National Seminar on

BLACK MONEY
18 May 2011, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

Foundation for Peace, Harmony & Good Governance

The Foundation for Peace, Harmony & Good Governance (FGG), New Delhi, works towards promoting human and national development and socio economic and political justice. Its objective is to bring about effective policies and administrative measures to do justice to all and to eliminate corruption in all spheres of governance including politics, administration and judiciary by increasing transparency and effective decision making processes. The Foundation attempts to achieve its objectives by creating public awareness and building momentum to fight against injustice and corruption in all its manifestations. The FGG supports all anti-corruption measures by organising seminars, panel discussions and conferences and works as a link between the public sector, private sector, civil society and the people by providing a platform for all sections to come together and share their concerns. As part of its activities, , the FGG has organised events led by eminent jurists, spiritual masters and personalities from various traditions and walks of life including the Central Vigilance Commissioner, Chief Information Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner The FGG also encourages study and research on the root causes of crime, insurgency and terrorism; while punitive measures that deal with only the symptoms need to be made more effective, the underlying causes should be analysed and identified to take effective measures to eliminate the basic causes once and for all. Some of the recent publications of the FGG include: Triumph of Truth: Rajiv Gandhi Assassination: The Investigation by D. R. Kaarthikeyan and Radhavinod Raju published by the New Dawn Press; and Human Rights: Problems and Solutions by D.R. Kaarthikeyan published by Gyan Books. Mr. D. R. Kaarthikeyan, President of the Foundation, is coeditor of Pathways out of Terrorism and Insurgency: the Dynamics of Political Violence and Peace Processes in Contemporary Societies published by New Dawn Press, INC. He has also contributed chapters in many other books including, Root Cause of Terrorismby Tore Bjorgo published by Routledge-London, and also on Human Rights published by United Nations University The FGG also works towards ensuring a fair, just and harmonious social order and equal opportunities for every section of the society to realize the full potential of the individual and make maximum contribution to the development of the nation. As a part of this endeveaour, the FGG has been organising numerous events on many aspects of life and governance. Some such events include the following topics: "Invest in Yourself" ; "Self-Care is Health Care is Earth Care"; "Truth Multiplier in Indian Stock Market"; "600-Days in Himalayas"; "Sun Gazing: A Cost Free Natural Method for Good Health"; "Your Health is in your Hands"; The Journey Beyond; Confronting the Menace of Corruption; The Challenge of Black Money; Right to Information Act; Water-the Biggest Challenge; Spirituality the Many Paths; The Essence of All Religions; Marriage for Peace; Health and Healing The Natural Way; Kashmir What Next?; Wave Genetics-The Cosmic Panacea; Ethics-With and Without God; Nutritional Therapy; Ensuring Free and Fair Election is the Foundation of Democracy; Living with Cancer; Science of Meditation; Right to Information-Essence of Good Governance; Ideal Parenting Empowering Children; Being Healthy and Youthful-The Natural Way; Threat of Leprosy, HIV-AIDS and TB in India; Why Yoga; Corporate Governance; Aligning People with their Passions for Success; Weather Forecasting-Reality or Myth; Election 2009 and the Road Ahead; Impact of Triple Ethics-Reality or Myth; Is there a Human Rights Development; How to save and Invest Wisely; Tools for Tough Times The President of FGG Shri D. R. Kaarthikeyan travels constantly and participates in International and National events promoting many causes including good governance, environment, education, health, human rights, human responsibilities, economic and social justice, integrity, interfaith harmony, yoga and spirituality. In short, the FGG continues to strive constantly in every possible manner since the last six years of its existence for creation of a better world, by ensuring a just, harmonious and prosperous society by promoting good governance.

Report on NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTEGRITY

Held on 18th January 2011 at Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi

Organised by: Foundation for Peace, Harmony and Good Governance

A Global Steel initiative

Foundation for Peace, Harmony and Good Governance (FGG), 102 (GF), Anandlok, New Delhi 110049 Phone: 011- 46013255, 46013266, Fax: 011- 46013277 www.goodgovernance.in

INTRODUCTION
The Foundation for Peace, Harmony and Good Governance (FGG) organised a day-long National Conference on Integrity on 18th January 2011 at Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi. Eminent Speakers and experts participated and deliberated burning topics of the day. The conference was organised as part of Global Steel 2011 initiative and was chaired by Mr D R Kaarthikeyan, Padma Shri Awardee; President, FGG; Former Director, CBI; and Former Director General, National Human Rights Commission. The recommendations from the conference are being forwarded to the Chairman, Law Commission of India, as desired by Hon'ble Justice Shri PV. Reddi. The conference was attended by more than 350 delegates from all over India and from all walks of life ranging from students, social activists, former and current bureaucrats, independent thinkers, industrialists etc. All attendees participated in an open discussion to weed out evils of corruption from society. Eminent speakers like Mr Naveen Jindal, Member of Parliament; Dr. J J Irani, Tata Sons; Mr Amar Pratap Singh, Director- CBI, Mr Sanjaya Baru, Editor- Business Standard; Mr Vikram Chandra, NDTV; eminent jurists Shri Harish Salve and Shri PP Rao and likes highlighted several issues of great importance that included creation of accountability and transparency in Government, role of media and devising ways and means to make our laws compliant. Valedictory address of the conference was given by Chairman of the Law Commission of India Hon'ble Justice Shri. P.V. Reddi, who evinced considerable interest by personally attending inaugural and some other sessions and by promising to consider the recommendations formulated in the Conference. The focus of the deliberations was on the following three themes. 1. 2. 3. Making our laws compliant Accountability and transparency in governance and Role of media

INAUGURAL AND SESSION I MAKING OUR LAWS COMPLIANT Mr D R Kaarthikeyan (Padma Shri), President of FGG chaired the conference and welcomed all the speakers and delegates in the Conference. 1. He stated that it is widely accepted that only 10-20% of the total expenditure in social welfare schemes of government actually reaches the targeted beneficiary; rest is gobbled up by intermediaries. This is one of the biggest challenges that confront all of us today - need for transparency, accountability and ethical behaviour. At institution level integrity needs to be promoted by rallying for institutional changes. The RTI Act has removed a major bottleneck in Indian democratic and legal framework with free flow of information to citizens on various aspects of functioning of government. India can reasonably be proud about freedom of press which acted as watchdog and reported misuse of power, and corruption. 2. He referred to the approach paper of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission on Governance and Administration that was headed by Dr Veerappa Moily, the present Law Minister of India and quoted In the words of Kofi Annan, good governance is perhaps the single most important factor for eradicating poverty and promoting development. Without good governance no amount of development schemes can improve quality of life for citizens. Poor governance generates and reinforces poverty and subverts efforts to reduce it. Strengthening governance is precondition to improve lives of poor. The state apparatus is generally perceived to be largely inefficient with most functionaries serving no useful purpose. Bureaucracy in general is seen to be tardy, inefficient, and unresponsive. Corruption is all-pervasive eating into the vitals of our system, undermining economic growth, distorting competition, and disproportionately hurting poor and marginalized citizens. Criminalization of politics continues unchecked with money and muscle power playing significant role in elections. In general there is high degree of volatility in society on account of unfulfilled expectations and poor delivery of public services. 3. The non-negotiable role of the state in four broad areas needs to be clearly recognized and reemphasized. The first is in the area of public order, justice and rule of law. Deficiencies on this front have led to decline in trust in the state's capacity to protect life, liberty and property while enforcing citizens' rights. This in turn has aggravated the tendency to resort to violence and crime to obtain rough and ready justice, promote sectarian interests, and to achieve ideological goals. Ensuring access to speedy and efficient justice, protecting rights of citizens, enforcing rule of law, and maintaining public order are all inseparable and they form bedrock of a civilized society and sound liberal democracy. Deficiencies in this vital area need to be plugged through judicial and police reforms, better citizen participation in governance, transparency and more effective and integrated approach to public order maintenance.

4. Pervasive corruption is the most disturbing element of our governance. Happily, recent years witnessed encouraging trends in some sectors; wherever competition, choice, transparency and technology have been introduced, corruption has dramatically declined. However, in certain core sectors where the state's role is critical, corruption continues unchecked. There are signs of growing corruption in some of the state-controlled sectors, indicating a shift from traditional forms of corruption to innovative ways and means to achieve corrupt objects. Police, criminal justice system, healthcare delivery, public procurement, contracting, transfers and postings of officials, tax collection and land administration are areas, which are by nature fully or substantially state-controlled. Corruption is either continuing or growing in these sectors as the inexhaustible demand for illegitimate funds in our governance system continues unabated. Clearly far-reaching political and electoral reforms to transform our political culture and alter the nature of incentives in public life are the need of the hour. 5. Mr. Kaarthikeyan also referred to the fourth report of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission on Ethics and Governance submitted to the Government on January 2007 and quoted, Integrity is much more than financial honesty. Public office should be treated as a trust. There are two facets to corruption: (1) (2) The institution which is highly corrupt; Individuals who are highly corrupt.

There is a need to work on public profiteering and value to be attributed to the services rendered by officers. Interlocking accountability is a process by which evaluation could be done easily and accountability ensured. Building trust and confidence requires an environment where there is a premium on transparency, openness, boldness, fairness and justice. We should encourage these attributes. One of the problems is that the present codes of conduct are not direct and to the point. They are full of vague sermons that rarely indicate prohibitions directly. For formulating a code of ethics, it would be useful to keep in mind the advice of Napoleon who said,-Law should be so succinct that it can be carried in the pocket of the coat and it should be so simple that it can be understood by a peasant. While it may not always be possible to establish the criminal offence of misappropriation in a court of law, the Government servant can still be removed from service for causing serious monetary loss to the State. 6. He went on to add, All procedures, laws and regulations that breed corruption and come in the way of efficient delivery system will have to be eliminated. The perverse system of incentives in public life, which makes corruption a high return low risk activity, need to be addressed. In this context, public example has to be made out of people convicted on

corruption charge and the legal process in such cases has to be expedited. This hopefully, will also address the growing permissiveness in the society, in the more recent times, to the phenomenon of corruption. In addition, with changes in economic policy regime, regulatory bodies that guide and monitor functioning of the relevant economic agents should lay down rules of conduct in the interests of consumers and devise such practices that help efficient functioning of the system. Such steps will have to be taken in many sectors of the economy that are now being opened up. At the same time, social monitoring through empowered autonomous and credible structures will have to be established even for the highest of the public offices. Right to information has to be the starting point for some of these changes. 7. He referred to the concluding words of Dr Veerappa Moily wherein he says, We always find alibi for our lapses by quoting trespass from other democratic institutions, by resorting to a blame game. The executive/civil services blame interference by the political executive or legislatures and vice versa; legislators blame the judiciary and vice versa the main problem lies in each one leaving space for others to occupy. If any of the democratic institutions leaves space, the mafia or extra-constitutional authority occupies that space. Realization of its own authority and discharging its sphere of responsibility, developing accountability and responsiveness are the real solutions to the conflicting situations of eroding democratic polity. 8. He concluded his welcome and introductory speech by quoting an ancient subhashit (good message) Rivers do not drink their waters themselves, nor do trees eat their fruit, nor do the clouds eat the grains raised by them. The wealth of the noble is used solely for the benefit of others. Mr Naveen Jindal, Member of Parliament In his brief speech, Mr. Jindal emphasized importance of integrity in public life, private life as well as in corporate sector. The younger generation, from an early age, should be taught to be honest so that they become ideal citizens of the future. Regarding corruption prevailing in our everyday life, he opined that transparency in India today is higher than what it was a few years back. He opined that the whole media should not be blamed for a corrupt few. He also observed that it is not always possible for corporate structures to work within a corporate structure without indulging in corruption- a honest confession that was well appreciated by the august gathering. He also pointed out that it is not correct to label all bureaucrats; politicians and businessmen corrupt, in fact a few of them are so and have tainted the entire canvas. To conclude he called for unanimous effort to ensure transparency and integrity in Government and corporate structures. Dr Wajahat Habibullah, Former Chief Information Commissioner Dr Habibullah, pointing out importance of the Right to Information Act, opined that scandals are exposed only due to the effective functioning of the Act. He stressed the need

to eliminate poverty by effective use of The RTI ACT through proper emancipation of information. He opined that media has been successful in bringing to light the three major scams that have hit the nation recently- the Adarsh Housing Case, 2G Scandal and the CWC Menace. He lamented on the statutes of outdated bureaucratic structure, and their inability to care for the ones in need. He also pointed out that the existing institutions have not been successful in preventing and controlling corruption. He reiterated the need to develop an effective institution to prevent and arrest corruption. Dr Subhas C Kashyap, Eminent Constitutional Expert Dr Kashyap pointed out that the nation has been recently facing corruption cases of mind- boggling proportions that have tarnished our image in front of the nation as well as the world. Lack of integrity and corruption has become all pervasive, omnipotent and omnipresent. He pointed out that all our great institutions the legislature, the executive, the judiciary and even the media stands exposed with eroded integrity. He also opined that the existing laws, some of which belong to the 19th century, have not been able to stem the rot and the Law Commission can only recommend changes in the redundant laws. The existing Cr PC, IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act, CVC Act etc have not been able to arrest corruption. He pointed out the following as need of the hour: ? A credible Lokpal Bill to be passed. If the Parliament does not function, this can be done in the form of an Ordinance. ? The Right to Information Act should be made a fundamental right. The existing loopholes in the Act need to be plugged. ? In all corruption cases, all property of the corrupt should be confiscated and there should be a new law to regulate the functioning of political parties. ? Anyone going abroad must declare about their accounts abroad; any false statement thereof must lead to confiscation of property. ? Electoral laws should be amended to provide for 50% plus votes to be necessary to get elected, reducing cost of election, public funding in kind etc. should be introduced. All general elections to be held simultaneously as far as possible. Also anyone charged by court for criminal cases to be disqualified from contesting elections till they are cleared. Ones with serious offences to be barred from contesting elections for life and sitting members, if convicted, to be ceased from being members any more till they are cleared. ? Regarding laws to regulate political parties, he opined that a new law should be put in place for looking into the matters of their registration, recognition (making 5% of total votes of the nation compulsory for recognizing it as a national party), eligibility regarding contesting elections etc.

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? Police to be freed from political misuse, Police Commission report to be implemented, fresh police laws to be enacted. ? Regulatory functions of the Union and the state executive to be restricted by law. ? All state functionaries including government officials, elected persons etc to declare their assets and liabilities every year for public information ? Citizens to be guaranteed by law timely settlement of tax returns, issue of ration cards, passports, house plan sanctions etc. to avoid delays and corruption ? Judicial reforms in the fields of appointment of judges, enquiry against judicial delays and corruption, speedy and affordable justice delivery system, use of ADR mechanisms etc. If corruption ceases to yield rich dividends and punishment becomes certain and deterrent, then it can be reduced and will finally be eliminated, he observed. There is also a need to look at the law-makers and check whether they have any vested interests, he opined. Dr J J Irani, Director, Tata Sons. Dr Irani took reference of a few real life examples that his organization follows in order to deal with corruption, viz the Tata Election Trust, which provides donation to political parties based on certain eligibility criteria and is guided by pre-decided rules. He emphasized the need to provide courses on business ethics in B-schools in order to create a society full of men and women of character. Taking an apt example of a baby who is not born as a corrupt, he opined that it is the duty of the parents, the teacher and the environment in general, to ensure that it remains so throughout its life- a legacy to be passed on to the future generations too. Urging all to speak out against the corrupt, he concluded by saying that the greatest asset of the few corrupt is silence and apathy of majority of honest people - a practice that needs to be done away with at the earliest. Mr Amar Pratap Singh, Director, CBI Mr Amar Pratap Singh opined that there is a need to change the criminal justice system in India. He informed that the CBI is almost 50% short of its sanctioned strength of investigators. While CBI puts to trial around thousand cases a year, nearly ten thousand remain pending out of which 25% are more than ten years old. He suggested a few changes in the existing system that included citizen-friendly registration of crime, use of computers and CCTVs in police stations, starting of online filing of police cases, video recording of statements and confessions of accused that can be produced in courts during trial, amendment of the CrPC and the Evidence Act, and comprehensive reclassification of offences. He also opined that most of the laws, both substantive as well as procedural, were enacted a century ago. Criminality has undergone a sea change both quantitatively and

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qualitatively over the years. To keep up with the rapidly evolving crime scenario it is important for the criminal justice system to take a step ahead. Therefore the apparatus designed for investigation has to be equipped by laws and procedures that are not only functional in the present context but also have the flexibility and feasibility to take care of future needs. The investigators, therefore, need to be trained in information technology, knowledge of the economy, new dynamics of social engineering, efficacy and use of modern forensics etc., he added. Mr D C Gupta, Former Finance Secretary, Government of India Mr Gupta pointed out that there is no law to confiscate property of the corrupt. Hence, corrupt feels that he can get away with whatever he does and this is true in almost all cases. He stressed the need for enforcing Lokpal Bill. The effective rate of tax for Corporates works out to be only 22% instead of 34%, he opined. This is due to the various incentives and concessions meted out to them from time to time, he clarified. He also expressed concern on the cynicism and lack of values observed in youth of today, a fall out of consumerism in the rapidly changing society. He also lamented that we all are aware where the shoe pinches, but do not dare to mend it.

SESSION II ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNANCE Mr Prakash Singh, Former Director General, Border Security Force. Mr Singh opined that corruption is the single thread that is common to all problems in India viz. Naxalism, Maoist menace, problems in the North East, Jammu & Kashmir. Corruption has crippled into governance thereby creating a feeling of deprivation amongst masses and aggravating participation of the deprived in anti-establishment movements, most recent and prominent among them being the Maoist movement that has threatened internal security of the nation. Government has tried to play its role and has been pumping in huge funds for proper development of the 223 Maoist-affected districts across 20 states of the Indian Union. But the problem is that these funds hardly reach the intended beneficiaries and is absorbed somewhere in between by corrupt intermediaries. Lack of accountability and transparency has added to this problem. It is corruption that saps out the strength of the nation and makes it vulnerable to divisive forces, both internal and external.

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Mr J M Garg, Vigilance Commissioner, Central Vigilance Commission Mr Garg informed that in India corruption is also on rise as economy grows. In fact, India has slipped from 71st position in 2001 to 85th position currently in Corruption Perception Index, he added. He also tried to strike a correlation between corruption and inflation opining that if fiscal deficit can be reduced, inflation can be checked. But since there is no fear for being corrupt, a huge amount is up for grabs. Though lot of initiatives has been taken by the CVC, India has slipped down in the CPI (Corruption Perception Index). This basically means that there has been degradation in moral fiber of the society. He also urged youth to take up the fight against this menace and become responsible citizens of future. With such a young country like India, he observed, there is a need to use technology and automation process. He also informed the audience about Project Vigeye (Vigilance Eye), a citizen-centric initiative of the CVC, wherein citizens can join hands with the Central Vigilance Commission in fighting corruption in India. Mr Arvind Kejriwal, RTI and Social Activist 1. Mr Kejriwal observed that in spite of several scams that have been duly reported by media, no one gets punished or goes to jail, in fact in most cases FIRs are also not registered. The existing laws have contradiction within themselves. He pointed out that the three anti corruption agencies available with the central government the Departmental Vigilance, CVC and the CBI have been a mockery in themselves. In many cases of departmental enquiries, field officers double up as vigilance officers and receive complaint against themselves that they need to enquire! Sometimes they are required to start departmental enquiries against their superiors, which is practically impossible. The CVC, on the other hand, with 30-40 officers at its command has to enquire into corruption of more than 1500 government departments some as big as the Income Tax, Railways, Customs a humanly impossible activity. Hence it functions just like a post office- forwarding documents to the respective departments for initiating departmental enquiry. The recommendations of CVC, an advisory body, are hardly accepted by Government and if at all accepted, the severity is reduced. Also, CBI has lost its independent stature and is reduced to be a mere puppet in the hands of the party in power. 2. He proposed formation of a powerful body in India similar to ICAC, the anti corruption organization of Hong Kong, in order to curb corruption in India. It should be independent of any political influence and should have the power to investigate and prosecute, he opined. He also stressed on the need for implementation of Lokpal Bill. He vehemently opposed the proposed Ordnance to be instituted by the Law Ministry regarding fast tracking of cases against politicians. He felt that the provisions of the Ordnance will dilute the existing provisions recommended in Lokpal Bill and will be highly tilted towards the party in power.

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Dr J N Chaubey, Former Advisor, World Bank & UNICEF Dr Chaubey stressed on the need to develop adequate ex-ante measures to arrest corruption at the earliest stage in all wings of the government, the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature so that it does not reoccur. He opined that the Law Ministry can take up the ex-post measures of punishing the guilty. He opined that a capacity pooling of different departments led by the Planning Commission may be instituted so that necessary reforms to arrest corruption may be meted out. He also opined that there should be a systematic accountability of the Law Ministry to present a scheme of reforms that the Ministry wants to undertake during Budget. He also pointed out that there are only four principles of institutional reforms that are required for arresting corruption. They are: a. Competition: allowing choices on the supply side as well as the demand side e.g. multiple places for filing FIRs, drug testing by several certified agencies, open auctions, provide grace period for counter bids etc. Participation: an institutional variant of competition; allowing both sides to monitor and evaluate the services. Transparency: to the client, before the event, recourse after the event. Accountability: to the demand side separating the chain of control.

b. c. d.

He stressed on the need for systematic regular upgradation of Institutions so that growth of the nation is not deferred or disturbed. He opined that the Planning Commission must play a pivotal role in this regard. Mr L V Saptharishi, Co-Chairman, Confederation of NGOs in Rural India Mr Saptharishi pointed out prevalence of family oriented wealth accumulation by leaders of political parties in India. Widespread concessions have led to dilution of values, he opined, thereby jeopardizing the concept of integrity in public life. He also stressed on the need to introduce a system to reward the honest and courageous so that one and all feel the urge to do away with corruption. He also said that it was for the person at the helm of affairs in any institution to maintain the image of it, and not take advantage of it. The foundation of a great nation like India is laid by the teachings of our great forefathers, we need to go back to those values and try to infuse this value system in the minds of the individuals, he opined. Mr Salil Bhandari, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce Integrity is the wholeness of being to be morally sound and stands for a set of values, opined Mr Bhandari. All systems, whether natural or manmade, need to have a coordinated mechanism of checks and balances for them to perform and deliver - one without that will

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spin out of control, he added. Such loose end systems are not sustainable and perform momentarily, eventually to fall apart to destroy and disintegrate what was created originally. The very success of India's institutions over the years have created massive forces that are pulling and pushing at many points and are creating cracks and gaps among the various linkages that ensure stable governance. The judiciary, executive and the legislature are all impacted by these colossal forces even private enterprise and the civil society have been brought into the fold of cracking ethical values. These forces are exposing minor human frailties to massive pressures and what would have become small departures from the norms have become norms themselves, he opined. He stressed on the need for individuals to go on an introspection mode so that they are able to decide on what to choose from a galaxy of options available, many of which are wrong. This would ensure that corruption is nipped in the bud.

SESSION III ROLE OF MEDIA Mr B G Verghese, Eminent Journalist Mr Varghese referred to media as a watchdog of the society as it has a predominant role as trustees of information, to portray to the people, what is happening around us. He opined that it was the most powerful institution in the nation. However, he also expressed the need to draft a regulation for media so that the 'watchdog' does not become a 'lapdog', wherein a cozy relationship is observed and the media is governed by commerce rather than mission. Mr Vikram Chandra, CEO, NDTV Convergence The job of media is to shine a torch in the corner where corruption is happening, informed Mr Chandra. He highlighted the proactive role of media in exposing 'big ticket' corruption in India. He then went on to distinguish collusive or 'big ticket' corruption from extortionary corruption and opined that the media has hardly played any role in curbing the second. However, it is extortionary corruption that is more insidious and affect the poorest of the poor in India, he added. It is only in the first case that the media has been focusing till now, because of the urge to increase TRPs. He also opined that with the dramatic transformation of mediums of information exchange, it is likely that in a few years from now,

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the media would be able to focus on extortionary corruption too, thereby bringing about a downfall in its rate. This included conversation on the internet in vernacular that is now restricted only to the urban educated few in terms of tweet etc, he opined. He also warned regarding the length to which the media should go - it should never become a jury from a watchdog, as is seen in many cases in television nowadays, which may lead to some innocent guy being turned a villain. Mr P S Bawa, Chairman, Transparency International India Mr Bawa emphasized the role of Transparency International in reporting corruption figures to the government. He informed that apart from the five steps that the Government has proposed to tackle corruption, Transparency International has proposed a few more that are needed to be added viz., the Lokpal Bill, Lok Ayuktas for all states with adequate power, enacting the Whistleblower Act, notification of rules under the Benami Transaction Act of 1988 etc. The bureaucracy is also being involved in this regard, he added. The people are being informed about their rights under the RTI Act and Transparency International has also sought for the Citizens Charters from various state instrumentalities. Given the apathy and indifference of the legislature and executive, only media has the power to initiate action, he felt. Media is articulating the voice of people - it seeks truth as well as informs back truth to the authorities, he opined. Media and the civil society are the fourth and fifth pillars of governance nowadays and all these five pillars need to work together to have a corruption free society, he added. Dr N Bhaskara Rao, Chairman, Centre for Media Studies Dr Rao pointed out that as per empirical data corruption has come down in India. This is because of the role of a proactive media, technological advance, privatization & competition and prevalence of a transparency regime, he added. He said that corruption gets coverage of more time on air than all other coverage put together; three-fourth of it is devoted to collusive corruption. No significant coverage is given to extortionary corruption that affects the common man. The mother of all corruption is 'note for vote' wherein all sections of the society both rich and poor are paid for exercising their franchise, he observed. He also warned against the 'perception trap' where people feel that they are aware of the problem yet fail to look for a solution. He urged media to take up the cause, as has been done in case of few path-breaking initiatives like the 'Save Tiger' project of NDTV, so that sector wise cleansing of the society can be done. Mr Sanjaya Baru, Editor, The Business Standard Mr Baru, in his short speech, opined that extortionary corruption is on the decrease but collusive corruption is increasing day by day. In our day to day lives, corruption has decreased in relation to what were prevalent 10-15 years ago in terms of basic services. He threw light on the corruption that is prevalent within the media itself, wherein the owners

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who double up as editors use a particular medium for their own vested interests thereby reducing quality of professional management of media houses. This puts integrity of media to questions as whole - lower down the rung it is the acceptance of various kinds of privileges by correspondents. There is also requirement of an editorial interface that is able to edit the information received from the source before it is actually emancipated to the receiver, he added. Mr K T S Tulsi, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court Mr Tulsi identified the most fundamental cause of corruption in the judiciary as unending delay in delivering judgments. The delays have virtually crippled the judicial process and have enlarged judicial discretion to such an extent that people are beginning to lose faith. He also opined that the criminal justice system seems to have been paralyzed. These delays have made corruption a 'low risk-high profit' business. There are more than twenty million cases pending in the courts, more than one and a half million under trials in jail, more than fifty six thousand rape cases pending in the courts and the rate of conviction in corruption cases is close to a mere 2%, he informed. He also informed that India ranked 45th out of 49 countries in terms of honesty of officials by World Economic Survey. World Bank, on the other hand, has ranked Delhi Development Authority (DDA) as the most corrupt organization in India. He reiterated the need to deal with corruption in all aspects of life including food, health, judiciary, education, police etc. He added that there is nothing wrong with the laws but there is a huge problem in its enforcement in terms of delays, which has aggravated the problem of corruption in India.

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VALEDICTORY SESSION Mr P P Rao, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court Mr Rao, in his speech, pointed out that casteism, corruption and politicization have eroded integrity and efficiency of civil structure. Corruption starts with elections and spreads like wild fire thereafter engulfing every aspect of life that comes in front of it, he opined. He called for a radical amendment in the system so that the corrupt do not engage in plundering public property and turn it into private wealth. His recommendations included: ? Adequate amendments in the law so that the suspected civil servants can be removed from their chairs. ? Tightening the provisions governing recruitments in UPSC, PSC and SSC. ? Make Minsitership and high public offices inaccessible except to the deserving and able persons with impeccable integrity. ? Facilitate appointment of few experts from outside politics / political parties and make them Members of Parliament from outside for handling crucial portfolios. ? Till the above provision is created and effected, make an Ordinance or Notification for appointment of competent expert advisers to Ministers, whose advice would be followed except in cases where the Minister may refer it to the Prime Minister for his approval. ? Strengthen the Election Commission by conferring additional powers including the power to derecognize political parties and cancel their registration ? Constitute search committees to assist the Supreme Court and High Courts in selection of befitting candidates to be judges. ? Introduce shift system in Courts with second shift exclusively dealing with criminal cases against public servants- MPs, MLAs, civil servants, judges etc. ? Build up public opinion against corruption and pressurize law makers to the extent possible with able support from unbiased media. Mr Harish N Salve, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court 1. Mr Harish N Salve, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court referred to the economic gloom that is prevailing over US, UK and the European Union with only Asia being the silver lining.

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However, for India, even with the advantage of a shining economy, the year 2011 has started with an impending sense of despondency - a paradox under the given circumstances. India has emerged as a robust economic entity, but is yet to emerge from the quagmire of bad governance and corruption into which it has sunk and seems to be sinking deeper as the days progress. There are two faces of India- Corporate India that is daring the rest of the world and a 'slum dog' India that reeks of greed, avarice, corruption and criminality. We have the finest institutions in India with maximum degree of structural abrasions that has crept in. We can boast of a Parliament that has been healthily in place for the last 60 years yet it is dysfunctional in nature. As for instance, democracy failed miserably when three supplementary grants are passed without parliamentary scrutiny only over voice votes, as the parliament was paralyzed by the opposition, he added. 2. He went on to say that India has become a nation of 'gestures', the fundamental problems are not dealt with, only a few gestural actions are taken to cover up a deeper rot. The fight we need to take up is not only to weed out corruption, but to deal with the egregious corruption as exists today in India. Any nation consists of a group of people who are honest to the core, they will be so under any circumstances; there are a few who are just the opposite i.e incorrigibly dishonest and will remain so whatsoever happens. But the bulk of Indian society consists of intelligent and hardworking people who, given a fair regime, would prefer to live honestly. We have as of today failed to create such a society, he lamented. 3. Taking the instance of a law that would require people travelling abroad to disclose their bank details, Mr Salve pointed out that the problem lies with the people who have sacks of cash tucked under their carpets and not with someone having a bank account. The nation is happy to live in lie, deceit and dishonesty and we have all chosen to become hypocrites, he opined. Taking an instance he said that all politicians file an affidavit stating that they have spent less than thirty thousand rupees for fighting an election- a fundamental lie to prove him to be honest! One's nationalism is proved by wearing khadi during the day even if he sips imported scotch as evening falls. We publicly criticize corrupt ministers at public platforms only to fraternitize with them at the slightest opportunity. Corruption is so deep rooted in India that a common man has to climb a mountain in the true sense of the term to get a simple formality, like a mutation, or a water connection, while policy changes in corporate benefit are done in a matter of minutes. We need to build a society where a corrupt person would not find a friend. What is required today is to bring about a change in the mindset of the people. 4. He added that In terms of structural changes, we need transparent regulations as well as transparent regulators. There should be transparency in appointment in all institutions,

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howsoever big it may be. There must be change in criminal justice system which has crumbled over the years. Also important is to revise emoluments of government officials so that they are not compelled to be corrupt. To conclude he showed tremendous faith in the current generation, the students and urged to make all of these an electoral issue- only then will the change take place, he opined. Hon'ble Justice Shri P V Reddi, Chairman, Law Commission of India 1. Justice Reddy informed the audience that he was present throughout the event to collect necessary inputs from the panelists and the audience for undertaking the much needed law reforms. Corruption has become a stumbling block in attaining the objective of welfare state as envisaged by the Constitution, he lamented. He pointed out that despite existence of vigilant press and cherished freedom as guaranteed by the Constitution, corruption is rampant in India. He took reference of a quote of Benjamin Disraeli When men are pure, laws are useless; when men are corrupt, laws are broken and referred that we fall in the second category. He opined that though corruption was prevalent during the ancient days, its degree was much less than what it is now. The steady deterioration of human values in all walks of life has led to prevalence of corruption. He then referred to a quote of Mahatma Gandhi, There is enough on earth for everybody's need, but not for everybody's greed, and added that the acts born out of greed and selfishness are inhuman and unpardonable as they affect fellow human beings whom the public servants are expected to serve. He also referred to a quote of Martin Luther King, Jr, Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. and opined that this statement is of greater relevance in the present day context. The fusion of values dear to human life into the development process is a necessary ingredient of progress in right direction. The exiting new era of development and in technological advances has had its effects on the mindset, attitudes and cultural moorings of the people. Though by and large transformation of economy has contributed to prosperity and growth of the nation, it has promoted materialism and lure to make money by hook or crook, he added. Globalization has had its indirect but definite effect on the socio cultural fabric of the nation, he opined. 2. Justice Reddi added that Corruption persists as a dreaded disease, it has become all pervasive. He expressed concern over siphoning of money from welfare projects by a privileged few middlemen thereby depriving the down trodden millions. It is a matter of grave concern that corruption prevails in our country even in securing routine services. Corruption is distorting allocation of scarce public resources. The worst part is that people have become tolerant to corruption and got reconciled to the fact that corruption has become a part of life of the society. People are disillusioned with the mission to tackle corruption. There is little or no resistance to the malpractices and manipulations resorted to by corrupt public officials. People do not come out openly to report corrupt activities, may be

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for fear of reprisal or on account of indifference. He referred to the popular quote of Bess Myerson, The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference and added that it is the main reason for its prevalence in public service. It is more of a social problem emanating from a diseased society. 3. To tackle corruption not only the Government but also the public, the NGOs including the professional associations and eminent personalities must join hands. There must be fear of law as well as respect of law. However, stringency of laws or its mere increase /multiplicity will not be enough, he opined. The administrative systems have to be so harnessed as to reduce the scope of corruption. We need to identify corruption prone areas and the breeding sources of corruption, he added. Preventive action is more important than punitive action, he said. Moreover we need to think of solutions that are practical and practicable. The provisions of the Statute Law must be more functional. He lamented on the snail pace of prosecution of corruption cases and added that there is much to be desired in the manner of conducting prosecutions. The trials also get delayed in spite of special courts being set up. The bottle-necks regarding delays in filing charge sheets and case disposals have to be removed. The political will to check the menace of corruption coupled with the activism on the part of the public are the two key factors that could bring corruption under control. Strengthening anti corruption machinery along with adequate review and mobilizing the resources are the need of the hour. 4. Justice Reddi opined that the Anti-corruption Bureau must be given equal importance as that of the police. The Anti Corruption Bureaus (ACBs) are often infested with inefficient officials and are subjected to pressure from political parties. Coupled with this is the problem of inadequate manpower. The ACBs must have functional independence and should be devoid of political influence. The ACBs may be brought under control of an independent body consisting of high ranking officials, serving or retired, known for their integrity and also retired judges of impeccable repute. The ACBs need to be decentralized and located in every region/state with efficient trained personnel manning them. Also he stated that CBI is overburdened with work and shortage of man power and there is a need to open an exclusive anti-corruption strategy wing in the CBI, he added. According to him at the central level, the government should give more importance to the CVC, he observed. CVC should also have its regional units and should be equipped with personnel specialized in intelligence and investigation related to corruption. CVC must have the arrangement of appointing its officials rather than surviving on ad hoc appointments or appointments on deputation. There is also a need to do an impact assessment of the CVC. He also stressed the need to create village and taluk level committees selected by a cross section of public to fight corruption. There is a need to build public opinion. Social consciousness will act as an antidote against corruption. A colloquium needs to be established with likeminded people who are ready to fight this menace out of the society, he said. He expressed his views that there is a need to introduce a course on corruption as a subject of study in the secondary

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level like environment, so that the young generation is made aware of the evils of corruption at an early age. Further, he stated that another important aspect is to control discretion to the extent possible. Political corruption needs to be controlled. The nexus between the political leaders and corrupt officials lead to a chain of illegal activities that affects well being of the state. The civil society at large is therefore affected with substandard delivery of services from the government, he said. 5. Justice Reddi informed that the Law Commission has submitted reports seeking reforms to the existing laws from time to time on corruption issues. The Commission took reference to the Central Vigilance Commission Bill and also two consequential amending Bills concerning Delhi Special Police Establishment Act and Foreign Exchange Regulation Act and has suggested that the CVC should be a multi-member body. As regards improvement in infrastructure and methods of investigation, the Law Commission referred to the organizational set up for investigation of offences by SFO (Serious Fraud Office) as existent in the United Kingdom. In sensitive issues regarding investigation of fiscal fraud, the need to have a multi disciplinary investigative team was stressed in Law Commission's report. The Commission suggested providing CBI and Enforcement Directorate a separate trained police force. The Commission emphasized the need for taking measures to complete trials involving high level public men with utmost expedition. In the 166th Report the Law Commission had drafted a Bill entitled 'The Corrupt Public Servants Forfeiture of Property Bill' and has recommended its implementation. This is because the Commission took the view that the provisions in the existing laws that are prevalent are inadequate since forfeiture follows conviction only. Another important recommendation made by the Law Commission in its 179th Report was in respect of 'Whistle Blower Law'. A draft Bill entitled 'The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Informers Bill 2002' was prepared which was meant for people to encourage disclosure of corrupt practices and frauds and protection from any type of victimization. Further it has been recommended that Section 5 of the 'Benami Transactions Prohibition Act 1988' which allows for acquisition of property held under fictitious names need to be implemented. He stated that recommendations regarding CVC have been partially acted upon and some of the other recommendations seem to be under the active consideration of the government, he opined.

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Mr D R Kaarthikeyan (Padma Shri), President, FGG Mr Kaarthikeyan during the valedictory session, painted a pen picture of all the discussions held during the course of the day, which can be summed up as follows: ? We are all products of our system, and unfortunately many feel compelled to indulge in corruption, how much ever hard we try to be honest. How do we overcome this challenge? ?not restricted to public life alone. It needs to be upheld in private business Integrity is enterprises as well, and more importantly in our personal life. Only when we have personal integrity, it can get reflected in our professional spheres. Just as charity begins at home, integrity too needs to begin at home. This has been reiterated by most speakers. ? laws have not been able to stem corruption and encourage integrity. And, Our existing the Law Commissions can only recommend and eventually it is the responsibility of the government to take it forward. ? There is a crying need to bolster capacity of the investigative agencies and free them from political control. This requires an urgent reforming and updating of outdated laws to facilitate better policing. The agencies also require adequate augmentation of human resources, particularly skilled investigators in middle and lower ranks to help address the huge backlog of cases. ? There is severity of laws but there is no certainty of punishment. This only encourages corruption. Also, there is a need to address the people who have the capacity to corrupt. There is also an urgent need to develop a positive vigilance culture. The corrupt should not feel that they can get away with anything. ? corruption, two elements are important one, accountability, and two, To weed out increased transparency. The biggest enemy for the state is not external threat, rather corruption which is internal and corrosive. Is there a link between corruption and inflation? Technology is one way to address corruption as it aims to increase transparency and stall ad hoc and arbitrary bureaucratic behaviour. ? a need to make the vigilance oversight bodies independent. At this There is also moment, vigilance bodies like CVOs are located within the organisational structure of each of the government agency. This hampers a transparent investigation of allegations raised against the officials in the agency. There is therefore an urgent need for an independent, but single body to oversee corruption.

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India requires ? a stable government which is held together with adequate checks and balances. Just as an organisation cannot sustain if it is not looped together, the nation cannot progress if it is not looped together with instruments that stem corrupt practices and encourages integrity, accountability and transparency. ?huge gap between actual levels of corruption and people's perception of There is a corruption. This gap has been created and came about due to the role media has played in highlighting corrupt practices. As the number of media houses has increased, people's perception on corruption has increased correspondingly. ? challenge that the media is facing is the corruption from within. This The biggest hardly gets focused since no one is aware of it, no measure has come about to address it. Professional management of media has come down. Combination of business and political interests dominate corruption in media. Most in the media houses have learnt to live with the privileges and assume that they are entitled to it. ?the institutional framework. The problem is how to make use of this India has framework. ? Some of the laws of India are old and archaic urgent need to make them contemporary and updated, and to delete some of them. ?credible Lokpal bill Need for a ?become a fundamental right RTI should ? a law to regulate functioning of political parties and giving powers to CEC Promulgate to derecognize / deregister political parties. ? Reclassify crimes so that minor offences could be addressed through plea bargaining ? Execute wholesale electoral reforms ? Execute independent appointment of judges

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Mr Arun Kumar Jagatramka, Conference Co-Chairman, Global Steel & CMD, Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd 1. Mr Jagatramka felt that the clarion call for the second struggle for Independence from deceit and corruption, from mistrust and unethical practice has been sounded during the conference. 2. Referring to a metaphor of the nuclear power that defines the potential of an atom, he invited all to involve themselves in an intense debate as to how to salvage the nation from this malice and take up any role in the fight against corruption. People often ask what could be a potential show stopper for India and the most obvious answer is corruption. India could face a Malthusian nightmare instead of reaping its demographic dividend. Deep rooted corruption and total apathy of common men in the system prevents an inclusive growth and is creating a bigger divide between the haves and the have nots, he added. 3. The last 60 years of corruption in India has created a situation as if all of us are corrupt and we should fight second freedom struggle to come out of this quagmire. It's high time that we stop grave-digging and start a new chapter by empowering Indian citizen to hold his head high in pride and trust and be trusted by the enforcement agencies which is at the core of our subjugated civil society, added Mr Jagatramka.

The proceedings of the National Conference on Integrity, which was attended by nearly 350 elite members of the society were widely covered in the Media, with the Economic Times carrying three full page reports.

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National Seminar on Black Money

Background Note
Corruption in India is all pervasive. It has grown to acute proportions and hurts every one of us in different degrees and dimensions. Black Money is one aspect of corruption which today has ballooned to enormous proportions. Without going to conflicting lofty figures of total black money in operation in India, one thing is clear, that it is enough to take care of India's burgeoning external debt problems or eradicate poverty and illiteracy. Black money refers to income earned surreptitiously or illegally, usually in cash, and not reported to government so as to avoid paying taxes on it, and the amount circulating in an underground or parallel economy unmonitored by the authorities. Black money is a tale of bonanza for a very select few and a bane of the vast majority of the population. There have been various efforts by successive governments for more than 60 years to try tackling the issue of black money. But hardly have we tried addressing the root cause of the problem. We have not tried to stop generation of black money. We have been trying to get back the black money once it is generated. If we do not stop its generation, the problem would never cease. We need to address the issue from the source. We have been just mopping the floor keeping the tap open. The irony of the situation is that the diligent income tax payer is being harassed under the notion that he is paying less, while there is a handful that does not disclose their income at all by not filing tax returns and hence evade crores in tax and at the same time is never being hounded by the tax authorities. We need to change this scenario. Honest tax payers should be rewarded and those who do not disclose their income at all should be severely punished. We need to encourage individuals to disclose their income and pay taxes in India. If we keep them as culprit, they would continue to remain so. We lack self compliance in our country. We need to inculcate and promote a culture of voluntary disclosure as against poorly implemented and unnecessarily complicated tax laws prevailing today. It is with this background, Foundation for Peace, Harmony and Good Governance is organizing a one day seminar on Black Money. The idea of the conference is to analyze threadbare into what all constitutes black money and the means to combat this ever growing menace. The seminar aims to explore how black money is generated; its threat to the society and to try finding out ways and means how government and civil society can work in

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partnership in tackling this mephisto . The theme is not to get involved in any blame game, but to create a platform for government, civil society and judiciary to try evolving probable solution and/or to strengthen the present endeavours through frank exchange of views. The big question is what is Black Money and how is it generated? Black money as against the common concept is not only the mind boggling sums of money parked in tax heavens. To understand black money and to really stop this menace, we need to look into why and how it gets generated. Non-compliable provisions in most revenue legislations lead to all being defaulters -differing only in scale - with the result that big evaders can afford to buy the system out while genuine ones in difficulty are unable to match the payout of tax evaders to keep the officials happy - this leads to even the genuine ones turning into evaders in the longer term. Our system is full of Statutory laws that are not compliable by a majority. This makes all in the system as evaders, and no one is superhuman to claim to be fully honest. What we see today is only relative honesty. We must relook the various statutes in existence and restructure them to make them compliable by majority, if not all. Laws that are not complied with impunity or that are not compliable by majority are defunct laws requiring restructuring or deletion. For example, in case of stamp duty & capital gains tax on immovable properties there is a felt need for rationalization to reduce black money content. Until and unless we identify such fallacies and make them compliable, the present system where the big fish gets away by payouts would go on thriving and the generation of black money can never be stopped. The conference is divided into 3 broad sessions: Session 1 Combating the menace stop its generation.... we cannot keep on mopping the floor with tap open.. ? What is black money? ? How is it being generated? ? What are the legal and systemic fallacies that are helping generation and circulation of black money? ? Identifying the laws that are not complied by majority and the need to rationalize them ? Encouraging self compliance ? Is the method and manner of prevailing system of raids discouraging disclosures and compliance, and encouraging corruption? ? The challenge today is encouraging disclosure, since without disclosure, actual

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income can never be ascertained and total tax evaded Taxmen can act with those who disclose, but what about those who do not disclose and remain out of the tax net Session 2 Black Money and Black Economy - It needs to be noted that Black economy not only refers to black money. It has a wider connotation. The session would focus on: ? Role of black money in black economy ? Economic reforms and the growth in black money and black economy ? Black Economy as a threat to security of the country ? Electoral reforms as a measure to combat black economy and black money ? Causes of existence of black economy like degree of controls and regulations, nexus between corrupt politicians, executive and businessmen Session 3 Unraveling Black Money The session would primarily focus on the following points: ? Identifying the tax havens. What are the new and conventional safe havens on earth? ? Signing of tax information exchange agreements but are they enough? ? Once the old/existing tax free regimes or countries become difficult to operate in, new countries / regimes would emerge should we just go on signing agreements? ? What have we achieved from the various agreements signed till date and the names of the persons responsible for stashing black money received so far? ? How to stop generation of black money while trying to get the identified black money back from safe/tax heavens? ? Is it really possible to get the money back from foreign banks? ? Need to explore some out of the box solution since little result achieved from the methodology adopted till date VALEDICTORY SESSION Devising an efficient and actionable strategy to stop generation of black money and to get the hidden black money on record aiming at public welfare. This session would primarily focus on a) Concrete suggestions to stop generation of Black Money b) Concrete suggestions to bring back the black money suspected to be stashed in foreign banks

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c) d) e)

Concrete suggestions to bring back identified black money stashed in foreign banks, and Concrete suggestions to unearth the Black Money available within Indian Territory Concrete suggestions to devise a road map for utilization of Black Money.

The seminar would debate and deliberate on various means to free India from clutches of black money demon and to clamp down on the hidden economy generated by black money. Eminent speakers and delegates would brainstorm on how generation of black money can be stopped. The seminar would try to evolve recommendations on what can be explored as alternatives to the measures already being pursued to build a society on foundation of trust. The seminar would be addressed by key government officials, former bureaucrats, corporates and eminent personalities from the judiciary and media.

Annexure I
What the Government needs to do. For long we have been patting our backs on stories of India rising and double digit growth. It is true that GDP has been growing steadily and has reached 8.5% growth, probably one of the highest in the world. But a slight introspection would reveal that the momentum seems to be losing its steam. Various corruption issues opening up like a can of worms are not only severely denting investors' confidence; it has all the ammo to derail the much touted Indian growth story. According to a recent article in a leading daily quoting a study by Columbia University, Indian companies invested more than $75 billion overseas between 2000 and 2010. According to the latest RBI report, FDI in India declined by 36% between April and September 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. This decline coincides with FDI growth of 17% in non-Arab Asia. Deep rooted corruption and total apathy of common man in the system prevents an inclusive growth and is creating a bigger divide between the haves and the have nots; this might result into India facing a Malthusian nightmare instead of reaping its demographic dividend.

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Government should therefore aim at achieving the following broad goals: ? A complete overhaul of tax system with a bold message to encourage self compliance Government should introduce some bold measures to convey it's willingness to come clean on matters of corruption and black money. There should be something path breaking similar to that of 1985-86. We need an out of the box approach to achieve this. "The more laws are enacted and taxes assessed, the greater the number of lawbreakers and tax evaders." - Lao Tzu. The tax rates should be lowered significantly. Last time when we rationalized tax system in 1985-86, all fears of loss of government revenue were put to rest when actual tax collection was much higher by lowering tax rates. We need a radical approach which dismantles the current rate provision. Government should encourage voluntary compliance without slavishly relying on raids and inspections by authorities. Prevailing system of assessment, inspection and raids are the key reasons for lack of compliance. In the present system, the common tax payers are under an impression that no matter how meticulous they are, the authorities can find a way and trouble them; hence they resort to cash transactions. Therefore, it is important for the government to consider introducing schemes of voluntary disclosure to instill trust of common man in the system. This will ultimately result in greater compliance. . Our previous experience suggests that a lower tax system accompanied by self compliance will result in greater revenue collection, given an improved e-governance. Even the developed countries of world like, USA, UK, Canada and Australia do not have the kind of system that we have in India, but they have much better compliance. Interestingly India is one of the highest black money depositors in foreign banks. It is high time we change the existing system which is ineffective and less productive and government should announce some forward looking measures in this regard. Also Government should empower and encourage public participation in the cleansing process. ? Discourage Extortionary Corruption Need to identify extortionary corruption and to deal with it separately from collusive corruption Our system provides overriding power to enforcement agencies which give rise to extortionary corruption. Policy correction can curb extortionary corruption. Moreover, it is extortionary corruption which affects the common man, the honest man. DTC if implemented partially or fully this year should address the administrative flaws which have been overlooked in the revised version. The tax code for example provides an all pervasive

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power to assessing officers to nail any one with impunity with no practical option for appeal. The tax laws should provide at least the minimum dignity to tax payers. We need tax laws: Which do not abet corruption and are not self defeating Which would not invite more & more avoidable vigilance and suspicion in tax system Which would not harasses honest tax payers Which will discourage evasion and greasing palms of tax officials

Plugging the leakages where ever possible

Presently the implementation mechanism seems to have totally collapsed. Social sector spending is of course the need of the day, but if the intended benefit does not reach poor and deserving lot then such schemes become useless and counter productive. Aam Admi schemes like NREGA, food security or right to education would not get fulfilled if implementation of such schemes is not proper. Government has been allocating huge funds for such schemes, but they would be of no use if the existing opacity in implementation is not removed. Hence, while devising such schemes and allocating funds, extreme care should be taken to see to it that leakages are plugged and benefit reaches to those for whom these schemes are meant for. The thrust should be on implementation and not merely on announcement of schemes. Skimming funds from the public purse at every level and at every crossing within the chain of command results in only a fraction of government outlay reaching to the intended beneficiaries. Systemic corruption only grinds the efficiency of governance to a halt. Corruption hits poor the hardest; it has crippled governance thereby creating a feeling of deprivation amongst masses, and is creating mistrust on Governments' good intentions in improving livelihood of masses. It is corruption that saps out the strength of the nation and makes it vulnerable to divisive forces, both internal and external.

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Annexure II
The situation is not going to change unless we change the system of collection of tax and assessment of tax liability. We need a complete change in mentality. When raids are conducted, the tax men instead of doing their job honestly generally seen as harassing people by using, over using and misusing powers vested in them and this leads to giving and taking bribe, which at times is more than the actual tax liability of the individual. When someone can get away by paying less, then why should he honestly pay his taxes? Keep the taxmen amused, so what if they harass you when they come, it is the cost you pay for a trip to the Swiss banks - black money circulation starts and the vicious circle ends nowhere. Indians severely lack self compliance. Government cannot police anywhere and everywhere, anyone and everyone; if it starts doing that it will have to give excessive power in the hands of the agencies and officials which have the potential to make even the honest into corrupt. The only way out, is to create, an atmosphere conducive of compliance; an aura of trust by encouraging voluntary disclosures. There has been a public outrage against corruption. But media is busy focusing corruption at high places. It seems less exciting to break stories about corruption among petty officials and inspectors than stories about telecom giants and sports monarchs. It is going to matter less to an ordinary citizen if any of the telecom giants are fined, or a scheming minister is jailed, or formation or existence of JPC or no JPC. It pinches him when he is forced to bribe government officer to get a birth or death certificate. It frustrates him when he has to pay out of pocket to get his legitimate civic amenities or to get his land or property registered which he has bought through hard earned money. A systemic overhaul can only uproot this grass root corruption which affects the 'aam admi'.

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Theme Presentation

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Profile of Speakers at National Seminar on Black Money

Hon'ble Justice Shri P V Reddi Shri Justice P.V. Reddi practised as an advocate in various branches of law for 27 years, in Andhra Pradesh High Court. He became Judge of A.P. High Court in March 1990 and was president of A.P. Judicial Academy during his tenure as Judge. He became the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court in October 2000 and was elevated to Supreme Court of India in August 2001. After retirement, he served as Chairman of the Advance Ruling Authority (Income Tax, Customs, etc.). Soon after completing his tenure as Chairman, AAR, he assumed office as Chairman of the Law Commission of India in April 2010. The most important judgment which Justice Reddi rendered as a Judge of the Supreme Court was in PUCL case, wherein it was held that the fundamental right to freedom of expression vested in a voter entitled him the right to know about the assets and liabilities and criminal antecedents of the candidate contesting for election. Hon'ble Justice Shri N Santosh Hegde Justice Santosh Hegde, currently the Honourable Lokayukta (the anti-corruption ombudsman of the state of Karnataka), is a leading legal luminary. Graduating from University Law College, Bangalore, he joined the Bar in 1966. Having practiced law at both the High Court of Karnataka and the Supreme Court of India, he has over 30 years of litigation experience to his credit. He has also held high offices, as Advocate General of Karnataka, Additional Solicitor General to the Government of India and Solicitor General to the Government of India. Justice Hegde was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of India in 1999, from which position he retired in June 2005. He holds the rare distinction of being one among only four persons in the history of the Supreme Court of India to be elevated as a Judge directly from the bar. Justice Hegde has whilst presiding as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India delivered several landmark judgments. He has also functioned as the Chairperson of the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal from June 2005 to August 2006. Justice Hegde has played a pivotal role in weeding out corruption in society. Under his leadership the Lokayukta has cleared over 12,000 complaints filed by citizens against public servants for offences of corruption and maladministration. He has distinguished himself as one of the most efficient and upright Lokayuktas in the country. Hon'ble Justice Shri Ajit Prakash Shah Shri Ajit Prakash Shah (born 13 February 1948 at Solapur) was the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court from May 2008 till his retirement in February 2010. Justice Shah did his graduation from Solapur and went on to the Government Law College, Mumbai for his law degree. After a short span of practice at the District Court in Solapur, he shifted to the Bombay High Court in 1977 and joined the chambers of the then-leading Advocate Shri S.C. Pratap. He gained experience in civil, constitutional, service and labour matters. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of Bombay High Court on 18 December 1992 and became the permanent Judge of Bombay High Court on 8 April 1994. He assumed charge as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court on 12 November 2005 and was transferred as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on 7 May 2008. SWAMI AGNIVESH Swami Agnivesh is the Founder-Chairperson of Bandhua Mukti Morcha (Bonded Labour Liberation Front) since 1981 and the President of Sarvadeshik Arya Pratinidhi Sabha (World Council of Arya Samaj) since Sept. 2004. He was the Chairperson of the United Nations Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery (January 1994 to December 2004) He was the Member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly (19771982) and the Minister of Education in Haryana 1979 . He has been associated with a many movents and associations like Adhyatma Jagran Manch (Spiritual Awakening Movement), Interntional Niwano Peace Prize Committee, Tokyo , International Peace Council etc Pioneered several social initiatives against all forms of religious fundamentalism, bigotry, dogmatism, casteism and all narrow-minded racial or other such ill feelings between the different sections of society. He has won numerous awards like the Anti Slavery International Award in London 1990; Freedom and Human Rights Award : Bern, Switzerland 1994 , Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award : New Delhi 2004 ; Right Livelihood Award 2004 : Sweden (Alternative Nobel Prize) etc Prof Arun Kumar Prof Arun Kumar, a MSc. in Physics and Ph.D. in Economics, is the Professor of Social Sciences at the Centre for Economic Studies & Planning in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi since 1984. His areas of interest and specialization include Public Finance, Macroeconomics, Growth economics and Development Economics. He is a gold medalist of the Delhi H.Sc. Board in 1967 and Delhi University B Sc Physics in 1970. His recent peer reviewed Journal is The Black Economy in India.

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Shri Gopal K Agarwal Shri Gopal K Agarwal is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of India having vast experience in the financial markets and economic issues. He is the managing director of Voguestock which is member of national stock exchange and depository participant with NSDL/CDSL and is member of various commodities exchanges of India. He is the director on the National Board of the Association of National Exchanges members of India (ANMI). He was the President of Depository Participant association of India (DPAI) and is an all India President of Commodity participants association of India (CPAI). Dr Kiran Bedi Dr Kiran Bedi is the first woman of the India Police service and the first woman to be police Advisor to UN Secretary General. She has been an Asian and National tennis champion along with her Sister Dr Reeta Peshawaria, a renowned senior consultant in mental disabilities. She is a PHD from IIT Delhi and a post graduate of Chandigarh dept of political science. An author, an NGO Founder and several other social activities, Dr Bedi is a recipient of several awards most notable being the Asian Nobel Peace Award called the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the Police Gallantry Medal from the President of India. She has been repeatedly voted by several publications as the most admired and trusted woman in India. Currently she is actively engaged in the anti corruption movement in India. Shri M Damodaran A member of the premier Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Manipur- Tripura cadre since 1971, Mr. M. Damodaran has held a number of important positions in both the Central and State Governments and in India's financial sector, before demitting office as Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in 2008. He was appointed as its Chief Secretary in 1992, the youngest ever in the country to hold such a position in the State Government. Thereafter, he worked as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Banking Division, for five years, dealing with Government's ownership functions of Public Sector Banks and being its interface with Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In 2001, he was appointed the Chairman of Unit Trust of India (UTI) to rescue India's largest and oldest investment institution which had collapsed. His restoring of UTI to health and strength is widely acknowledged as the most successful turnaround story in India's Financial Sector. He was simultaneously given charge of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI), another of

India's major financial institutions, which too was restructured by him in an innovative manner, pulling it back from the brink, transforming it to a bank, and merging it with another commercial bank. As Chairman SEBI, he brought improved practices to India's securities market. During his tenure at SEBI, he was elected Chairman of 80 member Emerging Markets Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Dr N Bhaskara Rao A pioneer of social research in India and an eminent mass communication expert with 40 years of distinguished background, Dr. N. Bhaskara Rao is founder Chairman of well known and prestigious independent Centre for Media Studies (CMS). He is also founder chairman of prestigious market research and forecasting outfit, Marketing & Development Research Associates (MDRA). Earlier, he had built up ORG as its CEO. Dr. Rao pioneered Role Model Awards at National level. He pioneered psephology based election studies in India, 30 years ago. Dr. Rao had high academic achievements having three masters degrees and a Ph.D from two Indian and two US Universities. Dr Bhaskara Rao is an acknowledged expert in public opinion, feedback and market research methodologies. Dr. Rao made a mark on futures studies in India starting in 1975 with "India 2001", India 2020 in 1986 and he was the Coordinator of Vision 2020 Andhra Pradesh. Dr.Rao has done extensive research in India on television effects, including on children and was responsible for benchmark studies on media and television policies. He is founder-Director of more than a couple of research agencies. His latest book A Handbook of Poll Surveys in Media (2010) is the only reference book on the subject. Shri P S Bawa S h r i P S B awa s e r ve d t h e R a j a st h a n Administrative Service from 1961-64. He then joined the Indian Police Service (1964-Union Territories) Serving extensively in Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Goa, Daman & Diu, in various capacities. After retirement as Director General of Police, Sikkim he was a member of the Prison Reform Committee, Government of Delhi and a Consultant to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi; He is currently the Chairman, Transparency International India He has been awarded Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service; President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service; and Asiad Jyoti Medal for coordinating police arrangements for the Asian Games.

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Shri R Sri Kumar Shri R Sri Kumar is the Vigilance Commissioner, CVC. He is a B Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Chennai (1970) and did his Master of Business Laws from National Law School of India University, Bangalore (2003). Shri Sri Kumar joined IPS in 1973 after a brief stint in Central Public Works Dept. He has served in various capacities in Uttar Pradesh in the districts of Fatehgarh, Azamgarh and Pratapgarh and in the Intelligence, Fire Services and Vigilance departments. He was also Superintendent of Police, Bangalore and Bellary Districts and worked as SP/CBI, Bangalore, DIG/CBI, Delhi, DIG/SIT, Madras. Shri Vishv Bandhu Gupta Most famous Commissioner of Income tax, Shri Vishvabandhu Gupta holds MBA degrees from University of Delhi and Eastern Michigan University. Groomed with Honours degree in sociology from Delhi School of Economics he has written extensively on Black Money, Red Money, Cricket betting derivatives, currency and commodity forecasting. Offered Fellowship by Harvard University for author's grip on Al Qaeda terror paradigm, he is perhaps the most conversant man on global fiscal affairs in India's civil service. Extensively covered by International and national media as a Commissioner of Income tax, he was the first man that exposed Match Fixing in India's cricket by organizing county wide IT raids, busted Dawood's entire criminal network in New Delhi and UP in collaboration with CBI. He first shot to fame when he busted illegal foreign inflows into the saffron leadership's pockets in 1989. Recognized as most knowledgeable man in financial scams, he writes first time for ordinary taxpayers as to how they can legally pay lesser Income tax than they do now. Shri Wajahat Habibullah Shri Wajahat Habibullah, a former civil servant of the Indian Administrative Service, has spent much of his career in Jammu & Kashmir most of it in the Kashmir valley, to the cadre of which he stood seconded. He has also served on the staff of India's Prime Ministers Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, as minister in the Embassy of India, Washington DC as secretary in the ministries of textiles and Panchayati Raj, and the department of consumer affairs, and administrator of the union territory of Lakshadweep. After retiring from the service Habibullah served as India's first Chief Information Commissioner, heading the final court of appeal under India's Right to Information Act, 2005. A former senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, Habibullah has been awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence in Secularism. He is presently Chairperson of National Commission for Minorities.

Shri Arun Kumar Jagatramka Shri Arun Kumar Jagatramka is a Chartered Accountant with an all India 1st rank and a gold medallist. He has an industrial experience of more than a decade in the production of coke and coal. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Gujarat NRE Coke Limited. Under his able guidance, Gujarat NRE Coke, has become the largest independent producer of Met Coke in India and the only Indian entity to own and operate coking coal mine in Australia. Shri Jagatramka has been appointed Honorary NSW Sydney Ambassador to India by the Govt. of New South Wales, Australia. He was recently conferred the prestigious Person of the Year 2009 title by Illawarra Mercury, a leading Australian publication. Mr Jagatramka has been the Chairman of Integrity Sub Committee of CII Western Regional Council and since then has been championing the subject through various presentations and contests. Under his able leadership, Gujarat NRE AMA Centre for Integrity has been formed in one of the premier management institutions of the country which is engaged in promoting integrity primarily among the youth. The centre has also been publishing various books on transparency and good governance as well as organising various program involving the youth. Shri D R Kaarthikeyan Shri D R Kaarthikeyan was born in a farming family in village Devarayapuram, in the State of Tamilnadu on 2nd October 1939. He is a Science Graduate and also a Bachelor of Law. Shri Kaarthikeyan practiced as Lawyer for three years, before joining Indian Police Service. He had held several positions in Karnataka state including Superintendent of Police and Chief of Intelligence, security, Railway Police. On deputation to the Govt. of India in the Ministry Commerce of the Government of India, Mr Kaarthikeyan functioned as Director of Trade Promotion in Australia; on deputation in the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India, he functioned as Head of Chancery and Consular Division of the Embassy of India in Moscow (then USSR). Shri Kaarthikeyan had held challenging positions like Chief of Investigation of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case; Special Director-General of Central Reserve Police Force, Director of Central Bureau of Investigation of India; and Director-General in the National Human Rights Commission. He has been awarded many tittles and honours in and outside India, including Padma Shri, Police Medal for meritorious service ; President's Medal for distinguished service and Rajiv Gandhi National Award for Communal Harmony. Shri Kaarthikeyan is currently involved in several civil society organisations and travels all over the world promoting many causes including interfaith harmony, environment, green energy, agriculture, human values, rights and responsibilities, yoga, spirituality and good governance.

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Message of Global Steel Conference Co-Chairmen

Arun Kumar Jagatramka

Chairman and Managing Director

Neil J Bristow
Managing Director

Gujarat NRE Coke Limited

H&W Worldwide Consulting Ltd

Global Steel has become an annual event being presented by Gujarat NRE and The Economic Times. The idea of the conference has been to bring together the wide breadth of knowledge and expertise of steel industry experts and industry captains to chart a growth path for the Indian steel industry in the face of the ever evolving and challenging global economic and industrial landscape. The year 2010 has seen a steady recovery for steel demand that began from the second half of 2009. India, now the fifth largest steel maker of the world is expected to see the demand grow at a rapid rate of more than 13% this year, far faster than dominant China and against a projected global increase of around 6%. A lethal combination of strong economic headwinds in many parts of the world, high raw materials costs and trade uncertainty, present major challenges for the global steel industry in 2011/2. India's strong domestic economy coupled with huge infrastructure needs is the main reason for this projected surge in demand. This is very heartening for the country reeling with various issues deferring the setting up of major new large steel mills in India. It is even expected that with new commissioning of plants, India may return to becoming a net exporter of steel in the near future. Against this backdrop, Gujarat NRE and The Economic Times present Global Steel 2012, the 7th international conference on steel and steel making raw materials, from 27 to 29 January 2012 in New Delhi. Global Steel 2012 is being organized to chart a clear path for the steel industry in India to prosper- hence the theme chosen this year is 'Scripting and Energising a New Renaissance'. We believe that Industry cannot operate in isolation from the social environment of the Nation. India today faces one of her greatest challenges post independence. Deep rooted corruption and total apathy of the common man in the system prevents an inclusive dynamic growth path and is instrumental in creating a bigger divide between the hav's and the have nots. It is time that we energise ourselves and get involved in the intense debate as to how to salvage the Nation from this malice and to end the all encompassing blanket that saps the spirit and will to strive for excellence. It does require a second freedom struggle and we are glad to see that the stage has already been set for it. It is time that the government, industry, academia, politicians and the civil society come together to ward off this all pervasive, economic draining monster of corruption. We thank FGG for organizing a series of conferences of National Interest. It started with National Conference on th Integrity on 18 January 2011 along with Global Steel 2011 which received an excellent response. We now take pleasure in attending the National Seminar on Black Money. The idea is to bring together all like minded individuals to lend a voice and a hand of support to the ongoing initiatives of the government and the civil society in building the India that we all dream of. Let us all join hands in building a Nation where each citizen is energised and trusted, where the individual feels valued and the system encourages self compliance and faith. Let trust and belief in integrity be the foundation stones of the New India.

Announcing

Global Steel 2012

27 - 29, January 2012, Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi

Scripting and Energising a New Renaissance

www.globalsteel.in