By buld_online 
Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya dismissed India’s “ease of doing business” claims, describing the system as deeply bureaucratic, politically driven, and fundamentally hostile to enterprise.
Speaking on Raj Shamani’s podcast Figuring Out, Mallya called India’s regulatory environment “extreme.” “There is no ease of doing business in India,” he said. “It’s in the Indian DNA. No matter what a state or federal government may say, there are bureaucratic and political hurdles all along the way.”
Mallya said he had to maintain favorable relations with 29 state governments, each with its own liquor policy. “I had to be in the good books of 29 chief ministers,” he said. He also described elections as a time of pressure, claiming politicians saw the liquor industry as a cash cow for campaigns.
“Sometimes these aspirations were completely unreasonable and impractical,” he said. “During elections, I would leave the country to avoid being accessible.”
Asked about under-the-table dealings, Mallya was evasive: “I’m not going to confirm or deny that… I think you know India as much as I know India.”
Mallya fled to the UK in 2016 after the Indian government revoked his passport amid allegations of financial misconduct. “My freedom ended the day they took my passport,” he said. Now grounded in London and fighting extradition, he reflected on how his lifestyle had changed. “It’s not a matter of life and death… but life has shrunk in many ways.”
On the prospect of returning to India, he said, “If I am assured absolutely [of a fair trial], I will think about it seriously.” He pointed to a Finance Ministry statement claiming ₹14,100 crore had been recovered—more than double the ₹6,203 crore debt tribunal judgment—and asked, “If I defrauded the banks, how did the government recover so much?”
Mallya also spoke about social isolation, saying many former political and corporate contacts distanced themselves. “One politician told me, ‘If we’re seen with you, this government will come after us,’” he said.
Among a few who stayed in touch, he named Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw as “like a sister.”
“In tough times,” he said, “you learn who your real friends are.”