Eradicate corruption to achieve growth: Pranab

“Governance failures and corruption in the system affect the poor disproportionately. An inclusive development agenda cannot succeed without addressing these issues,” he told captains of Indian industry while addressing the CII National Conference and Annual Session here.

“It is equally important that the available public resources are effectively used. We are acutely conscious that if these resources have to bear fruit we have to tackle issues of Governance and service delivery,” Mukherjee, who is heading the Group of Ministers (GoM) on corruption, said.

His observations gained significance as the fast unto death by social activist Anna Hazare to have a Jan Lokpal Bill to make corrupt politicians and officials accountable received wider public support in the country.

Even as the economy is witnessing high growth, Mukherjee said “it is evident that the fruits of growing prosperity are not being enjoyed equally by all our citizens”.
“There are gaps in our development efforts and in our governance practices, in the
public and private domains, across sectors and in different regions and population segments of the country,” he noted with concern. Ideally the objectives of economic development, reforms for sustaining high growth and ensuring inclusion should go hand-in-hand, the Finance Minister said.

“In reality that is not always the case, especially in India where structural factors like poverty, illiteracy, deprivation and lack of adequate connectivity have segmented our markets and our people,” Mukherjee—known for his penchant for socialism—said.
“Some of us have been able to benefit from economic reforms, the liberalization of markets and the prosperity that has been ushered in the country in the past two decades,” he told the galaxy of industrialists.