Rs. 5 lakhs might not get you too many things these days. Maybe a small car.
But that's not the significance I attach to this figure.
To me the fact that 54 Indian citizens have put their hard earned money (they will receive no tax breaks for their contribution) represents an act of ACTIVE resistance to India's misgovernance.
I've helped raise money for good causes earlier. Nearly Rs.9 lakhs to support Swatantra Bharat Party in 2004. Indeed, FTI itself has raised funds for numerous outreach and other events. The total amount spent by FTI members to date prior to the policy competition on FTI-related efforts could be well over Rs.10 lakhs (particularly if one adds international travel by participants specifically to attend FTI conference/s).
But this Rs.5 lakhs is different. This is different because 40 per cent of it has come from non-FTI members, and also, it represents a dead-serious “boring” activity – of drafting good policies for India.
Never before attempted in India, this is the first time policies will be filtered through 10 questions. Only those that survive these 10 questions will be considered by FTI.
To me this is an important event in India's history because it is for the first time that India has asserted that it WANTS good policies. And that it is willing to pay for it.
I'm very proud of this Rs.5 lakhs. This tiny amount, to me, represents more value than 10000s of crores of rupees squandered by stupid Indian governments in the past.
I myself used to run the rural development directorate in Assam with a budget of over Rs.100 crores (in 1992 – worth over Rs. 500 crores today). My budget even in my fourth year in IAS was over Rs.5 crores. Spending 5 lakhs was very easy. Very trivial.
But THIS 5 lakhs is DIFFERENT. This 5 lakhs will make a new India.
While the money I spent was basically a drain, waste, being based on VERY BAD SOCIALIST ideas, this 5 lakhs will identify ideas that can work. Will work.
This 5 lakhs will also help radiate FTI's message across India. It will be for the first time that thousands of people will hear about FTI, will read about its vision, and will systematically write policies consistent with liberty. This has never happened in India before. Even once.
For the first time since Chanakya wrote his Arthashastra India will see good policies.
Please register for the competition here.
And join me in thanking and commending the following donors.
Atul Agarwal
50000
FTI member
Lalatendu Dash
30000
FTI member
Mir Murtuza Ali
30000
FTI member
Sanjay Mehrotra
30000
FTI member
Gurcharan Das
25000
FTI Speakers Panelist
Harsh Vora
25000
FTI member
Nikhil Prasad Ojha
25000
FTI member
Ramesh Ramanathan
25000
FTI Speakers Panelist
Prem Sagar
20000
FTI member
Sachin Kundu
20000
FTI member
Anoop Gundlapalli
15000
Supporter (through Vikram Balan)
Shruti George
12000
Supporter (through Vikram Balan)
Anil Bajaj
10000
Supporter (through Anil Sharma)
Anuj Gupta
10000
Freedom Partner
Ashok Sagar
10000
FTI member
Mohit Satyanand
10000
FTI Speakers Panelist
Musthafa Valappil
10000
FTI member
Raj Redij-Gill
10000
Supporter (through Vikram Balan)
Vikram Balan
10000
FTI member
Sandeep Vittalreddygari
8000
Supporter (through Vikram Balan)
Prakash Chandrashekar
6000
Supporter
