Investing decisions are hard because it is very difficult to spot the trends ahead of time. Who would have thought Steve Jobs returning to Apple will transform the company and take it to meteoric heights in a decade?

A similar thing is happening with governance in India. Who would have given it any chance during 2005-2014 when several scams were rocking the country and creating disillusionment among commoners? It is amazing how that perception has been changed just in couple of years with the help of concrete and genuine actions.

Dealing with government which looked like an impossible challenge in the past suddenly looks so easy nowadays. I get the EPF notification every month when money is credited. The electricity board sends an SMS when the electricity meter reading is taken. I even get an SMS alerting me when the gas cylinder is expected to run out based the data analytics of the past usage. Elections are managed well and the incentives like free petrol for voting are implemented with ease. 100% electronic voting has made elections less expensive, thereby making government even more accountable because electoral mandate will be so easy to take at reasonable frequencies. Income tax payment in another area where things have improved to extraordinary levels. Assessment order and refund are made even before the July 31 deadline for filing returns if you are one of the quick-to-be-off-the-block assesses in your filing. Form 26AS captures every tax-related transaction and there is no need to provide any material proof.

The municipal corporation sends SMS on property tax due, not just with the amount but also with the exact link to use to make the payment in a jiffy. I was so encouraged by this system that I set up a recurring payment through credit card. It was unthinkable to make such a recurring commitment to government in the past. The municipality also manages the civic issues much better: online complaints are addressed immediately and there is excellent feedback mechanism. The officials are measured on their issue resolution performance.

Yesterday when I went to UTI to redeem two mutual funds with great trepidation of what I might have to go through, I was stunned by the customer service provided by a young executive who was so precise in telling what to do that the entire job of redemption was done in 15 minutes. Over a decade, irrespective how well their funds are doing, UTI’s quality of service has gone up several notches. Institutions like LIC are so reliable and there are many service providers that can sustain a stable business because of low churn and high stability offered by LIC. The private companies in contrast go through high churn making them too unstable for customers to be able to deal effectively.

Even when driving around the city, the pace of development work that happens around us because of smart city and other initiatives makes me feel bewildered if we have been magically transported to another world.

Most of my past decisions were with the motive of not having to deal with government. It is time to completely reverse this thought and go the other way round. On the other hand, the private enterprises are becoming more unreliable because of profit motives, lack of accountability to customers and extreme business dynamics and unrealistic goals to their staff.

Government tends to be accountable to people because of the electoral process. When there is spirit and motivation, it can do a much better job. Good governance is probably the best gift that a citizen can get, next only to good health and happy family life.

The new unspotted trend is likely to be this: Dealing with government will be extremely profitable in all respects. Find ways and means of doing that for a truly prosperous future.