Dilip B. Desai

Dilip B. Desai is the Chairman at Baker Tilly DHC, India. He is a Fellow Chartered Accountant, a National Scholar and a Gold Medalist. Mr. Dilip B. Desai has, from time to time, been associated with ICAI as well as various leading chambers, management schools, law schools and universities in various capacities, including Member – Board of Studies, Chairman, Lecturer, Paper Setter and/or Head Examiner. He is currently based in Mumbai and Kolkata.

Bharat’s tryst with destiny began with the historic speech of Mr. Nehru on the eve of our Independence. But even decades after that cherished moment, that “Destiny” only continued to be a dream and did not become a reality.  

Entire perspective changed in 2013-14, when H.E. Hon’ble PM gave call for “Parivartan” and it resonated with the call of the people. It sounded music to them with a hope that a new dawn will usher in bringing change in the system, bureaucracy and life of the populace. It was indeed a dawn of a new era and end of democratic feudalism. H.E. was showered blessings in the form of historical mandate by the Nation. He has all along stood by his words despite all challenges. 

Let us glance at few completely transformational initiatives on the fiscal landscape. Decision by H.E. to bring in GST was an extremely bold and historic step. It helped in digitising the economy and become an enabling factor in bringing more people into the regular economy. For the first time, entire Bharat became a single market place. Insolvency Code was a much needed step for the banking sector to rid it from the malaise it has been riddled with. Gifting practically the lowest corporate tax rate and latest introduction of faceless tax assessment & appeal scheme unveiled are other welcome steps to make our tax system transparent and tax-payer-friendly. 

On national front, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has been the most laudable step. While it will take its own time to bring the desired change at large, nonetheless it is a great and a right beginning. Direct Benefit Transfer is a welcome step in ensuring that benefits reach the right beneficiary and is an important step towards preventing leakage in the distribution channel. ‘Make in India’ is another innovative vision to make Bharat self-dependent. The country would always remain indebted to H.E. if we can achieve the true potential of the Make in India initiative as this one initiative can eradicate unemployment and can pull millions of families out of the trap of poverty. 

At the international level, H.E.’s efforts has been unparalleled in the country’s history. We have seen the impeccable change in the image for our country in the eyes of rest of the world. From a non-descript snake charmer’s nation to a modern intellectual & powerful society, the change is indeed the most welcome change. H.E.’s vision and efforts in the right direction also helped Bharat rise in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking to 63, paving way, amongst others, for more FDI. 

It was indeed a historic moment for the professional fraternity and myself included, when H.E. became the first Prime Minister to have addressed the Chartered Accountants on 01^st July 2017 on the occasion of ICAI Foundation Day. H.E. proposed the big dream of Big-8 professional firms where four firms are from Bharat. As a Chartered Accountant myself, I can clearly see that while the CA Firms do need to walk a number of extra miles, and I am sure, they will, none the less, to enable them to achieve the envisioned scale, a lot needs to be done by the Government and various sector regulators too. This is possible only under the dynamic leadership of H.E.  

Hon’ble Prime Minister’s magic mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’ is an apt statement in summarising H.E.’s vision and efforts for this great Nation and the future it holds for all of us.  

The whole nation joins me in wishing Hon’ble Prime Minister a very happy 70^th Birthday and pray for his long life with years filled with happiness, health and prosperity. We also wish H.E. all the very best for his journey and many more terms at the Centre as Bharat’s de-facto CEO. 

While parting, it is important to mention that the mandate to get Bharat back to its glorious past rests on H.E.’s able shoulders. The country is indeed fortunate to get a leader like him who clearly knows what needs to be done. In terms of universal principle of ‘anekant’, there also exist contrarian school of thoughts. Nonetheless, in view of complete clarity, commitment, passion and perseverance, it is only a matter of time that H.E. will successfully transform our nation as a result of all these & more actions and uplift it to the level it deserves. The current era would definitely go in the ‘memory lanes’ of the history books as the era of transformation of Bharat.