Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday said that the country has transitioned from its ‘tryst with destiny’ to embracing ‘tryst with modernity’ following the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Speaking at the 51st National Convention of Company Secretaries under the theme “India@G-20: Empowering sustainable future through governance & technology,” the Vice President noted, “India has come a long way from ‘Tryst with destiny’ and affirmative government policies have led to transparency, accountability, and efficient governance becoming the new norm.”

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GST, known as the Goods and Services Tax is an indirect tax that has replaced many indirect taxes.
GST is a single domestic indirect tax law for the entire country, levied on the supply of goods and services. It was passed in the Parliament on March 29, 2017 as the 101st amendment of the 101st Constitutional amendment and came into effect on July 1, 2017.
Dhankhar further said that less government and more governance have catalyzed the country’s growth trajectory, which has now become exponential.
“Our Amrit Kaal, on account of the vision, passion, and mission of our Prime Minister has become our Gaurav Kaal,” he added.

Dhankhar also emphasized the need for Company Secretaries to detach from management objectives and focus on statutory compliance.
Drawing attention to the potential consequences of even a slight deviation, he cautioned, “If you slightly bend, the bending will never stop.”
He also encouraged upholding the highest standards of professionalism and the Rule of Law to drive the nation forward.

Reflecting on the evolution of the role of Company Secretaries from “mere record-keepers” to “custodians of corporate governance”, the Vice-President said that they have now transformed into key pillars of governance and compliance within organizations, upholding the principles of transparency, ethics and accountability in corporate India.
As per an official release from the Vice President Secretariat, expressing happiness over the journey traversed by India from being in the “Fragile-Five” economies just a decade ago, to becoming the world’s fifth largest economy, the Vice President asserted that India is on the way of becoming the third largest economy by 2030.

“Bharat is on the rise and this rise is unstoppable,” he added.
Talking about the corporate social responsibility fund’s utilization and channelization in the national interest, the Vice-President underlined the need for a development mechanism that makes it “absolutely accountable, directional, and totally neutralized of patronage and favouritism”.

Citing ‘Adversarial relationship’ as an impediment to the growth of trade and businesses, the Vice-President called for the development of ‘Amicable Dispute Resolution’ for the swift resolution of problems as an alternative to the existing ‘Alternative Dispute Redressal’ mechanism.