A two day seminar on “Transparency and Accountability in Governance - International experience in the Indian context” was organised by VIF in association with well known civil society leaders and opinion makers like Dr. Subrahmanian Swamy, K N Govindacharya, S.Gurumurthy, Prof. R. Vaidyanathan and others on April 1st and 2nd, 2011. The seminar inaugurated by Justice M N Venkatachaliah was addressed by luminaries like Justice J.S Verma, Subhash Kashyap and N. Gopalaswamy. Experts including Joginder Singh, B R Lall, Amb. Satish Chandra, Vijai Kapoor, M D Nalapat, Prof. Arun Kumar, Bhure Lal, Arvind Kejriwal, Dr. Jai Prakash Narayan, and foreign delegates including Rolland Lomme, David Spencer, Nuria Molina presented their opinions in the various panel discussions. The convention concluded with a valedictory public function addressed by Baba Ramdev and the launch of an anti-corruption front on April 2.
The Speakers at the convention focused on corruption as a core issue of mal governance affecting national interest in diverse ways, including national economy, its security and integrity. The Speakers emphasized on the menace of Indian black money that has been stashed, estimated at $472 Billions abroad - much of it sourced in “corruption kickbacks and crime” and on the method of recovering back the money. The seminar suggested the formulation and enabling of various legislations and watch bodies against graft and mal governance.