Union corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid on Friday reiterated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh?s call for trust. ?The government must trust corporates and the latter needs to trust the government. You cannot get a society that moves fast and grows unless you have mutual trust. Sadly, as it stands, trust is lacking,? Khurshid said at the Corporate Governance Summit organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.
?You have to provide for an honest mistake if you trust each other. Defaults must be accounted for in a transparent manner, but somewhere there must be a clear dividing line between an honest mistake and a default,? he added.
Talking about the importance of the corporate sector in the economy, the minister added, ?You got to convert something that is seemingly bad, into something good. That is what corporate governance is all about and the ministry is there to help. Everything that you use in your life comes from the corporate sector, so to be cynical about it is to be hypocritical and is a great disservice to the country.?
Khurshid also said the world of lobbying has to function within its limits. He said all ministries together should look into the feasibility of bringing in a law of lobbying, if any. Khurshid was talking in the light of the recent 2G scam and the alleged involvement of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia in influencing ministerial appointment.
On the legality of corporate lobbying, the minister added that while the legal procedures should be looked into, the issue of individual conscience of what is right and wrong to get things done through high-level lobbying should be left to the good sense of the concerned agencies.
He said his ministry was in talks with other ministries to discuss whether there should be a framework to regularise lobbying. ?There is a need to decide who will do what in regard to regularising lobbying. Whether my ministry or any other ministry will do this, has yet to be decided. But first we will have to discuss these issues,? he said, adding, ?the question is whether to regulate or to allow corporate lobbying.?
On a model for corporate governance, the minister said, ?There is a need for (our) own model for corporate governance. There is disagreement on the mechanism of corporate governance. Therefore, we need our own model for corporate governance.?
R Bandyopadhyay, secretary, ministry of corporate affairs, while outlining the objectives of his ministry added, ?We had taken two mottos of working. First, we must not do anything that will hinder the growth of the corporate sector. Second, growth has to be inclusive. Most people believe that corporate governance is only for the growth of 2-4% of the nation. There is a need to include more and more so that they have a stake in the growth of the corporate sector.?
Meanwhile, India Corporate Week 2010 (ICW 2010) commemorated by the ministry of corporate affairs is being organised during December 14-21 throughout the country focusing on the theme ?sustainable business.?