Disclosure needed

Ministers should clarify their relationships with think tanks

Questions have been raised by a recent report about the propriety of certain Union ministers sitting on the board of a Delhi-based think tank, the India Foundation. The foundation, which is run by investment advisor Shaurya Doval, the son of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, was set up in 2009 and is closely associated with the ruling establishment. It counts among its directors, according to a report in The Wire, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, as well as the ministers of state for civil aviation and foreign affairs, Jayant Sinha and M J Akbar, respectively. This has raised questions not just of propriety but also of possible conflicts of interest: Should Union ministers be on the board of a foundation that works in matters related to government policy with corporate or foreign-funded support? India Foundation, in a response on its website, has stated that “the directors concerned have been associated with India Foundation long before they became ministers or even Members of Parliament”, and has denied receiving foreign funds or furthering any commercial or private interests. In response, The Wire has pointed out that photographs exist in the public domain of India Foundation events sponsored by foreign companies, including those with interests in the defence sector, and that the foundation has applied for and received permission to receive foreign funding.

The matter cannot be allowed to rest with these competing statements. At least one minister in the previous United Progressive Alliance dispensation, Shashi Tharoor, has argued that in earlier times senior officials would be asked to step down from similar affiliations and commitments. Thus there remains a lack of clarity on the affair, on the ethical standards that are appropriate and expected, and on the involvement of the Union ministers in question. The government would considerably further the cause of transparency and its anti-corruption agenda if it insisted on complete disclosure in this case, and, indeed, in all such cases. Speculation about ministers’ roles in such institutions, which are sometimes closely associated with corporate interests, is not in the national interest or even in the narrower political interests of any party.

To set any such doubts to rest, the government must realise that it is best to insist on full and complete disclosures about the role that Union ministers, or any functionary from the government, have played in this or other think tanks. This should include questions of remuneration. The think tank itself is a private organisation and deserves therefore the privacy allowed it by law. But it would help the cause of transparency if it, too, was more forthcoming about the source of its funding. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rightly emphasised his government’s focus on improving transparency and cutting down on lobbying in national politics. Working to this end is a vital stepping stone to building a more mature and accountable policy establishment. All concerned should keep this priority in mind and seek to set an example that can be followed in future.