India PM rails against 'negativity' over corruption

INDIA: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday that a "mindless atmosphere of negativity" over corruption was damaging the country and he feared for the morale of civil servants.

Corruption has become a hot issue since Singh was re-elected in 2009, and his government has been rocked by scandals over mobile phone licences, coalfields and the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. "The mindless atmosphere of negativity and pessimism that is sought to be created over the issue of corruption can do us no good," Singh told a conference in the capital.

"It can only damage our nation's image and hit at the morale of the executive," he said.

With graft allegations erupting in many government departments, officials have been increasingly reluctant to sign documents that might mean they are named in investigations and accused of links to malpractice. AFP