NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) - India will join the newly established International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), a Vienna-based educational body that aims to plug knowledge gaps in the fight against graft, the president was reported as saying in the Hindustan Times on Thursday.
A series of scandals, including an alleged telecoms licensing scam that may have cost India up to $39 billion in lost revenue, have rocked the government and businesses in Asia's third-largest economy in the past year.
Speaking on a state visit to Austria, Indian President Pratibha Patil said the country would soon join the IACA, which was set up in March by the Austrian government and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.
"The modalities are being worked out... and we hope to soon join the IACA," Patil was quoted as saying, adding that India wants to fight graft seriously and efficiently.
India was ranked 87th in Transparency International's 2010 index of nations based on perceived levels of corruption. India is regarded as more corrupt than rival China, which came 78th.
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