Commissioned Officers

It was in 1979 that Deepak Talwar chose the bold profession of a lobbyist for himself and started frequenting Delhi’s corridors of power. His decision had raised many eyebrows, ostensibly because the Indian bureaucracy - for generations - attached a stigma to all those in the trade and labelled them squarely as "fixers". But that concept of buddy network could soon be a thing of the past as the government appears close to granting lobbying a professional status on the lines of US government policies. New Delhi had taken the first step towards professionalising the business last year when it asked the representatives of global weapons systems manufacturers to enlist with the defence ministry after the Bofors, Czech and HDW deals raised Cain.

"It could happen after the budget. The government will take a decision this year itself," reveals a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says pressure has been mounting on the government ever since New Delhi hired lobbyist firms in the US to checkmate Islamabad’s strenuous propaganda on Capitol Hill and, in the process, recognised the need of professional lobbyists. "Also, the government feels that professional lobbyists help the nation garner increased business, especially in the infrastructure sectors. Today, arms dealers are listed with the government, so why not those in other sectors?" the official adds.

He should know. Until the Centre hired lobbyists in the US a few years ago, New Delhi had been caught in this million-dollar dilemma over handling these professionals. One section within the PMO felt that such people (read ex-bureaucrats) must be kept at an arm’s length while the others favoured exploiting these talents to get more business. As a result, while the mandarins continued meeting such lobbyists, the CBI kept mailing various ministries its confidential list of "people bureaucrats need to avoid".

"It would bring transparency to a world that some still consider shadowy," remarks Anthony Jesudasan, Reliance troubleshooter and managing editor of The Observer of Business & Politics. Jesudasan feels that with increased liberalisation and near-dismantling of the licence raj, the perception of lobbying is anyway changing in India.

His voice finds an echo in Talwar, whose agency DTA (Deepak Talwar & Associates) handles a large number of North American multinationals and big-time Indian companies. "By registering lobbyists (as they do in the US), the business will gain credibility and bureaucrats will be able to distinguish the donkeys from the horses. Please understand that no multinational has the time to follow the intricacies of the process of approvals required to do business in India. It’s too complicated," observes Talwar.

PMO sources say the government’s decision was also prompted by the fact that commercial attachŽs of various embassies and high commissions in Delhi were already promoting the interests of companies based in these countries. "It’s well known that the former US ambassador Frank Wisner (now a director on the board of American Insurance Group and Enron) had lobbied hard to push through the insurance bill," said one PMO source. "Union law minister Ram Jethmalani’s comment that the Centre will soon do away with the Official Secrets Act is a step towards transparency," he adds. Also, the government is bothered over the manner in which retired bureaucrats are openly flouting the two-year cool-off period and joining premier Indian business houses and multinationals as advisors. "The list seems to be endless," say observers.

Tejpal Singh, who represents a number of multinationals, including Caltex, agrees. "With the passage of time, the government has begun to recognise the very powerful role lobbyists play to focus the attention of international business towards the country," says Singh. He also feels that the so-called stigma many associated with lobbying was primarily because a section of lobbyists did tend to overdo things. "It seems ridiculous but there was a time when there was no dignified way of interacting. There was this mad rush to show how many secretaries one lobbyist could line up at his do," says Singh. "But if there are people who are thinking that with economic reforms the bureaucracy will slowly move out of business, they are sadly mistaken. The Indian bureaucrat is one who does not like the idea of giving up power. There will always be a rider," he warns.

But retired Air Marshal M.K. Anand, who heads Trans-Continental Power Systems, remains optimistic of the proposed decision: "The government’s move will make the bureaucrat’s job much easier and we will be privy to a lot more information which continues to be out of bounds for some strange reasons. There will be less questions asked. Instead of one person lobbying, there will be three to four people in the race. But yes, the commissions and the deals (8-10 per cent of the value of the project) will continue nevertheless."

How does the mechanism work today? Many agree that with the focus shifting to states, it’s becoming increasingly important for the lobbyists to have strong regional presence. Today, top lobbyist firms have bases in what they call business-generating states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra). But that does not negate the importance of the Indian capital as the ultimate home of the corporate power-broker. After all, the first sanction comes from the files of the Foreign Investment Promotion Bureau in Delhi. And extensive lobbying needs to be done before that.

"Understanding the state is becoming increasingly important. Take the case of a typical power project. There are 28 clearances you need to get to set up the plant. Of these, 16 are from the states," says T. ‘Peter’ Hasan, the low-profile director of the Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna group. Hasan, who was formerly the Delhi head for Essar, agrees the government’s decision will increase competition among the lobbyists because professional firms claiming competence in handling business will have to show concrete results to their clients. Observers agree. They cite the example of the Enron power project where it was important for the lobbyists concerned to understand the tensions between rival governments at New Delhi and Maharashtra.

Sums up Dilip Cherian, senior lobbyist and consulting partner of Perfect Relations, the country’s premier image management consultancy firm: "For long, the Indian bureaucracy has been a part of this concept called suitcase-based lobbying. Something which has helped the Central Vigilance Commission furnish its list of rogues. But now what’s emerging is information-based lobbying where the clients are able to negotiate a much better bargain for themselves."

How does information-based lobbying work? Cherian cites a typical example of a project where the client has planned to set up shop in one of the southern states where the regulations are more or less the same. Today’s information-based lobbying actually helps a client strike a better deal with one of the state governments by saying there were two laws which the company was not comfortable with and if those were not amended, the project could go to the neighbouring state. "The lobbyist’s ideal job today is to get the client the best deal and that can only happen if the lobbyist is thoroughly informed about the client’s needs and is able to carry the client’s viewpoint right through the meetings with the bureaucrats."

This is, one supposes, some sort of progress indeed.