Washington: A bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between India and the US can prove to be a milestone in India`s fight against corruption, two American experts have
said.
"India is wrestling with how to deal a decisive blow against corruption. The answer is plain: Deal a decisive blow against state interference in the economy. To help, the US should offer a proposal for a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) that liberalizes Indian investment. This would sharply reduce the incentives for corruption," wrote James M Roberts and Derek Scissors.
While Roberts is Research Fellow for Economic Freedom and Growth in the Center for International Trade and Economics, Derek Scissors, is Research Fellow in Asia Economic Policy in the Asian Studies Center, at The Heritage Foundation.
"It also might serve as political cover for future Indian governments that want to make the difficult choices needed to defeat corruption in its many forms," the experts said. Roberts and Scissors said in some incidents of corruption, the Indian government`s guilt is directly
apparent.
"The Commonwealth Games, for example, were plagued by lack of competition in contract awards. In other cases, the harm comes to the state, not the people, which should not be
defined as corruption or any sort of problem in the first place," they said.
PTI
