At the outset let me disclose that this Post has been provoked by
- Vodaphone….Our Government giving a Clarification with retrospective effect ,effectively overturning the Supreme Court order that agreed with Vodaphone not being subject to Billion of Dollars of tax in India and
- Ratan Tata…..he expressed his frustration that India is headed towards becoming a Banana Republic
…..but neither has sponsored it !
Take it as a Sunday Chuckle or Trivialisation…..
India is the Biggest Banana Republic…Literally…Take a Look at the Stats below
Top Ten Countries in Banana Production sourced from www.nationmaster.com
| Rank | Countries | Annual Production in metric tonnes |
| # 1 | India | 11,000,000 |
| # 2 | Brazil | 6,339,350 |
| # 3 | Ecuador | 5,000,000 |
| # 4 | China | 4,812,530 |
| # 5 | Philippines | 3,560,800 |
| # 6 | Indonesia | 3,165,730 |
| # 7 | Costa Rica | 2,101,450 |
| # 8 | Mexico | 1,802,280 |
| # 9 | Thailand | 1,720,000 |
| # 10 | Colombia | 1,570,000 |
Ofcourse what Ratan Tata meant was in a totally different context….of Economic & Moral Depravity… how India is shaping up disastrously in the way it is being governed and the way business is being run…. the increasing Income Inequalities and Disparities and Inadequate Distribution that concentrated maximum Wealth in minimum hands….the unprecedented and shameless scale of corruption…the dominant vested interests and powerful forces…the collapse of business ethics and moral fibre in those who govern and those who do business…the unholy nexus between the two…policy paralysis…increasing level of relative poverty….increasing anti business stance of the government that’s killing entrepreneurship and business…..trust deficit as government changes policies ,tax structures and laws at it’s whims and fancies to suit vested interests and coalition partners and that too with retrospective effect of years…how can Business plan forward ?
Atleast,Mr Tata,there are enough Bananas to go around ! ….A Banana Hit Song of Yesteryears comes to mind…. Let’s sing together that popular Jamaican Folk Song ” The Banana Boat Song” …the 1956 version by Harry Belafonte while our Country continues to slip on banana peels !…unless ofcourse you fear we may be taxed with retrospective effect for our performance !
Cheers !