India is a country which was or is being exploited by empires from different parts of the world. Be it the Mughals, Portuguese, British or today’s politicians. People have ruled us. We have been slaves to the colonial regime. We still haven’t learnt our lessons today. People across the world say that we are a poor country. A country with 1.2 Billion people and over 40% of them do not have access to basic needs. Why is that we have such a situation today? First of all we have got to realize that we are not a poor country. Our country is very rich. A country rich in diversity, culture, history, heritage, population, minerals and of course wealth.
India has amazing amount of wealth. Corrupt people, institutions are exploiting it or rather not using it in the way it should be used for the development of the country. According to several economists and financial experts, bank deposits in the territory of Switzerland by nationals of India total upwards of $1.4 billion. That is close to the nominal GDP of India today. It kind of gives credence to the widely held belief that $1.456 trillion of Indian money is parked in Swiss bank vaults. This is only in Switzerland. What about the other Tax heavens. We do not have a count of it, neither is the government willing to bring back those money to India because it knows if the details are obtained, then the government would fall the very next day. |
| Padmanabhaswamy temple Trivandrum |
Over Rs 1, 00,000 crore worth of wealth is accumulated in Padmanabhaswamy temple in Trivandrum, unknown amount of wealth in Tirupati temple which is the richest temple in India, Baba Ramdevs trust which has again added over thousands of crores to its kitty. We must also consider amount of unutilized wealth lying in different temples, churches, institutions across the country. All the amounts mentioned above are estimates. Nobody knows the actual figures. To add to this the hard earned tax payers money is also not being properly channelized by the government. We have seen this in 2G mess, CWG mess, space spectrum mess and so many other such misappropriations.
Imagine if all this money was properly utilized by the Indian government. There would be no stopping India. India would be one of the richest countries in the world. Take a look at the situation by yourself.
With the amount of this wealth, our fiscal deficit would be completely wiped off. What it means is that as a country we will be free from all debts and interest payments. The wealth would take care of our country’s, defence budget, railways, social budget such as food including malnutrition, scientific research, electricity, water, fertilizers, agriculture, infrastructure, education and so many others. The cost of oil, LPG would decrease. The rates of Income tax and indirect taxes could also be further reduced.
When the money is added to the kitty of GoI, the spending by the government will increase. This in turn will generate employment opportunities, world class infrastructure, increase the earnings of people, who in turn will spend and lead to growth of GDP. Our GDP will touch double digits without any difficulty. We would emerge as powerhouse in the world. The money is also enough to feed 45 crore poor people in India. The wealth would also enable India to create a strong military base and protect its people from rising threat of its neighbors.
The total amount of this wealth contributes nearly 40-50% of Indias GDP. This means even if we don’t pay tax for next 15 years, Indian government can still run efficiently. Over 15,000 new education institutions can be opened like the IIMs or IITs. There wouldn’t be a requirement to pay electricity bill, India will be financially very strong, 2000 hospitals with all facilities can be made and services can be provided at free of cost. Our GDP growth is now 6.1% as per the latest report and our economy is slowing down. But if the wealth is properly utilized, then our economy will never ever slowdown.
At the same time what I don’t understand is what are individuals who are having lot of money are going to do with it. Or even for the matter Padmanabhaswamy temple/ Tirupati temple will do with so much of wealth. There is no point accumulating such massive wealth and not spending on a noble cause. People, government have to wake up. There is no point locking the gold back in to the vault. Use it. Use it for the welfare of people. Padmanabhaswamy temples wealth if properly used can change the face of Kerala or even southern India.
Should the temple now repay this charity by encashing some of the precious stuff to do something good for society? Or should it hold on to what it has because it's all too ancient and holy to be measured, valued and sold? Consider the second option first: the gold, diamonds and so on that have been discovered will eventually have some number pasted on them, only to be thrown back into the dungeons and locked up for a couple of centuries more.
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