Do you think that the introduction of the GST in India is a step towards a greater and developed nation?

The GST is truly a profound change fundamentally, despite all the rollout hiccups. One has to see it in the medium term to be optimistic about it.

It will transform the Indian economy in the following ways :

1. One India promise: Everyone will start thinking in terms of “India as a nation” and not merely in terms of their provincial loyalties. This happens because everyone’s fate is tied together through the GST Council (where all have representation). The downside? If anyone fails to make enough revenues, they’ll question the whole system. Let’s be fair: states have sacrificed their federal fiscal freedom to be a part of the GST regime.
2. Simple is better: The simplified tax regime will be a great relief for all honest businesses. The one thing everyone loves is minimum compliance load and maximum clarity. GST theoretically promises that. It will take until 2020 for the final shape to emerge, but the hope is strong. The downside? If rate slabs don’t get rationalized, it will remain an under-optimized and a compliance-heavy system.
3. Tax to GDP ratio is all set to improve due to ‘everything’ getting into the government’s official records. From our present 16.6% of GDP to a much bigger number, the journey will give a lot of leg-space to the government to do things it otherwise needed to borrow money for. The downside? If public services’ quality does not improve, people may question the whole idea of paying more taxes. This is the greatest conundrum facing public policy making as of now.
4. Big data, transparent analysis: The GSTN and CBDT will seamlessly share data, so indirect taxpayers cannot escape the direct tax net. And GSTN and DGFT too will share data so foreign trade data become instant, and trends that much clearer and policy-making easier. The downside? Too much power in state’s hand, some would say :)
5. Formalisation: The huge informal economy may slowly be turned into a formal one over a decade or so. It will have great pains attached but needs to be finally done in a manner that jobs destruction doesn’t happen. GST forces companies to go formal, but the process is not smooth as of now - it is “yanking the informal into the formal” approach. Women empowerment will get a boost as a key driver of poor women labor participation in India is the lack for formal sector jobs. The downside? Formal doesn’t equal profitable always. Many may simply go bankrupt in the process. Bad for everyone.

Overall, in 10 to 15 years, we will see the final shape of things. We hope and pray that the end result matches the great pain and sacrifices being made today.

Jai Hind!

Source: https://www.quora.com/profile/Sandeep-Manudhane

Lessons on leadership from PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi as she steps down as CEO

Indra Nooyi will step down as the CEO of PepsiCo after occupying the post for 12 years. She will be succeeded by Ramon Laguarta on October 3 and will continue to be a part of the PepsiCo's board until 2019. Indra had joined Pepsico in 1994 and in 2006 took over as the CEO from Steven Reinemund. Under her leadership, PepsiCo grew from $35 billion in 2006 to $63.5 billion in 2017.

Indra will continue to serve as the corporation's chairman until early 2019. On her stepping down, the 62-year-old said in a statement on Monday, "Leading PepsiCo has truly been the honor of my lifetime, and I'm incredibly proud of all we have done over the past 12 years to advance the interests not only of shareholders, but all our stakeholders in the communities we serve. Growing up in India, I never imagined I'd have the opportunity to lead such an extraordinary company."

Ramon, who will take over the reins, has served in several executive positions at PepsiCo for 22 years. Since late 2017, he has served as President of PepsiCo, overseeing the company's global operations.

Indra took to Twitter on Monday to express her faith in Ramon's abilities to take her position. "Ramon Laguarta is exactly the right person to help build on @PepsiCo's strong position and success. He has been a critical partner and friend and I am positive that he will take PepsiCo to new and greater heights in the years to come," she said.

Meanwhile, Ian Cook, PepsiCo's presiding director, lauded Indra's contributions to the growth of the company. In a statement, he said, "She has delivered strong and consistent financial performance, managing with an eye toward not only the short-run, but the long-run as well.”

Here are some of her most inspirational quotes on leading as a woman.

Indra also tweeted, "Today is a day of mixed emotions for me. @PepsiCo has been my life for 24 years & part of my heart will always remain here. I'm proud of what we've done & excited for the future. I believe PepsiCo’s best days are yet to come."

Source: https://yourstory.com/2018/08/leadership-lessons-pepsico-indra-nooyi/