Manmohan Singh on Corruption

The Prime Minister addressed several thorny issues this morning as he inaugurated a celebration of corporate India.

He spoke on wire-tapping and called more than once on Indian corporations to step it up on ethics, which he said included both transparency in their dealings with government, and fairness in sharing profits with the communities affected by their businesses.

We noted and were glad to see these remarks:

– “Businesses, by their very definition, need to be profitable. But the manner in which they use natural resources and the extent to which they are sensitive to the needs and aspirations of the common man is also critical to their own long-term survival and growth.”

– “Ethical and responsible behavior needs to become the cornerstone of corporate behavior, as indeed our national outlook.”

– “It is the large companies that have to set the pace in this regard. The rest of the corporate sector will quickly follow as this becomes a national norm.”

more at wsj 

The media is almost the last to report on corruption

You media people…” when a close friend began a sentence like that and assailed journalists for focusing on scam after scam, it gave me pause.

This was especially so because the speaker is a non-political industrialist, not given to analysis of the media. His irritation started with the Commonwealth Games muddle and continued through the 2G scam, the Radia tapes and so on. “Don’t you guys ever find anything good to report?”

more at dna

54% Indians paid bribe last year: study

One person in four worldwide paid bribe during the past year while 54 per cent Indians say they greased the palms of authorities to get things done, says a study released today to mark International Anti-Corruption Day.

"Corruption has increased over the last three years, say six out of 10 people around the world, and one in four people report paying bribes in the last year," the Berlin-based non- governmental agency, Transparency International (TI), said. 

more at economictimes 

Graft in India: Rotten to the crore?

SONIA GANDHI, the head of the ruling Congress party, laments that India’s “moral universe” is shrinking, as newspapers fill with ever more galling cases of political corruption. Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, says he feels like a schoolboy facing a series of agonising tests as scandals break one after another. Ratan Tata, head of the Tata Group, hints that the scourge is hurting the economy; officials’ expectations of bribes, he said, put him off launching a domestic airline.

 

It is tempting to hope this “season of scams” will concentrate the minds of India’s leaders. This month Congress sacked two prominent officials over graft. Suresh Kalmadi, who oversaw the Commonwealth games in Delhi in October, was sent running on November 9th as evidence of dubious contracts emerged. On the same day the party also toppled Ashok Chavan, chief minister of Maharashtra state, over a housing scam. His relatives and associates had taken flats in a new tower block that was supposedly set aside for veterans and war widows.

more at economist 

Corruption in India: People or the state?

Corruption is again dominating the news in India. Long-standing issues, such as broad attempts to avoid taxes, have simmered back to the surface and been joined by new accusations against the wealthy, major companies, and the government. Scandals have crossed finance, property, and telecom.

Crimes have been committed and the guilty should face justice. The biggest culprit, however, faces no punishment and, indeed, is looking to further recent gains. That culprit is the Indian state.

Earlier this year, criticism began to be leveled in India at the underground or “black” economy. This includes illegal activities but also legal activities that are not declared.

more at reuters 

Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion

The Supreme Court (SC) has been of late seized of cases relating to alleged corruption in the allocation of 2G spectrum and appointment of PJ Thomas as chief vigilance commissioner (CVC).

While the SC decision on the matters is anxiously awaited, it was surprising to see the Union government seeking to rubbish the challenge to the charge-sheeted Thomas.

The nonchalant government said “impeccable integrity”, which Thomas allegedly lacks, could not be the only criterion for making an appointment to the high constitutional position of CVC.

more at dnaindia 

Tainted system

Image: PJ Thomas

Corruption has scaled unimaginable heights in the reforms era driven by private capital seeking to manipulate public policy.

NOVEMBER 2010 could well go down in the history of independent India as a watershed month in terms of corruption exposes and the social and political impact they made. Revelations about multiple corruption scandals took in their sweep politicians, governments, the administrative and defence services as also national and international corporate houses and generated a sense of disquiet across the country.

In the process, political heavyweights such as Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan of the Congress and Union Minister for Telecommunications A. Raja of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) were forced to resign, while Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main opposition party at the Centre, fought a fierce tactical battle to continue in office.

The silence and inaction of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in responding to allegations of corruption in 2G spectrum allocation involving A. Raja was questioned by the Supreme Court itself. Both Houses of Parliament came to a standstill from day one of the winter session, with the Opposition demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the allegations on 2G spectrum allocation.

more at frontline