Crores and crores of rupees are every year spent by PSUs , banks and insurance companies to keep happy their bosses, ministers, top officials of CBI or CVC or babus of government departments from where they expect to get some monetary benefits,bulk deposits for bank, some contractual works at higher rate, some business in one form or the other, or some relief in punishment or total exoneration from charges levelled against them by aggrieved common men or media.
Gone are the days when people at large used to distribute sweets to babus and officials to convey good wishes to their near and dear , either in family or in offices there were associated with to carry on their business with comfort and without any hassle. In modern era , gifts worth lacs of rupees are offered to top officials. Sweets have been replaced by costly jewels , home appliances and landed properties. After all such gifts opens the door of top bosses and paves the way for fixing the rate of bribe for getting approval on desired projects.
Not only common men distribute costly sweets to babus and officials, even babus distribute sweets to their bosses. In the era of reformation sweets are made of silver, gold, diamond or in the form of landed property or giving employment .
Business men are distributing precious gifts aggregating to billion of rupees to bank officials, tax officials, ministers , court officials, inspectors, auditors ,media men and all who serve them someway or the other. CMD or each bank , Branch Manger of each branch, Regional Head or Zonal Head of each Region or Zone spend crores of rupees in distributing gifts worth crores of rupees on ever festival occasion, birthdays, wedding ceremonies, wedding anniversary day, children birth day or an other important day for the person to whom they want to offer gift. They explore various was and means to oblige government officials and ministers to remain in good book of their mentors. Clever officials and clever business houses call a meeting or organise functions to call high profile dignitaries to inaugurate it so that they may get opportunity to understand the character of VIPs. Top officials are obliged by bank officials when they are called to inaugurate opening of any new branch or ATM or start of new scheme.
Loan seekers offer costly gifts to Branch officials and bank bosses to ensure sanction of loan as per their choice or for getting rid of bad loans .Chartered Accountants receive costly gifts from their clients on festive occasions so that their tax files are assessed without any hurdle and tax evasion undertaken by them are not questioned. In turn CAs offer costly gifts to tax officials so that files placed before them are cleared without any objections. Tax officials offer costly gifts to their bosses , ministers and others who give them choice posting and who provide umbrella to them and who allow them to perpetuate their ill-activities. This vicious circle of gifting exists and prospers in each office and each departments.
This is why there is none to stop corporate fraud and even if due to some reason or the other if any episode of corporate fraud comes into picture, files pertaining to fraud and evil activities are ultimately closed. We have seen hundreds of fraud cases involving billion of rupees right from Harshad Mehta scam to Satyam or DLF exposures. We have seen bad lending and rise in bad assets. All these could happen only due to culture of flattery and bribery which starts from offering sweets and gifts on important days.
If a powerful agencies is entrusted the duty of scanning the expenditure account of top banks or corporate houses or business houses or service providers or that of government departments, it will become crystal clear that billions of rupees are lost every year in distribution of gifts . If our Prime Minister get success in stopping this bad culture in true spirit , it will save hundreds and thousands of crore of rupees and it will in turn help in real cleaning of the system and real execution of Swachh India campaign (Clean India campaign ) launched by beloved PM Sri Narendra Modi.
Circulars issued by some departments to stop this gift culture will pave the way of stopping the culture of flattery and bribery at least to some extent. Let us hop for the better days .
PSUs told not to give Diwali gifts this year-Asian Age-13 October 2014
With the finance ministry has asked state-owned banks and insurance companies to desist from doling out Diwali gifts this year. There is a general refrain among the other public sector undertakings (PSUs) from distributing such pleasantries this festival season.
It is learnt that following an informal directive from the PMO to the ministries having PSUs under their administrative control to advise their commercial arms to desist from doling out gifts this Diwali, office of the coal, power and renewable energy minister, Piyush Goyal, has issued direction that they should "not publish diaries and calendars" and not to give "mementoes".
Quoting from an old order from the Central Vigilance Commission, a senior functionary of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation said: "They have already been refraining from giving gifts during festive season for last couple of years."
Sources in the oil PSUs, though refused to confirm about any directive from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, told this newspaper that they are not going to distribute gifts to either ministry officials or business partners.
A senior official in Gas Authority of India Ltd (Gail) said: "We have not received any direction from the ministry, but still we have not budgeted anything for buying gifts this Diwali".
Similarly, even the steel PSUs too have decided not to distribute gift this year, as a senior official said, "We have no direction this regard, but due to finance and power ministries’ clear direction, we are also treading a cautious path and so far the companies have not planned anything this regard."
Meanwhile, sources said, the finance ministry’s advisory on Diwali gifts has come in the backdrop of austerity being observed by the new government. It had been a usual practice for PSUs to give expensive gifts during the festive season as part of the their public relations exercise.
http://www.asianage.com/india/psus-told-not-give-diwali-gifts-year-338
FinMin asks PSU banks, insurers not to give gifts to officials-21.09.2014
New Delhi: There will be no Diwali gifts for officials as the Finance Ministry has advised public sector banks and insurance companies to refrain from doling out freebies. "We have issued an advisory to heads of the banks and similar advisory has been issued to insurance companies as well," sources said. The advisory comes in the backdrop of austerity being observed by the new government.
It had been a usual practice for PSU banks and insurance companies to give expensive gifts during the festive season to officials as part of the their PR exercise. According to a senior state-owned bank official: "giving gift is a normal practice. It is not only given by us but corporates in a big way." "This is kind of informal dividend given to our owner during the festive season," the official added. Taking exception to such practices, the Modi government is reportedly against freebies. It is also rumoured that a minister was pulled up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for distributing gifts. -
See more at: http://www.eni.network24.co/biz-news/finmin-asks-psu-banks-insurers-not-to-give-gifts-to-officials-19687_12#sthash.JAFJFgM9.dpuf
Golden Diwali for corporates-Times of India 16.10.2014
If you are lucky, your employer could gift you a gold coin, or a heavy Kanjeevaram silk saree for Diwali this year.
With the economy reviving, albeit marginally , corporates are going all out to please their employees with expensive gifts.
While the concept of gifting sweets for the festival season has been around for decades, gifts are now getting quirkier, bigger and more expensive. Companies are moving away from the cliched diaries, stationery and home and kitchen utilities, and are coming out with more expensive, innovative gifts.
Companies are shelling out as much as '20,000 for gifts for important business associates this Diwali. Even at the second rung, the average gifting budget has also risen to a minimum of '1,000 as against '350 or '500 a year or two ago.
"Over the years, we see that budgets are getting bigger. Gifting is becoming a craze and is one of the major segments of purchase," says K Sivakumar, managing director of the 100-yearold sari retailer RmKV. This year, the company sold silk saris in bulk, each worth about '5,000. " A silk sari is a handy gift for smaller companies and, for those who want things easier, we also give gift vouchers. These are becoming popular and we have requests for gift vouchers worth '20,000 this festive season," he says.
The penetration of internet and popularity of online shopping has made gifting easier, companies say. That they all give discounts for bulk orders, and value-added services like gift wrapping, is an added incentive.
For gifting amongst family, people are spending as much as '75,000, ordering saris and gold and diamond jewellery. "The average value of a gift for a daughter from a father is about '50,000 and from a son to his mother is about '50,000. We have shipped about 350 items in the last month," says V Thiyagarajan, director of ZaAmor, an online jewellery retailer. The company has also shipped 300 gold coins for a corporate house, he says.
"We got an order last week for 5kg of silver, and we thought it was a mistake. Later, we found that it was a small-time professional who wanted to gift 10g silver coins to his employees. We are seeing such bulk orders for bullion this year," says Sachin Kothari, director of gold and silver bullion trader BullionIndia. The company received orders for fewer number of pieces, but of greater value, like a 20g gold coin, he says.
People are also spending on other things like personalised wrappers and ribbons. "In addition to ordering premium gifts like Belgian chocolates, watches or marzipan specially made by boutique shops, people are spending on customised and personalised gift wrapping and ribbons. We have experts on the site who help customise the gifts, adding oneliners etc," says Ashish Chandani, COO of giftease.com, a gifting portal.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Golden-Diwali-for-corporates/articleshow/44831897.cms
Editorial: Giving To Receive?-Financial Express-16.10.2014
Is it a bribe or just tradition? The Narendra Modi government certainly frowns on it. The finance ministry has sent out a circular asking state-owned banks and insurance companies to desist from doling out Diwali gifts this year. This was in response to an informal directive from the PMO to ministries which have PSUs under their administrative control to advise their commercial arms not to send out gifts this Diwali. It had been a usual practice for PSUs to give expensive gifts during the festive season as part of their public relations exercise, but now, there is uncertainty over whether it is an austerity measure or an attempt to curb what could be viewed as inducement.
There are two sides to the story of Diwali gift-giving. Earlier, it used to be a box of sweets and dry fruits and diyas. Reliance took it to another level when, under Dhirubhai Ambani back in the 1980s, it started sending out luxury suit lengths. That opened the floodgates and, since then, Diwali gifts have become hugely expensive, from high-end watches and expensive liquor to pen sets that cost thousands, and, of course, the ubiquitous hampers full of imported goodies, including champagne. It created a brand new industry. In the last few years, gadgets have become desirable, so cellphones, laptops and tablets took pride of place. Of late, bureaucrats have started hinting at a wishlist—this year, to no one’s surprise, its the iPhone 6. There is also the other side, that its a traditional thing, a popular branding and PR exercise by most companies, without really expecting a quid pro quo. Even the media gets similar gifts and there is generally no payback expected. It is the gifts that arrive outside the festive season that give cause for suspicion.
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