Efforts on to make systemic changes for transparency in govt: PM

Against the backdrop of various scams hitting the government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said efforts are underway to make "systemic changes" to ensure more transparency and safeguards in the governing processes.

Addressing the 9th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Delhi, he said consensus would be needed to bring about far-reaching changes that may be required in governance and asserted that the government would "sincerely" work towards this end.

"We are examining seriously how to make systemic changes that ensure more transparent procedures and safeguards in our governing processes," Singh told a gathering of around 1,500 NRIs and people of Indian origin (PIOs) who have assembled in the capital from across the world for the three-day event.

He said the Indian "democracy and our systems are sturdy, vibrant and have their own in-built mechanisms for redressal and course correction."

Noting that "we need to build consensus on far-reaching changes that may be required in governance and in our legal or electoral systems," Singh said, "We are determined to work sincerely towards this end."

The comments assume significance as the government has been hit by a number of scams like those related to the 2G spectrum allocation and Commonwealth Games.

Talking about the country's progress, the prime minister told the Indian diaspora that the economic recovery was progressing well despite "uncertain" global scenario and the growth is expected to be 9-10% from next year.

"In the last two quarters, our growth rate has been 8.9% and we expect that for the entire year it will be around 8.5%," he said.

Singh underlined that high growth rate is vital to fund India's ambitious social development programmes and create employment for its young population.