Set up commission to check corruption: Assocham to Govt

NEW DELHI: Industry body Assocham today suggested setting up an integrity and ethics commission on the lines of the Planning Commission and the Election Commission to check corruption in the country.

"... (Assocham) proposes an integrity and ethics commission," newly elected Assocham President Dilip Modi told reporters here, adding corruption is worse than cancer as it destroys the confidence of people.

The suggestions for such a commission comes at a time when top industry players are hurling allegations against each other and Parliament's winter session was washed out due to a stand-off between the government and Opposition over the spectrum row.

The Assocham chief also said most of the corruption is emanating from the requirement of the funds for the election.

"We are planning to submit a proposal (to government) that elections, may it be central or state, should be funded by the Centre because election funding is the main source of corruption in our country," Modi said.

The chamber has appointed an expert committee to develop code of ethics to be signed and adopted by corporate India.

On the country's economic performance, Modi said the GDP is likely expand by over 9 per cent this fiscal.

The government has revised its GDP growth forecast to 8.75 per cent. The economy has shown recovery from the impact of global financial crisis that hit in 2008 and India's GDP has grown at 8.9 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal.

He further said, in future, India is going to face seven key imperatives like multiple risk in arranging funding, shortfall in skilled manpower, poor infrastructure and increasing trade imbalance.

Assocham would be working in areas like human resource, education, technology, small and medium enterprises, foreign inflows and rural development, he said.