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