Singh admits corruption in India a major problem

Indias embattled premier Monday used his Independence Day address from Delhis rain-drenched Red Fort to insist the government was taking the strictest possible action against corruption. Manmohan Singh, speaking from a bullet-proof enclosure in torrential monsoon rains, also said that inflation running at nearly 10 percent was a problem, but that solving it will be our top-most priority in the coming months.The prime minister dwelt at length on the problem of graft, which has sapped his government in its second term and tarnished his own reputation as Mr Clean.Today the world recognises our potential to be one of the major economic powers globally. But the problem of corruption is a big obstacle in such a transformation, Singh conceded.While promising that we are taking the strictest possible action in cases of corruption that have surfaced, Singh also defended his record, saying that the country was enjoying political stability and fast economic growth.Despite the challenges posed by rising inflation, Singh also promised a new focus on providing free healthcare and pledged to make India slum-free via an infrastructure-building scheme called Rajiv Awas Yojana.We want to make India slum-free through this scheme. We want the slum dwellers to get ownership of clean houses and have access to basic amenities like water and electricity, he said.Not yet half-way through his second term as premier, the 78-year-old Singh faces fierce criticism from opponents and in the media over apparent drift in the government and its failure to deliver on promises of reform.He has spent much of the past year managing crises after a string of corruption scandals in the government and the ruling Congress party.A former telecom minister in Singhs government is on trial and another has resigned over the flawed sale of telecom licences in 2008, which could have lost the exchequer up to $40 billion, according to the national auditor. Meanwhile, the former head of last years New Delhi Commonwealth Games faces charges of embezzlement, while the chief ministers of two Indian states have stepped down over land and mining scandals respectively.Singh said there was no magic wand to tackle corruption, but he promised to work towards greater transparency, an effective justice system, a new law on public procurement and an ombudsman to probe and prosecute corrupt officials.I believe that there is no single big step which we can take to eradicate corruption (and) in fact, we will have to act simultaneously on many fronts, he said in his speech from the ramparts of the imposing Mughal fort.The premier faces a critical session of parliament in which the government hopes to pass legislation to create the anti-corruption ombudsman, to frame new rules for land acquisition and to supply subsidised food to the poor.Police and soldiers were out in force across India on Independence Day, which celebrates the 1947 end of British colonial rule on the subcontinent, as security was ramped up.A home ministry official said security measures were being increased in New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata, as well as Mumbai, where police are probing triple bombings on July 13.The three coordinated explosions killed 26 people and injured 130, but no group has claimed responsibility and detectives have struggled to unearth who was behind the attack.Last months terrorist attacks in Mumbai warn us that there cannot be any slip-up in our vigilance as far as the fight against terrorism is concerned, Singh said, echoing President Pratibha Patil in her address on the eve of Independence Day.Security was also raised in insurgency-hit Kashmir and Indias seven restive northeastern states including Manipur, where several separatist groups have called for a boycott of Mondays celebrations.In Indian-administered Kashmir, a general strike was in force. Separatists enforced the shutdown to protest Independence Day celebrations, which they consider a black day.Kashmir was divided between India and Pakistan after partition of the subcontinent in 1947 and has since sparked two full wars between the neighbours.