In Conversation with Mr. Balesh Kumar, Pr. Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence

23/12/2020

Illicit trade in terms of smuggling and counterfeiting is undeniably one of the greatest risks globally impacting legitimate economic activity and facilitating an underground economy and organized crime that deprives governments of revenues for vital public services, forces higher burdens on taxpayers, incurs job losses and exposes consumers to dangerous and ineffective products. Unfortunately, the problem has only compounded in the current COVID crisis, where criminals have used the pandemic as an opportunity to increase their nefarious activities, causing significant damage on the economy of the nation, health, and safety of the consumers.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which is the country’s premier counter-smuggling agency has consistently and effectively adapted to the new challenges brought in due to change in the economic scenario. Even in this challenging scenario, DRI officers have been fulfilling their responsibilities with utmost dedication and zeal and are playing a vital role in strengthening the economic and physical security of the country.
In order to discuss the threats posed by smuggling to India’s security and economy and the pattern of smuggling due to COVID-19, FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) organized an ‘In Conversation with Balesh Kumar, Pr. Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence’ on 23rd December 2020.

Mr. Balesh Kumar, Pr. DG, DRI emphasised that “National security needs to be looked at holistically. We must understand that economic security cannot be treated as something separate from physical security.” Speaking on the challenging security environment that India faced, Mr Kumar underlined the need for all law enforcement agencies to have a constant vigil to prevent smuggling as well as to ensure that necessary inputs were available to prevent potential terror attacks funded both externally and internally.

“Sealing of borders is not enough to secure the hinterland. Issues relating to security can travel across the borders very quickly into India and for that we must have a clear strategy of comprehensive approach of looking at the internal security in conjunction with external security as well as physical security along with economic security,” he added. Highlighting the unwavering efforts of DRI officers during the unprecedented coronavirus crisis, Mr. Kumar informed that DRI has strategically focused on smuggling of cigarettes and gold this year seizing illicit cigarettes worth Rs. 45 crores and gold worth Rs. 275 crores in the last 9 months.

While having a conversation with Mr. Balesh Kumar on various aspect of the problem along with the preparedness of enforcement agencies in terms of adequacy of manpower and resources, and terrorism financing through the proceeds of smuggling, Mr. PC Jha, Former Chairman, CBIC and Advisor, FICCI CASCADE said, “Smuggling of items such as cigarettes, narcotics, substandard food items and medicines leads to severe health hazards. The unaccounted profit generated through smuggling is also utilised to finance global terror activities.”

Mr. Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE welcomed Mr. Balesh Kumar and Mr. P C Jha and said that It is indeed heartening to see the efforts made by the officers of DRI to protect infiltration of illicit goods surreptitiously into our marketplaces. However, with increasing number of seizures being reported every day, it is highly possible that the total seizures may just be the tip of the iceberg of a much larger network. Mr. Rajput also urged the enforcement agencies to keep up their already impressive work and ensure that such mischievous elements are kept at bay.

Mr. Deep Chand, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and Former Special Commissioner of Police, New Delhi in his concluding address thanked the Director General and his team who have over the years gone from strength to strength in preventing outright smuggling and safeguarding the economic frontiers of our country.

The session will be live streamed on YouTube at the below given link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fk62TTqOlQ&feature=youtu.be