The Hindu Business Line : Manmohan cautions India Inc on high level of salaries

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Manmohan cautions India Inc on high level of salaries

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`The operation of cartels to keep prices high must end'

New Delhi May 24 India Inc on Thursday received a word of caution from the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on the high levels of remuneration that its promoters and senior executives get.

Using the occasion of his inaugural address at the National Conference and Annual Session of the Confederation of Indian Industry here, Dr Singh said that in a country with extreme poverty, industry should be moderate in the emolument levels it adopts.

"Rising income and wealth inequalities, if not matched by a corresponding rise in incomes across the nation, can lead to social unrest. The electronic media (TV) carries the lifestyles of the rich and the famous into every village and every slum. Media often highlights the vulgar display of their wealth. An area of great concern is the level of ostentatious expenditure on weddings and other family events. Such vulgarity insults the poverty of the less privileged; it is socially wasteful and it plants seeds of resentment in the minds of the have-nots,'' the Prime Minister said.

Dr Singh also asked industry to desist from non-competitive behaviour such as operating cartels to keep prices high. "The operation of cartels by groups of companies to keep prices high must end. It is unacceptable to obstruct the forces of competition from having freer play. It is even more distressing in a country where the poor are severely affected by rising commodity prices."

Maximisation of profits should be within the bounds of decency and greed, he added.

These suggestions were part of a 10-point social charter that the Prime Minister outlined while inviting the Indian industry to partner the Government for creating a humane and just society.

The charter includes a call for the healthy respect for workers and investment in their welfare, corporate social responsibility, employment for the less privileged and investment in people and in their skills.

Dr Singh said that unless workers felt that they were cared for at work, there could never evolve a national consensus in favour of more flexible labour laws.

On corporate social responsibility, he said this must not be defined by tax planning strategies alone.

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