India held captive by crony capitalism: Vinod Rai

New Delhi: Former CAG Vinod Rai in his forthcoming book Not Just an Accountant has painted a scary picture of corruption in India where in the last few years the country has been held captive by cronyism.

“Cronyism extends to handing out contracts and rigging bids for the undeserving, which has done untold harm to the economy,” Mr Rai writes in his new book.

He says that agencies with inadequate domain knowledge have cornered contracts and finite natural resources.

They, says the former CAG, have muscled their way into major infrastructure projects, denying the meritorious their  dues.

“This has been a direct consequence of opacity in government procedures, which has killed competition,” says Mr Rai.