Taking note of the continuous attack on the government from various quarters, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admitted on Friday that efforts to “ensure transparency, accountability and probity” in public life would “take a long time”.

Speaking at a conference of state chief secretaries, Dr Singh said the government had a taken a number of initiatives to curb corruption: these had shown substantial forward movement in the past year. “But we still have a long way to go”, he said. He added that the Centre and the states must work together to tackle corruption.
While listing his government’s initiatives to tackle corruption, the PM cited the Right to Information Act, Judicial Accountab-ility Bill, Whistleblowers Bill, the Citizen’s Charter and the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill introduced in Parliament last year. He regretted that Parliament could not pass the Lokpal Bill in the last session, and hoped a strong Lokpal law would be enacted soon.
“We have faced crises. We faced difficult odds... and each time our nation emerged stronger. I have no doubt that whatever the challenge, we have the will and ability to achieve success, provided we all work together and with firm resolve,” Dr Singh said.
The PM described Maoist violence, cross-border terror and religious fundamentalism as key internal security challenges, and said these must be dealt with firmly. Dr Singh promised that states would get all help to deal with these challenges.
While appreciating as “creditable” the nation’s economic growth in the backdrop of the world economic crisis, Dr Singh said the growth rate in the current fiscal year was likely to be lower — between seven to 7.5 per cent — due to uncertainties in the world economy.