Corporate honchos say businessmen overseas have been vexed with corruption here for a long time, and this movement addresses their worry too.
BANGALORE: Anna Hazare's anti-graft campaignhas pushed corruption to the fore again. Corporate honchos say businessmen overseas have been vexed with corruption here for a long time, and this movement addresses their worry too.
Kris Gopalakrishnan, executive co-chairman,Infosys Technologies, said Brand India is affected because of the perception that we can't solve the problem of corruption.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD, Biocon, said India has an outstanding business reputation. But people outside feel the cost of doing business in the country comes at a price that may require underhand dealings to get things done. "This perception needs to change," she said.
Krishnakumar Natarajan, CEO, MindTree, echoed that feeling: "Outsiders feel the government is not transparent and India is not an easy place to do business. There is discomfort, especially on issues related to infrastructure," he said.
Is there much talk about the anti-corruption agitation in the US? TOI asked Phaneesh Murthy, CEO, iGate Patni, who spends a good part of his time there. "As of now, it's a topic of discussion only in social circles there. A lot of business is done between two non-governmental parties with no government role. So currently, the topic is not on top of one's mind. But it's time it got into other levels of conversations. Overall, there's a positive sentiment about India and its economic growth."
How do we change perceptions? "We should tackle corruption by reducing the number of approvals and permissions. A more controlled regulation leads to inherent corruption. The country has to use e-governance models to bring transparency, like in passport services," said Shaw.
Gopalakrishnan said the pause in the reform process has not helped matters. "We could have grown fast even during the slowdown had we put systems in place," he said.
Numbers don't lie
* Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International placed India at 87 among 178 countries in the 2010 corruption index. India scored 3.3 on a scale of 10
* Janaagraha initiative ipaidabribe.com shows Bangalore at the top with maximum number of bribes paid. Earlier this week, the site showed 3,641 instances of bribe that amounted to Rs 10 crore. Police, followed by the registration department and municipal services, sought the maximum number of bribes. The site depends on people logging in their bribe-paying details, and therefore is limited to that extent.
Kris Gopalakrishnan, executive co-chairman,Infosys Technologies, said Brand India is affected because of the perception that we can't solve the problem of corruption.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD, Biocon, said India has an outstanding business reputation. But people outside feel the cost of doing business in the country comes at a price that may require underhand dealings to get things done. "This perception needs to change," she said.
Krishnakumar Natarajan, CEO, MindTree, echoed that feeling: "Outsiders feel the government is not transparent and India is not an easy place to do business. There is discomfort, especially on issues related to infrastructure," he said.
Is there much talk about the anti-corruption agitation in the US? TOI asked Phaneesh Murthy, CEO, iGate Patni, who spends a good part of his time there. "As of now, it's a topic of discussion only in social circles there. A lot of business is done between two non-governmental parties with no government role. So currently, the topic is not on top of one's mind. But it's time it got into other levels of conversations. Overall, there's a positive sentiment about India and its economic growth."
How do we change perceptions? "We should tackle corruption by reducing the number of approvals and permissions. A more controlled regulation leads to inherent corruption. The country has to use e-governance models to bring transparency, like in passport services," said Shaw.
Gopalakrishnan said the pause in the reform process has not helped matters. "We could have grown fast even during the slowdown had we put systems in place," he said.
Numbers don't lie
* Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International placed India at 87 among 178 countries in the 2010 corruption index. India scored 3.3 on a scale of 10
* Janaagraha initiative ipaidabribe.com shows Bangalore at the top with maximum number of bribes paid. Earlier this week, the site showed 3,641 instances of bribe that amounted to Rs 10 crore. Police, followed by the registration department and municipal services, sought the maximum number of bribes. The site depends on people logging in their bribe-paying details, and therefore is limited to that extent.