Chanakya seemed to have envisaged every opportunity: Ashwin Sanghi

Bestselling author Ashwin Sanghi, delivering the valedictory keynote address at the third edition of Business Today Mind Rush, said the rules of governance and fiscal management enshrined by Chanakya 2,300 years ago were more relevant to policymakers and businessmen today than ever before.

Referring to some of the recent developments like the growing clamour for banning liquor in states like Bihar, Maharashtra and Kerala, Sanghi said Chanakya today would have found it amusing.

"He wanted to utilise consumption of liquor as a revenue generator for the government. It is quite ironical that there is talk that Bihar wants to be a dry state," he said.

In his hour long address, Sanghi cited many examples of planning, budgeting, revenue generation and audit that Chanakya had laid down more than 2300 years ago that is similar to the best practices the world over. At various instances, Chanakya's words bore a marked similarity to quotes from businessmen such as Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, JRD Tata and Dhirubhai Ambani and politicians like Bill Clinton,

"In urban planning, his roadmap is extraordinary. Back then he had planned for roads as wide as 54 feet, which is wider than most modern roads of just 29 feet," he said.  Chanakaya, then, was well and truly ahead of his time, asserted Sanghi.