Corruption is a major hindrance for starting businesses in India, Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Shashi Tharoor said here Friday.
"Corruption has become a factor, a consideration for starting businesses," Tharoor said, adding that he had been hearing horrific stories about how corruption was discouraging business people from investing.
"It has become a disincentive for investors," Tharoor said, adding that businesses were held up for "months if not years" if bribes were not paid to politicians or bureaucrats.
Tharoor was speaking during a question and answer session following his keynote address at the World Management Conference organised by a collective of the Indian Institutes of Management.
Corruption is emerging as one of the key issues for the UPA government at the centre ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The UPA government, of which Tharoor is a part, has been at the receiving end of corruption allegations after several ministers have been accused of mega scams in various sectors.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself is in the eye of storm in the coal scam because he held the coal portfolio when the coal allotment scam alleged by the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) occurred.
