Candid Parrikar

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, known for his outspokenness, made a candid confession recently. At a panel discussion on job creation, he expressed displeasure with the functioning of various regulators in the country. An IIT Bombay alumnus, Parrikar was an entrepreneur before joining politics full time. He said he felt harassed when he had to deal with government officials because he would be spending more time in government offices seeking various permissions than in designing and developing a new product. He added that all start-ups in the country should be granted a five-year exemption from dealing with government departments.