Why Aditya Puri thinks we are in 'cloud-cuckoo land'

By R Jagannathan

For every businessman who has begun singing hosannas to the government for displaying two days of true grit and announcing “politically difficult” reforms (FDI in retail, et al), there’s one voice of sanity telling us not to go overboard.

Aditya Puri, CEO and Managing Director of India’s most successful private sector bank, HDFC Bank, will have none of this. In an interview to The Economic Times, Puri believes that the Reforms of Big Bang Friday should be spelt with a small ‘r’. “FDI in retail…is not the big bang reform. If you tell me that one Wal-Mart coming into India will solve your agriculture problems and issues about cold chain, production, irrigation and distribution, then you must be living in cloud-cuckoo land.”

[caption id=“attachment_458743” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Aditya Puri says the India story is not over, and there is a lot of foreign investor money waiting to come in if we get our policies right, but if we don’t, we are headed for Greece.[/caption]

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According to Puri, the issues to fix are the big ones: the fiscal deficit, the coal blocks mess, and the introduction of “transparent and clear policies on land acquisition, mining rights and other environmental issues”, bringing accountability to government and the public sector.

Puri says the India story is not over, and there is a lot of foreign investor money waiting to come in if we get our policies right, but if we don’t, we are headed for Greece. He said: “If you continue living like this, we will have problems like Greece…If you carry on like this, you are headed towards disaster.”

The HDFC Bank chief is also clear that we have to finish off corruption. He disagrees with the view that government decision-making has been slowed down by the excessive public and media focus on corruption, and says it is not crime to demand accountability from public servants.

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“Who says that’s happening (i.e. slowdown in decisions)? If that’s the case, then I will shut the bank tomorrow. There is no difference between a bank and a country. The rules are in place. Tomorrow, if I take money out, do you think nobody will know? Everyday we sanction loans as per procedure and if you are following the procedure, there is nothing to fear. There is a system for everything. If there are exceptions, then you approve it by the inter-ministerial group. Whoever approves has to be accountable for the decision.”

Here’s once bank chief willing to say it like it is. Government and public sector has to be accountable. Corruption is a problem, not a solution. Reforms by themselves will not take us anywhere when the government is living beyond its means and steeped in controversies.

Hear, hear.

Read the complete interview here.