India has always been in philosophical dilemma to be a Socialist or a Capitalist. But alas! In democracies such choices do not really exist.Infact, India has been accelerating both Socialist and capitalist mindset at the same time. On One hand, India has tried to simplify many laws in field of taxation, labour and land acquisition to generate a capitalist economy and on the other hand , it has taken a socialist outlook when it comes to doling out freebies. Free bus rides, cycles , laptop, mangalsutra etc are all now part of India’s socialist culture of providing everyone according to their need. It is a matter of debate and history is testament to this fact that this debate never ends conclusively. But all of this is possible only because India has fortunately enough motivated people who toil hard every day to have a better life.

These motivated individuals have not only injected life in India but also created prosperity in many pockets of India. I am not talking of Adanis ,Ambanis , Tatas and Birlas alone but I am also talking of 1 crore Indians who are wealth generators for the country. Now, I will again not go into debate that who pays higher tax in India: Poor or Rich? This again is a very complex question with plethora of perspectives but one thing is crystal clear: Great countries are made on huge amount of Capital and Capital is absolutely a dominant factor of production that can make or break countries. Many Countries like UAE, Qatar, Singapore are nothing but a creation of Capital. In fact, even China ensured that Capitalists are encouraged and after a brief snubbing, it has realized the mistake it was doing. In this context, Indians moving abroad to save taxes and have a good quality life abroad should be a great concern for India.

Wealthy Indians are making their mind to live outside India but do business in India because India is a great market but the question is why they want to live outside India. The reason lies in India’s failure to have ‘great cities’. India has some good cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, NCR(in some pockets) , Bengaluru etc but none of them qualifies to be great. What is a great city? A great city has mainly following features:1) Safe environment and strict enforcement of law 2)Good public infrastructure 3)Reasonable recreational avenues 4)Of course, low taxation regime is an add on

These four features differentiate a great city from other cities. And wealthy people would always love to live in such cities. India has smart city mission but what India needs is a ‘GREAT CITY MISSION’ which should boast of high order policing and great public infrastructure so that enterprising individuals do not have to look abroad. Just to make the point, Dubai real estate is crazy among Indians today because Dubai is a great city and that too, in a very close proximity to India and this should be a concern for India. More than looking at it from money laundering angle, India should look at from angle of it being a great city and it can serve as an inspiration for us.

If the Capital flows out of India, it is going to have long term repercussions for India as its economic and skilled population will start losing interest in country’s affair and will merely look it at as a business place. Alas, patriotism can also drive individuals to a point after that what matters is their own responsibilities and concerns. India should look the current problem of exodus of capital as an opportunity to build great cities. Once India is able to create a few great cities, its effect will trickle down and people will themselves ask for more such cities. It can give a great life to Indians and will surely speed up India’s aim of becoming ‘Viksit Bharat’.