Technology and transparency

Speaking at an information technology industry event earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted how technology could bring transparency in governance. He said that when he was in the Opposition, a Comptroller and Auditor General report on coal block allocation had flagged a loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore to the exchequer. While he joined the Opposition chorus in criticising the then government, Modi said, there were niggling doubts in his mind whether the figure could actually be that big. Even as Modi spoke at the event, the e-auction of the blocks initiated by his government had already raised Rs 1.10 lakh crore from just 19 blocks (a more recent report put the proceeds from auction at Rs 2 lakh crore from 31 coal blocks), proving that technology leaves little scope for doubt.