Will personally work to provide honest, more efficient govt: PM

Wishing to put behind a "very difficult" year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday acknowledged that concern about corruption has moved to the centre stage and vowed to personally work to provide an "honest and more efficient government".

In his New Year message to the nation, he noted that corruption was a serious problem that needs multi-dimensional response of which Lokpal and Lokayuktas are an important part.

He said it was "unfortunate" that Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill could not be passed by the Rajya Sabha but said the government was committed to its enactment.

"The year that has just ended was a very difficult year for the world," Singh said, citing the economic crisis, socio economic tensions, "political upheavals in many developing countries" and "a revolution of rising expectations fostered by the extraordinary reach of the electronic media and the connectivity provided by new social networking platforms."

These issues kept governments around the world "on their toes", he said, adding that "we in India have had our share of problems."

Talking in the context of India specifically, Singh said the economy slowed down, inflation edged up and "concern about corruption moved to the centre stage".

Counselling against despondency, he said, "we must address the new concerns that have arisen while remaining steadfast in our commitment to put the nation on a development path which ensures rapid, inclusive and sustainable growth.

"I want to assure you all on this New Year's day that I personally will work to provide an honest and more efficient government, a more productive, competitive and robust economy and a more equitable and just social and political order."

Dwelling on the issue of corruption, the Prime Minister termed it as a "serious problem" which calls for a multi-dimensional response. "New institutions such as Lokpal and Lokayuktas are an important part of the solution and we have initiated the process for establishing them."

Underlining that it was "only one part of the solution", he said, "we also need reforms in systems of governance which would increase transparency and minimise discretion so that the scope of misgovernance is reduced."

He said the government has taken several "transformational" initiatives in this regard which will be "recognised as such down the line". In this context, he listed introduction of Bills on Citizen's Charter and Judicial Accountability in Parliament. "These initiatives will take time to have full effect and we must, therefore, be patient," he counselled.

Singh, who was one of the architects of liberalisation initiated in 1991, said that process was aimed at freeing the citizens from the "dead weight" of bureaucracy and corruption.

"...Old forms of corruption have vanished, new forms of corruption have emerged which need to be tackled. Elimination of corruption is critical to support genuine entrepreneurship," he said, adding "It is also the demand of the ordinary citizen who encounters corruption all too often in everyday transactions with those in authority."

The nine-page message gave an overview of a host of subjects like economic situation, food security, national security, ecological security and social issues.

He identified five key challenges - livelihood security, (education, food, health and employment), economic security, energy security, ecological security and national security and said "we must work together as a nation" to address these.