Press Release

"Corruption - a stumbling block in good governance" Says Dr P C Alexander, Governor, Maharashtra

January 2002, 2nd International Conference on Corporate Governance, Mumbai India

In a stirring address to 400 industry leaders and policy makers from 20 countries attending the recently concluded 2nd International Conference on Corporate Governance in Mumbai's Taj Hotel, Dr P C Alexander, Governor of Maharashtra stated that the "corruption in India was the biggest stumbling block to good governance". Quoting Mehbubul Haque, the distinguished economist, Dr Alexander stated "corruption in India is not down stream but upstream; it travels on wings to bank accounts in Switzerland; it promotes instead of imprisons the corrupts and perpetuates poverty. It is the greatest sin against humanity and calls for a crusade by everyone".

Earlier Justice A M Ahmadi, Former Chief Justice of India and Co-Chairman of the Institute of Directors observed that "the judicial process in India was most time consuming. With over three crores cases pending disposal in various courts the only alternative was to form an arbitration council for each industry".

Theme of the conference was "Corporate Governance - Turning Rhetoric into Reality". The conference was addressed by Mr N Vittal, Central Vigilance Commissioner, Justice M N Venkatchaliah, Chairman, Constitution Review Committee, Mr P Chidambaram, Former Finance Minister and eminent legal luminaries such as Mr Kapil Sibal, Mr K K Venugopal and Dr A M Singhvi.

Dr Madhav Mehra, President, World Council for Corporate Governance, in his theme address stated that "the role of Corporate Governance has never been more vital. Transparency, accountability, integrity, equity and responsibility in the governance of corporation can have a transformational effect on our entire economic and social performance. Yet high profile corporate failures are not only taking place in India but also in the west such as ENRON, MARCONI and Swissair. It is time, therefore, that we reflect why 7 years after the Cadbury Report there continues an enormous cleavage between the rhetoric of corporate governance and reality".

Dr Mehra added, "Corporate Governance goes way beyond disclosures and compliance. It is concerned with empowering people, spurring and pursuing innovation and improving efficiency. It addresses conflicts of interest, which can impose burdens on the enterprise and ensures transparency and probity in corporate affairs to improve business standards and public accountability". He asserted that "the impact of corruption and corporate and public mis-governance is alienating the civil society and is a ticking time bomb. It has widened the gap between rich and poor and created a crisis of confidence which has severely jeopardized our ability to attract investment, both domestic and foreign".