Industry of red tape thrives on doubt: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the "industry of red tape" thrives on doubt, while the "road with red carpet" is built on trust as he highlighted the people-friendly reforms initiated by his government to ease the regulatory environment in India.

In his remarks at the India release of the book "Red Tape to Red Carpet... and then some" here, the prime minister said the most important reform for him has been to allow self-certification in various activities.

The book has been written by Gina Rinehart, the chairperson of the Australian mining company Hancock Prospecting Group. Australian Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb, and former Australian prime minister Paul Keating were present on the occasion.

"I believe that a human being is inherently good and he or she has to be given full freedom to make choices. This is the foundation of our steps which we have taken towards easing the regulatory environment in India. The most important reform for me so far is to allow self-certification in various activities. From students to entrepreneurs, we have allowed self-certification of documents and processes," said Modi.

"For misdeeds of a small number, we can't punish all the stakeholders. So, trusting the citizens including the corporate citizens is the essence of our reforms. This is the basis of our efforts towards transition from 'Red Tape' to 'Red Carpet'."

"The industry of 'Red Tape' thrives on doubt. The road with 'Red Carpet' is built on trust. I am thankful to Mrs. Rinehart for highlighting the direction of our journey."

"This book reminds me one of my old statements. I have been saying that the problems of public administration will end if politicians learn how to say 'NO' and if bureaucrats know how to say 'YES'. This is the reason that we have devoted maximum energy on changing the mindset," Modi said.

"Our LPG subsidy transfer process is the biggest online transfer in the world. But it involves saying 'NO' to those who are not eligible. It also involves saying 'Yes' and delivering efficiently to those who are eligible. The good news is that it is working very efficiently."