Admitting that there is little public tolerance now for the prevailing state of affairs on the issue of corruption, prime minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that his government is committed to face this challenge boldly as people expect swift and exemplary action.

Singh also said that government hopes to introduce during the monsoon session of Parliament the Lokpal Bill on which a committee of ministers and representatives of civil society are working.

Addressing IAS, IFS, IPS and other senior bureaucrats, the prime minister did some plain speaking. "There is a growing feeling in the people that our laws, systems and procedures are not effective in dealing with corruption," he said asking them to contribute in the fight against corruption.

"We must recognize that there is little public tolerance now for the prevailing state of affairs. People expect swift and exemplary action and rightly so," Singh said inaugurating the Civil Services Day.

Recalling his earlier statement that corruption was an impediment to faster growth and hurts the poor the most, the prime minister said, "It is a challenge that we must tackle boldly and we stand committed to doing so".

He noted that the issue of ethics and transparency in governance was a subject which has attracted a great deal of attention in recent days.

The prime minister said that people value the work done by honest and dedicated civil servants and look up to them.

He asked the civil servants to work to strengthen the trust and faith which people still have in civil servants.

The spontaneous support of the people of Malkangiri, when the collector of the district was kidnapped by left-wing extremists, "is a pointer to the extent of goodwill that well meaning civil servants can achieve", he said.

Noting that the core of the civil services was sound and rooted in values of integrity and fair play, Singh said, "It is a pity that instances of individual waywardness, of lack of moral courage and of surrender to pressures and temptations tarnish the image of civil services and lead to immense criticism and dissatisfaction".

He said that civil services as a whole should set the highest standards of probity and integrity in public and personal life and create an atmosphere and a work ethic which encourage honesty and integrity.

"Disapproval and even ostracization by peers and colleagues can be a powerful deterrent for those who tend to stray from the path of rectitude", the prime minister said.

Turning to the security scenario, Singh said though the overall security situation has been reasonably satisfactory in the past few months, there was no room for any relaxation of vigil.

Combating Left Wing extremism, meeting terrorist challenges, countering insurgency in parts of the North-East and maintaining communal harmony would be government's priorities, he said.

The prime minister said he expected the civil servants to be honest and fearless in advising the political leadership.

Hoping to see renewed energy from each one of them in the fight against corruption, he said,"I expect you to be honest and fearless in advising your superior authorities, especially the political leadership.

"Those of you who serve in senior positions would do well to also encourage your subordinate officers in this direction," he said.

Singh said that the government's aim was to strengthen the legislative framework, revamp administrative practices and procedures and fast track a systemic response to fight corruption.

A group of ministers is looking into the legal and administrative measures and he expected its recommendations to be available soon, he said.

"A committee of ministers and representatives of civil society is at work to finalize the draft of a Lokpal Bill, which we hope to be able to introduce during the monsoon session of Parliament," he said.

Observing that two bills relating to judicial accountability and protection of whistle blowers have already been introduced in Parliament, Singh said that the government would soon ratify the United Nations Convention on Corruption.

"We are committed to bringing more transparency in public procurement and to ensuring that disinvestment of public utilities and allocation of public resources are done in a manner that best safeguards the interests of the asset-owning public," the prime minister said.

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Persistent inflation a cause of concern, says PM

Admitting that persistent inflation, especially in the food sector, is a cause of concern, prime minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday emphasised on increasing the country's agricultural production to enhance food security.

"We have to make a concerted effort to enhance our food security... Our economy has been in reasonably good shape in the past seven years. We have achieved an impressive rate of growth, which we were able to sustain even in the midst of the worst global financial crisis of recent times.

"However, during the past year and a half, persistent inflation, especially in the food sector, has become a cause of concern," Singh said at the inauguration of Civil Services Day in New Delhi.

The government's consistent policy has been to control inflation without hurting growth, Singh said, emphasising that "we have strived for a delicate and difficult balance to achieve this."

Food prices have been on upswing since the drought in 2009, which affected the agriculture output.

Although the situation has improved in recent months, with food inflation coming down to single digit levels, the long-term solution lies in increasing production and productivity in the agricultural sector, Singh said.

Food inflation for the week ended April 9 reversed the declining trend for three weeks, rising by 8.74 per cent as against 8.28 per cent in the previous week.

On monthly basis, food inflation for the month of March was recorded at 8.98 per cent, higher than the RBI's target of 8 per cent.

"The needs of a growing and increasingly more prosperous population can only be met by enhanced production of a diversified basket of agricultural products," he said while pointing out that the Civil Services again have a major role to play in achieving a higher rate of growth in the farm sector.

"I hope you will pay more focused attention to this area, and more specifically to the preparation and implementation of district level agricultural plans," he said.

With monsoon likely to be normal this year, the Planning Commission is hoping to achieve the targetted four per cent or more growth in the farm sector. This will be crucial to achieve overall nine per cent economic growth in the current financial year.

The prime minister also took the opportunity to lay stress on the importance of strengthening local level governance through panchayats and municipalities.

"Our country is too large to be governed effectively from the Centre or even from the state capitals. We have to decentralise power, decentralise decision-making and decentralise the implementation of various development schemes," he said.

The success of third tier of governance is "critical to improved delivery of services and better design and implementation of scheme", Singh said, adding that "our civil servants must do their utmost to facilitate real decentralisation of governance in our country."