New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday called upon Indians to wage war against "big time corruption".
Speaking at the Administrative Stiff College of India (ASCI), Manmohan Singh said that citizens needed to play an active role "in exposing inefficiency, in resisting corruption in public life, and in taking forward public programmes that are of benefit to us as a nation.
"Too often, I fear that a mind that is indifferent to poor quality, indifferent performance, graft and inefficiency is taking hold in India. Citizens must play their due role in resisting this mindset... I want the citizens to act and check big time corruption."
The Prime Minister was addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of the institute, with some of whose faculty members Manmohan Singh has worked in the past.
In other points, the prime minister spoke about low spending on research and development and the low number of graduates India produces, called for unlocking the investment potential of the public sector, reforming the ways villages and towns are governed, and bettering the managements of public sector companies.
Singh said while public-private sector partnerships can help, the government cannot abdicate its role in providing basic services to the citizens. "This calls for wise leadership and a change in the manner our civil service and public functionaries are delivering."
The Prime Minister used the occasion to give a pat to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, who has succeeded in dramatically improving the fortunes of the once loss-making railways.
"Recently we have seen a positive turnaround in the performance of Indian Railways... We have to also tone up the management of other large public sector undertakings including the Food Corporation of India and oil PSUs."
He called for improving the delivery of public services - be it hospitals, schools, colleges, water and sanitation services or power supply services.
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"The reform of municipal administration and strengthening of the capabilities of Panchayati Raj institutions and management of public utilities merit greatest attention."
He added: "At the same time, we also need to enhance our capacity for product development and innovation. We must develop human resources for a modern economy and deliver basic services better."
Singh credited the mammoth public sector with providing a base for the formation of engineering and technological skills that is now paying off.
"But the productivity of investment locked up in our public sector is low. We need to unlock this investment potential, if the country has to benefit from the past investments.
"Our government is fully committed to unlocking this potential. We want to create a culture that rewards risk taking, innovation and product development in the public sector so that it can compete effectively on the global plane.
"We must work to put them on a sound financial footing, by giving them opportunities to restructure and rationalize, enter into public-private partnerships, and enable them to build on core competencies.
"To do this we must review the governance structures of public sector undertakings, while maintaining accountability to parliament. The fear of vigilance should not deter good managers being creative or enterprising."
The Prime Minister said that to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by world markets, India must improve its infrastructure, enhance the capacity to be part of global supply chains, keep inflation and interest rates reasonably low, and improve the capacity of the financial system to intermediate savings to productive investment. "These are formidable tasks but they are double."
He went on: "We are equally committed to promote a code of conduct that better defines the relationship between the civil service and the political executive. We must also make service conditions more competitive, while cutting waste and over-manning."
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