Without corruption, GDP growth would be in double digits: Murthy-July 20, 2011

Without corruption, GDP growth would be in double digits: Murthy

Press Trust of India, July 20, 2011, (Ahemdabad)

Supporting a strong Lokpal, Infosys Technologies Chairman Emeritus N R Narayana Murthy today said reduction in corruption leads to faster economic growth of a country and this could have been the case in India also if graft had been curbed.

"If we could have reduced the corruption in the country, we could have clocked a GDP growth of anywhere between 8.5 to 10 per cent," he said.

Economists have explained and established that corruption is likely to reduce the GDP growth rate of a country by anywhere between 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent, Murthy said, while delivering the 32nd Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Lecture on 'Towards a Corruption Free India'.

"The double-digit growth that has eluded India could had been ours if we had combated corruption."

Washington-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity recently released a report that India has lost a staggering $462 billion in illicit financial flows abroad due to tax evasion, crime and corruption since Independence, Murthy said, quoting the report.

"Combating corruption at this stage is very significant. For the first time in last 300 years, India has received some recognition from the world, raising hopes that we could alleviate poverty."

Supporting an effective Lokpal, the IT czar said, "The institution of Lokpal, when fortified by honest and courageous people, is a good instrument for fighting corruption. So we must support all efforts of the government and Anna Hazare in arriving at a strong Lokpal Bill."