Private sector multiplies profit while the public sector exploits corruption.
While tremendous strides have been made to bring in transparency and efficiency in the digitized economy of India, a section steeped in corruption ensures that the old inefficient and opaque system continues to prosper . There may be many examples but one each from the private and public sectors should suffice to educate and suggest remedial measures for the benefit of the "common man".
It is a well known fact that manufacture, information dissemination, billing and collection of payment in a vast array of products have promoted greater sales of modern utility goods in the digitized Indian market. My decade old car was up for sale. Examining multiple market friendly ventures to sell used cars, I decided to explore a relatively recent player. The website promised to deliver the following;
While tremendous strides have been made to bring in transparency and efficiency in the digitized economy of India, a section steeped in corruption ensures that the old inefficient and opaque system continues to prosper . There may be many examples but one each from the private and public sectors should suffice to educate and suggest remedial measures for the benefit of the "common man".
It is a well known fact that manufacture, information dissemination, billing and collection of payment in a vast array of products have promoted greater sales of modern utility goods in the digitized Indian market. My decade old car was up for sale. Examining multiple market friendly ventures to sell used cars, I decided to explore a relatively recent player. The website promised to deliver the following;
- Approximate sale price depending on basic parameters of the car
- A free- of- cost 45 minutes inspection of the car including all the documents which are mandatory.
- After the assessment of the expert,uploading the findings of the expert with photographs to the centre which then starts a process of auction among potential bidders.
- In 30 minutes of the above to show me the lowest and highest bids. If the bid is unacceptable no further action needs to be taken.
- In the event the bid is acceptable a 30 minute process of verification of documents and signing a joint agreement commences.
- The above process completes all necessary signature to meet mandatory requirements for resale as stipulated by the RTO.
- The joint agreement then releases the seller from all responsibilities of the car.
- Finally the accepted bid amount is transferred instantly to the bank account of the seller.after deducting the nominal service charges.
Did all this happen? Indeed. In 15 minutes after closing the deal, I had confirmation of receipt of money in the bank. The episode would be incomplete without the last mile connectivity with the RTO. One of the mandatory checks includes a visit to the traffic police site to check on unpaid challans for traffic violations as also accident related data if any. To my surprise there was an unpaid challan for Rs400 for a traffic violation caught on camera in 2017. Since I neither received an e mail or a telephonic message I was completely oblivious to the misdeeds of my driver, I am told that we are required to visit this site from time to time. What if no payment is done? Well, you can't sell your car until it is done. Did anyone among my friends know about this silent camera- captured violation process? Not really. Hence this explanation.
Could I have imagined such a tear less sale of my old car? Not at all. Full use of digital technology and completion of action within hours. All with a smile and a cup of coffee too.
Now coming to the story of how the babu, steeped in procedures functions not only to tire you but to ensure that you follow an opaque system with built in guaranteed harassment.
My driving license was due for renewal. This being a process once in 10 years or 5 depending on ones age, one is not aware of the impact of technology on efficiency of Govt run institutions. Getting a passport for instance has been streamlined through data exchange on internet. And so I visited the portal of RTO Pune. It also led me to a site run by a private operator who claims to deliver the prized document without tears. I opted for the tear less process of merely uploading all necessary papers including photographs. It was named appropriately as itseazy.com
After a few days of exchange of mails, I was asked to pay about six times or more of the official rate for renewal. "Aha," I said, pay more for no tears.
The final communication asked me to proceed to the RTO with my old card and meet their representative at the out gate.The entrance at the RTO was a bit overpowering due to hoards of people at every counter. At the out gate it appeared well nigh impossible to locate my interlocutor. In the event I did not have to. I received a call from a man who said he was watching me while seated on a scooter and he literary guided me to his location. One look at him and I realised that he was an agent who normally swings things in any Govt office. How on earth was he connected to the web portal its eazy.com?
The supreme confidence with which he outlined his plan made me wary of him. He asked me to proceed for a medical examination which was mandatory for license. I objected stating that the web service had not asked me to appear for a medical that too at a location as crowded as this. He was completely at ease with the developing situation and merely stated that he could arrange for a medical certificate if I merely followed his guidance.
I whipped out my cell almost like a cowboy at gun fight and phoned my service provider. The agent grinned and waited for my conversation to end. I was told that it was a minor oversight and that the payment made to them would take care of the rest. I promptly grabbed all my papers from the agent and said that I did not need any license and that too from an agent of the RTO whose role as a" pimp "should have vanished with the transparent internet based digital process. The agent followed me and advised me that at no time did he tell me to pay for the medical and what is more, I did not have to wait for more than 2 minutes to get a certificate. That said he turned around and was back in 30 seconds with a medical certificate pronouncing me fit and signed by a medical officer with a stamp on it.That done he collected my old license and promised me that my new license would arrive by speed post in 72 hours.
It is then that I realized that the old system of the "pimp" has been reincarnated by a private website which gives the necessary confidence to the customer but which is entirely dependent on the good old agent who in turn bribes all those in the pipeline. Now you can compute the profit margin of the website, the cut earned by the agent and the bribe up the chain including the Medical officer who never saw me. It struck me that I could have been blind and yet be cleared to drive.I had electronically transferred Rs 2000 for a job which costs Rs 300.
Now I engaged the agent in conversation on how he functions. He gladly shared his insights and gave me a business card with a caption "Any thing to be done with RTO" Indians are known to be innovative while avoiding taxes and creating channels for bribing. It is a win-win arrangement -unbeatable in concept and meticulous in execution. In parting, he hinted that those who come to him directly would need to pay only Rs 1000.
More recently I gathered that direct contact with the RTO at the crowded counters would have been sufficient if one had the patience. Look how wisely the plan has been hatched. The common man should receive the service at the counter a bit more efficiently without paying a bribe while other middle class and above customers who have internet facility may pay more. Thus my driver renewed his license without any tears,that too-at one sixth the cost!!
The pie'ce de re'sistance was when an affluent friend from Chennai claimed that he was harassed by the RTO of his zone while an adjoining zone was run transparently and efficiently. The modus operandi at the Agent- run RTOs appear to have been standardized at the National level. Money makes the world go round. Try beating the system!
The final communication asked me to proceed to the RTO with my old card and meet their representative at the out gate.The entrance at the RTO was a bit overpowering due to hoards of people at every counter. At the out gate it appeared well nigh impossible to locate my interlocutor. In the event I did not have to. I received a call from a man who said he was watching me while seated on a scooter and he literary guided me to his location. One look at him and I realised that he was an agent who normally swings things in any Govt office. How on earth was he connected to the web portal its eazy.com?
The supreme confidence with which he outlined his plan made me wary of him. He asked me to proceed for a medical examination which was mandatory for license. I objected stating that the web service had not asked me to appear for a medical that too at a location as crowded as this. He was completely at ease with the developing situation and merely stated that he could arrange for a medical certificate if I merely followed his guidance.
I whipped out my cell almost like a cowboy at gun fight and phoned my service provider. The agent grinned and waited for my conversation to end. I was told that it was a minor oversight and that the payment made to them would take care of the rest. I promptly grabbed all my papers from the agent and said that I did not need any license and that too from an agent of the RTO whose role as a" pimp "should have vanished with the transparent internet based digital process. The agent followed me and advised me that at no time did he tell me to pay for the medical and what is more, I did not have to wait for more than 2 minutes to get a certificate. That said he turned around and was back in 30 seconds with a medical certificate pronouncing me fit and signed by a medical officer with a stamp on it.That done he collected my old license and promised me that my new license would arrive by speed post in 72 hours.
It is then that I realized that the old system of the "pimp" has been reincarnated by a private website which gives the necessary confidence to the customer but which is entirely dependent on the good old agent who in turn bribes all those in the pipeline. Now you can compute the profit margin of the website, the cut earned by the agent and the bribe up the chain including the Medical officer who never saw me. It struck me that I could have been blind and yet be cleared to drive.I had electronically transferred Rs 2000 for a job which costs Rs 300.
Now I engaged the agent in conversation on how he functions. He gladly shared his insights and gave me a business card with a caption "Any thing to be done with RTO" Indians are known to be innovative while avoiding taxes and creating channels for bribing. It is a win-win arrangement -unbeatable in concept and meticulous in execution. In parting, he hinted that those who come to him directly would need to pay only Rs 1000.
More recently I gathered that direct contact with the RTO at the crowded counters would have been sufficient if one had the patience. Look how wisely the plan has been hatched. The common man should receive the service at the counter a bit more efficiently without paying a bribe while other middle class and above customers who have internet facility may pay more. Thus my driver renewed his license without any tears,that too-at one sixth the cost!!
The pie'ce de re'sistance was when an affluent friend from Chennai claimed that he was harassed by the RTO of his zone while an adjoining zone was run transparently and efficiently. The modus operandi at the Agent- run RTOs appear to have been standardized at the National level. Money makes the world go round. Try beating the system!
Eerily true of every government permit issuing authority in India that I had to visit to get the all important document. The task only gets more arduous for instance,if one was required to get a permission from the Zilla Parishad or the Registrar’s office,needless to say the facilitation fees, only rise exponentially. With every passing year the mechanics this greasing process have evolved to baffling proportions,it takes some doing to get to know the lay of the land.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right when you say it is well nigh impossible to break this nexus as it seems to always enjoy the patronage of ruling dispensations.
My RTO experience was somewhat akin to yours after I was confronted by the throng trying to get in,I returned home determined not to go through the touts/agents. I summoned all my courage and resolve and returned the next day to barge into the RTO’s office, who happened to be a lady. I told her I am a senior citizen and a veteran and need help to renew my DL. I don’t know whether she too pity on me or genuinely had concern for senior citizenry of the land,a inspector was summoned and I was led to get my work done under the official escort of the establishment.
Clearly this is an one off case of an outlier.
Your experience Sir will resonate with most especially the fauji demographic who are Agent/ tout averse.
I wonder what will the reaction and response of the Mantri be on reading your tale of woe. ( don’t we all know the answer!!!)
I noticed a week prior to my departure to USA for 6 months that my DL, issued in Hyderabad, was expiring in next one month. Since I drive in USA on my Indian DL (permitted in most of the States) I was in panic mode. Contacted WIAA (Wester India Automobile Association ) and their rep acted as guide to go from window to window, including Doctor who only made me read chart for eyesight, and then he advised me to meet RTO for hand delivery insted of postal delivery. When I explained my problem to RTO, he asked me to come after 3.30pm to collect on same day!!! Data was moving digitally. RTO only had to tell printing section to hand over my DL instead of posting. If RTO office has better sinage e.g. airport, the guide of WIAA was not required. Authorities must make the premisis tauts free. Only bonafied users should be allowed to enter.Agents crowd up the premisis and genuine user gets intimidated. Improved instructions display and sinage coupled with removeal of agents should do the trick, provided, ofcourse, will is there.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Swachh Bharat campaign should start from eradicating such corrupt practices from government offices. A visit to RTO & a visit to DGCA may sometimes throw up eerily similar experiences.
ReplyDelete