All right, now that we know what is required and how the system will molly coddle you with favourable tax regimens etc. let us look at how to move ahead. Let us start with manufacturing, infrastructure and international trade. First, draw up a super ambitious business plan. Whether it is practical or not is immaterial, it should involve large numbers and massive capital investments in land, plant and machinery. It should also promise job opportunities for a large number of unemployed. The key word is promise, whether we realise, or even intend to realise, the promise or not is not important.
The word here is ‘big ticket’ investment. Now get your political friends to arm twist some banks or financial institutions to extend huge loans to you, ostensibly for economic progress of the nation. Also, see if you can get some state government to lease you a big piece or pieces of land, acquired by the state, not for you, but for its economic development. Get them to build roads and in general develop the area at public cost so that you can contribute in industrializing the state. Now go ahead and buy plant and machinery from third countries at bargain prices, do look at reconditioned or scrapped equipment also.
Ask your cousin in a tax haven type of country to become the supplier for this and other raw material, which should be sold to your brand new company in India at hugely inflated prices. See how beautifully it works. Huge amounts of money have been paid out to shell companies which make massive profits, which can be legally kept out of India. While you are at it give yourself and your wife and children positions of directors with low salaries and more perks. You don’t want to pay taxes on salaries and consultancies do you? Also, don’t forget that low declared personal incomes can be used to project your social sensitivity and responsibility towards the nation.
Let the stupid salaried class pay the taxes, after all you as the promoter have the wherewithal to decide on your own salary and perks. Do it. Buy some swanky office space and a few luxury cars too, so that the loan is well consumed. Meanwhile, get the enterprise going. Your products and services should be targeted at the government as the lead consumer or buyer. Set up things in a manner that your products and services should reach the masses but the expenditure should be from the public exchequer. Things like free utilities, infrastructure, military hardware, insurance, health and education come to mind, but then your imagination can take you in many other directions too. Is the product deleterious to human health, or is the service you sell destroying human society is none of your concern.
Go ahead sell them fast food, untested drugs, overpriced imports or social media services which will destabilize societies and promote hatred. Not your concern. Invest in some good PR and image make-over companies to build a super shiny image for yourself. Of course it need not be the truth. They will give you a brand new personal history bringing out your brilliance from early childhood to how you have worked hard for social causes, poverty alleviation, environment, wild life conservation, protecting our heritage etc. They will build a persona showing you as a caring employer, philanthropist and whatever else are the top selling traits of the times. It is a good investment. Sometime in the future you might also consider buying up a few media houses, or at least get them to do your bidding for advertising revenue, or outright pay outs.
Self-projection and building a Santa Claus like image will serve you well. So now that you have a going company manned by a few qualified men and women and lots of contractual workers, look at listing your company on the stock exchange. Come up with an IPO, where you can manipulate the offer price and escalate the value by pumping in money from your off shore shell investors and few market players who will help you for a price. Some jealous people call it ‘round-tripping of money’ just ignore them, the fact is it is money coming from off-shore investors. Now use the artificially inflated share value to raise new loans from banks and keep playing the game to raise the book value of your assets ~ and your personal worth.
Try to buy up land and natural resources, infrastructure and Public Sector concerns. Create monopolies by buying out, or destroying competitors, Use your personal wealth stashed abroad to buy up high end properties and stake in safe conglomerates. Notice we have not talked about blatantly illegal practices like money laundering, trafficking in drugs and other contraband, fictitious trade or trade in spurious goods and of course the age old smuggling of anything from gold, grains to petroleum. At some point in time consider acquiring a foreign citizenship also. There are several countries which sell their citizenship. So as the real India’s socioeconomic situation worsens keep an escape route open.
Bear in mind that 2.25 lakh High Net worth Indians gave up their Indian nationality in 2022 alone. Obviously they were not idiots, they knew pretty well how the nation was being hollowed out and why it was worth their while to find a safe haven, from where they could continue with their predatory behaviour in India, while enjoying the privileges of an honoured citizen abroad. In fact, if you work with foresight the same tycoons whose hands you shake at elite global forums can also help you get some high sounding national awards, which can establish your credentials in your new country of residence.
The ecosystem is now the same in most countries. The leadership is beholden to their top businessmen, who can easily bend rules to help their friends ~ transactional of course ~ the same ‘give some, take some’ type. Do you feel this scale is too big for you to dream of? No problem, there are many other routes. Look at real estate development, premier league sports, film financing, education, tertiary health care, minerals and many more areas. You can scale down even further and start with some services aggregation, or retail sales Apps.
These Apps will damage the real physical economy, kill jobs, suppress wages and force the working class into inhumane working conditions, the so-called gig economy. This need not bother you ~ go ahead, there is quick money here. Once again, make a super promising business plan and use your political connections to get some big loans. Tie up with PR firms, advertising executives and data thieves to build your real revenue model. There are kick-backs in all transactions, whether you are selling space for advertisers or selling your own advertisements. All transactions can get you money and handled smartly can make your business look lucrative. Keep salting away money as you go ahead.
Two things can happen ~ your business might eventually fail, or you might have actually built something that works. In the first case, just walk away after shutting shop. With the right connections you might not be chased by the lenders. After all, banks know how to get their bad loans written off! You have made money and are now set to start another venture. Don’t worry, the same tricks will work again.
On the other hand if your business is profitable, chose the right time and sell it to the highest bidder. Remember the cardinal rule, there is money to be made in every transaction. Keep doing this till you start knocking at the doors of the elite club we have talked of at length. Greed is the prime mover of modern economies. It is no longer a dirty word and will take you to where you want to be. There is so much calling you out to get rich that if you still don’t take the plunge, you have only yourself to blame. Buckle up, the system beckons.
(The writer is a former Chairman of the Union Public Services Commission)