Efforts on to make systemic changes for transparency: PM

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

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

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Addressing the 9th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in New 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 here from across the world for the three-day event.

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

Noting, "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."

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 2012.

"In the last two quarters, our growth rate has been 8.9 per cent 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.