succeeding government runs fervently and furtively. Penned by — Vinay Pharasi …..
