‘Dark side of Make in India’: Bengaluru-based entrepreneur claims asked to pay Rs 1 lakh bribe for manufacturing license

An entrepreneur has claimed that he is being asked to pay a bribe of Rs 1 lakh to secure a license for establishing a manufacturing facility, raising questions about the ease of doing business in India. Aman Sharma, the founder of Aroleap, a Bengaluru-based smart home-gym equipment company, took to Twitter to share his ordeal on Wednesday.  

“Dark side of Make in India! Went and filed for the license directly. Being asked for Rs 1 lakh as bribe to get the license now!” Sharma tweeted, voicing frustration over systemic corruption.  

In December, Sharma shared that he was in the process of obtaining a factory license for his new manufacturing unit. He had tweeted about being informed of significant “out-of-pocket expenses” by a vendor assisting him with the process.

“I am in the process of securing a factory license for our mfg facility. Taking help from a vendor who said ‘out-of-pocket expenses’ in the department will be ~INR 70K!!! (IYKYK). So much for ‘Make in India’ & ‘Ease of doing business’?” Sharma posted on December 10, 2024.

While Sharma did not disclose the specific department or location where the alleged demand was made, his revelations have added to the growing criticism of corruption in Karnataka’s administration.  

Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Aarin Capital and former CFO at Infosys, recently criticised the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government, describing it as the “most corrupt government” the state has seen. “This government is possibly the most corrupt government we have seen. We thought the BJP government was corrupt. This government has the ability to do corruption on an industrial scale,” Pai stated.  

Pai alleged rampant corruption involving both politicians and officials, claiming bribes were normalised for routine tasks such as property tax assessments and plan approvals. Bengaluru’s civic systems were also criticised, with Pai alleging manipulation in software systems used for approvals and taxation.  

“For the BBMP plan approval, the software is done by some small company in Pune. They manipulate it…We found there are three databases of property tax because each one is making money. They don’t want to automate because they make money,” he said.