Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday acknowledged that the government was aware of the “nervousness” of India Inc on tapping of phones by the authorities and assured the corporate sector that the government would tighten the monitoring system and ensure that such procedures and mechanisms were not misused.
Dr. Singh said he had asked Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar to look into the issues related to phone tapping and report back to the Cabinet within the next one month.
“I am aware of the nervousness in some sections of the corporate sector arising out of the powers conferred upon governmental authorities to tap phones for protecting national security and preventing tax evasion and money laundering,” he said.
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Dr. Singh, who was delivering the inaugural address at the “India Corporate Week 2010,” said: “While these powers are needed in the world that we live in, they have to be exercised with utmost care and under well-defined rules, procedures and mechanisms so that they are not misused.
“We must also look for solutions through technology to prevent access of telephone conversation to systems outside the institutional framework of government. Legal mechanisms... need to be strengthened for more effective enforcement.”