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Transparency International, in its ͚Anti-Corruption Plain Language Guide͛ , defines lobbying as :

͞Any activity carried out to influence a government or institution͛s policies and decisions in favour of
a specific cause or outcome. Even when allowed by law, these acts can become distortive if
disproportionate levels of influence exist Ͷ by companies, associations, organisations and
individuals.

Though used interchangeably with corruption, it can refer to a form of advocacy with the intention
of influencing decisions made by legislators and officials in the government by individuals or groups.
Indeed one could argue that lobbying is just a special form of corruption focused on legislative
bodies or some other rule-making agency. However, there are some important differences between
lobbying and corruption. They centre on the notions that corrupt practices are illegal, that
corruption activities tend to involve bribes or illegal payments and, arguably the most important
difference, that corrupt practices tend to directly benefit a small number of 'users' (often one
individual) while lobbying activities are carried out in order to benefit a group of users that share a
specific interest.

The fact that lobbying is mainly aimed at policy-making institutions rather than the bureaucracy
brings up another major difference thus making lobbying an activity that makes bribing irrelevant if
it succeeds in influencing policy and an activity that makes bribing easier if it succeeds in
undermining law enforcement. In other words, lobbying can be a substitute for, or a complement to,
corruption.

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Gaining political influence in India was once a simple affair: You handed over a suitcase of cash.But
in India, as elsewhere in the developing world, the old business of corruption is meeting a new rival:
the Washington-style business of persuasion, in which companies garner influence through golf
games, planted news stories and PowerPoint presentations.
A well-oiled network of big corporate lobbyists is using money, influence and skulduggery to
command public policy and attack rivals. Armed with PowerPoint presentations, inside information,
sweetheart deals and a dirty tricks department, these lobbyists seem to be running the show in Delhi
and Mumbai. Business is meshing with politics in the worst possible way

.Business lobbying has always been aroundͶReliance͛s V. ͚Balu͛ Balasubramanian͛s influence in the
corridors of power has almost given him a godfather-like status in the lobbyist hierarchy. While he͛s
just about surfacing after a long exile, there are numerous other instances of lobbyists driving
corporate battles in the past. But traditionally, lobbyists in India were shadow warriors, heard of
from time to time but never really seen. That has changed. Lobbyists have become public figures,
freely mixing with the powers-that-be.




 

 

Lobbying is not illegal in India. ͞Lobbying is an acceptable practice worldwide. It has become a ͚dirty͛
word in the light of recent events only because boundaries seem to have been transgressed in terms
of using not so above-the-board means to influence policymaking

India offers no legal framework for lobbyists even though the practice is technically not illegal in the
country. Perhaps the closest approximation to any kind of law governing lobbying in India, point out
legal experts, is Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. But even this section is a convoluted
one where the onus is on the accused public official to prove that he was not offered a
͞gratification͟ to influence his policy decision. The practice therefore continues to be a largely
surreptitious one, a quintessentially cloak-and-dagger affair between key playersͶpolitical parties,
bureaucrats, advocates, business interest groups and communications experts. Indian corporate
lobbyists insist that they act as a ͞bridge͟ between companies and the government. Many even
brand themselves as ͞advocates͟ or ͞channels͟ which, they say, helps their clients better
understand the country͛s policy environment.

Many other lobbyists come in the avatar of ͞external affairs managers͟ and ͞environment
management experts͟. These usually operate via public relations outfits discreetly servicing their
client͛s lobbying needs. In fact most sizeable Indian companies nowadays maintain dedicated teams
for lobbying their cause with the authorities.

G G

 
 

 

There have been too many instances of the so called ͞Not legal͟ activity in our country. Listing out
some of the major instances :

 

 
  

Foreign companies seeking access to India's market often collaborate with government officials to
outline a deregulation approach that satisfies the company without marring the government's
political standing.

When the Italian clothier Ermenegildo Zegna wanted to open boutiques in India, it was barred from
doing so by law: India prohibits foreign investment in retailing, because of fears of undermining
millions of mom-and-pop shops.
But India's commerce minister, Kamal Nath, wanted to help Zegna. So Zegna's chief executive, Paulo
Zegna, began discussing with Nath creative ways to alter the rules. The two traded frequent faxes
and e-mail messages with various ideas, Prasad said.

Then, in a letter to the government, Zegna suggested a compromise: Why not admit foreign retailers
selling only a single brand - approving firms like Zegna and Gap, but excluding hypermarkets that
would compete with small retailers?

Later, the government opened retailing to foreign capital for the first time - and solely for single
brands.

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Deepak Talwar, a prominent Delhi lobbyist, represented Coca-Cola, which had been accused of
harming the environment. The company, which declined to comment for this article, has denied the
charges. Talwar's lobbying approach was to ensure, among other things, that every government or
private study accusing the company of environmental harm was challenged by another study.

In addition, Talwar said during an interview, he lobbied high-ranking government officials to support
the company's cause, in the hope that their influence - in addition to the conflicting studies - might
dissuade government scientists from making a clear-cut judgment against the company‘


 
 
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The Radia tapes controversy relates to the taped and released telephonic conversations between
Radia, a professional lobbyist and politicians, corporates and industrialists, officials, bureaucrats,
aides and journalists that were taped by the Indian Income Tax Department in 2008ʹ09.

The tapes reveal that Radia was instrumental in ensuring a cabinet berth for the DMK͛s A. Raja when
the ministerial portfolios for UPA͛s second term were being decided. She lobbied with the Congress
leadership to get him the telecom portfolioͶagainst the other contender, the DMK͛s Dayanidhi
Maran.

But there was another game at play. Tata Group head Ratan Tata had allegedly puthis weight
behind Raja and wanted Maran out of the scene at any cost. In fact, he had in a handwritten letter to
Tamil Nadu CM M. Karunanidhi in December 2007 reportedly praised Raja͛s ͞rational, fair and
action-oriented͟ leadership. To put the corporate battle in perspective, Airtel͛s Sunil Mittal was
unhappy with Raja in the seat. Also, by getting the PR mandate of Mukesh Ambani͛s business empire
in 2008, Radia would have found herself on the hitlist of Anil Ambani, who incidentally is also Tata͛s
competitor in telecom.

What͛s worse is that the transcripts show Radia͛s alleged involvement in the much-debated 2G
spectrum and licence scam where she is said to have helped some of the new telecom companies
obtain their licences. The government, at that time, had maintained a stoic silence for retaining a
price of Rs 1,650 crore for a pan-India licenceͶa price set way back in 2001, when, even by the
admission of the regulator, it should have been in the range of Rs 10,000 crore. Within weeks of
getting their licences, two new licencees sold out at a much higher valueͶthe size of the scam is
estimated at Rs 50,000 crore.
G 

  

 

 
 
  

 

Though she lobbies for a few percentage points of India͛s GDP, it took 15 years for the mystique
around Niira Radia to unravel. For someone whose strengths are described as ͞commitment levels͟,
an excellent network of contacts and ͞knowing which button to press͟, that͛s no mean achievement.
Till the phone-tapping controversy, Radia had always been behind the scenesͶbarring the lavish
annual bash at her farmhouse in Delhi, where cherry-picked invitees from bureaucracy and media
are present. Generous to a fault, this British passport-holder assiduously built relationships with top
print and TV editors and political parties, particularly the Congress and the DMK. Earlier, she was
known to be extremely close to the BJP͛s Ananth Kumar and built up an interest in aviation. It wasn͛t
enough, however, for her low-cost airline Magic Air to take off in 2005.

The stakes became bigger when she brokered Mukesh Ambani͛s open support for Tata in the Singur
controversy. Apart from Reliance, she also has clients from the Vedanta group and some of the new
telecom licensees.


 
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This son of a former bureaucrat has top bureaucrats, and the who͛s who of Delhi, attending his
parties. Operating out of ͞White House͟ in Delhi, Deepak Talwar is the ͞king of the tribe͟, the
lobbyist who has been in business since 1979Ͷand has an almost magical knack of tabling deals
wherever they are, ͞broking for everything͟. He came into his own in the early 1990s, using his
proximity to top bureaucrat A.N. Varma to facilitate FDI approvals in the early flush of liberalisation.
Using a tremendous network of connections, he has opened doors everywhereͶfamously for Coca-
Cola while dumping Britannia͛s Rajan Pillai in the early 1990sͶand attracted a rash of MNC clients.

He has also got his fingers in various other pies, from defence (with Davinder Dogra͛s Hexxcom) to a
stake in mobile-number portability JV with Telcordia, which has been facing regulatory issues

  
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The ͚Page 3͛ celeb who networks with political heavyweights, policymakers, the media, industry
associations and embassies for clients like Coca-Cola, POSCO and Diageo, among others. Cherian is
seen as an influencer, one who opens the right doors for his clients

Cherian͛s initial stint of working as consultant to the government, followed by over a decade͛s
association with CEOs as business editor of the then all-powerful uusiness India, have helped him
work through ͞the pulls and pressures of policymaking͟.


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Known as Anil͛s ͞man in Delhi͟, he knows everyone, from cabinet ministers to bureaucrats to editor.
Jesudasan is involved in affairs related to power and gas for ADAG, the K-G Basin gas case in
particular.





 
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Lobbying in the United States targets the United States Senate, the United States House of
Representatives, and state legislatures. Lobbyists may also represent their clients' or organizations'
interests in dealings with federal, state, or local executive branch agencies or the courts. As of 2010
there are over 17,500 federal lobbyists based in Washington, DC.While many of these lobbyists are
employed by lobbying and law firms and retain outside clients, others are employed by trade
associations, companies, and state and local governments.

The top sectors and their total spending between 1998 and 2010in US were:

 
     

 Finance, Insurance & Real Estate $4,274,060,331 14.53%

 Health $4,222,427,808 14.53%

 Misc Business $4,149,842,571 14.11%

 Communications/Electronics $3,497,881,399 11.89%

 Energy & Natural Resources $3,104,104,518 10.55%

 Transportation $2,245,118,222 7.63%

 Other $2,207,772,363 7.50%

 Ideological/Single-Issue $1,477,294,241 5.02%

 Agribusiness $1,280,824,983 4.12%

 Defense $1,216,469,173 4.13%

 Construction $480,363,108 1.63%

 Labor $427,355,408 1.45%

 Lawyers & Lobbyists $336,170,306 1.14%

Note: These amounts do   include campaign contributions.

Ref: http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/index.php




 

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In America, unlike India, lobbying is a legal and well-established practice. The country has statutory
rules and regulations for lobbyists who are governed by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. The act
defines and requires professional lobbyists to register with the Clerk of the House and the Secretary
of the Senate.

Lobbyists are also required to submit a detailed report of their activities in the US Congress and
other state legislatures, including whom they met and how many times, once every six months. To
further strengthen the ethics code for lobbyists, the US Congress also introduced the Honest
Leadership and Open Government Act in 2007, which contains a comprehensive lobbying code. Last
year, President Barack Obama also signed two executive orders to downsize the influence of
lobbyists at Capitol Hill. The orders ban lobbyists from giving gifts to lawmakers or even pay for their
meals. Any lawmaker or lobbyist found violating the Lobbying Disclosure Act faces a stringent fine of
up to $200,000 and/or a jail term of up to five years.

In U.S., lobbying is a huge, established industry unlike India which lack legitimate lobbies and is
ravished by corruption scandals like 2G scams. The ability of individuals, groups, and corporations to
lobby the government is protected by the right to petition in the First Amendment to the United
States Constitution and the lobbying market is worth $3.5 billion. Every year the U.S. govt. allows
about 2000 lobbyists based on their expertise. Interestingly, since 1998, 43 percent of the 198
members of Congress who left government to join the private sector have registered to lobby using
the 'revolving door of influence'. There are now an estimated 15,000 lobbyists who have put down
their roots in Brussels, striving for their voice to be heard by the EU.

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To help preserve and advance public trust and confidence in the democratic institutions and the
public policy advocacy process, professional lobbyists have a strong obligation to act always in the
highest ethical and moral manner in their dealings with all parties in US.

The American League of Lobbyists ("ALL"), accordingly, has adopted the following "Code of Lobbying
Ethics" to provide basic guidelines and standards for lobbyists' conduct. In general, this Code is
intended to apply to independent lobbyists who are retained to represent third party clients'
interests and to lobbyists employed on the staff of corporations, labor organizations, associations
and other entities where their employer is in effect their "client."


!  " #$%!& ' %!(&) A lobbyist should conduct lobbying activities with honesty and
integrity.


!  "
$* %
! +#  
, ! +- !(. $% ' . !) A lobbyist should be
familiar with laws, regulations and rules applicable to the lobbying profession and should not engage
in any violation of such laws, regulations and rules.


!  / $0!$% *) A lobbyist should have a basic understanding of the legislative and
governmental process and such specialized knowledge as is necessary to represent clients or an
employer in a competent, professional manner.

! 1 "
$%0 
 $0 %!!) A lobbyist should not continue or undertake representations
that may create conflicts of interest without the informed consent of the client or potential client
involved.


! 1 " 2.! 2 (!%
! ' ,! !00$) A lobbyist should vigorously and diligently advance
and advocate the client's or employer's interests.


! 1 "
$* !%$% %2 !%((!*!% !*) An independent lobbyist who is retained
by a client should have a written agreement with the client regarding the terms and conditions for
the lobbyist's services, including the amount of and basis for compensation.


! 1 /
$%02!% &) A lobbyist should maintain appropriate confidentiality of client or
employer information


! 1 " ., 
!2.
$% ) A lobbyist should seek to ensure better public understanding
and appreciation of the nature, legitimacy and necessity of lobbying in our democratic governmental
process.


! 3 " 2.& $ ($1!%*!% %.$%) In addition to fulfilling duties and

responsibilities to the client or employer, a lobbyist should exhibit proper respect for the
governmental institutions before which the lobbyist represents and advocates clients' interests.

 
 

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Finance, insurance and real estate firms spend more money lobbying officials in Washington than
any other sector of the U.S. economy.

Bank of America Corp. spent $2 million, up 33 percent from $1.5 million spent during the first six
months of 2009. Wells Fargo & Co.͛s spending rose to $2.3 million from $1.4 million in 2009.Morgan
Stanley spent $1.6 million, compared with $1.4 million a year earlier, though its second-quarter
lobbying expenses were lower than a year ago.

The banks͛ trade group, the Washington-based American Bankers Association, spent $4.2 million, up
from $3.9 million.

Within this sector, Goldman is a powerhouse. Since 1989 its employees, their family members and
political action committees have donated $31.2 million to U.S. political candidates -- topping all
other banks and financial firms

The firm closely monitors issues including economic policy, trade and nearly all legislation that
governs the financial sector. It has been a major proponent of privatizing Social Security as well as
legislation that would essentially deregulate the investment banking/securities industry. The firm
tends to give most of its money to Democrats. A number of high-ranking government officials in
recent years have spent part of their careers at Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs' lobbying spending rose by roughly 37 percent in the second quarter of 2010, as the
company dealt with the fallout of a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit and lobbying over
an overhaul of the financial services regulatory system.
>

 


 
*

Lobbying, argue its advocates, is an essential part of the democratic process. In order to engage with
policy makers, organized interests need to undertake advocacy campaigns to explain their positions
to lawmakers and government through credible third parties, they say.

The exponentially growing Indian economy ʹ expected to touch 10 to 11 per cent growth in the next
two yearsͶand a rapidly burgeoning domestic market present mouth-watering opportunities for
global businesses to do commerce with India. They are all eyeing the great India growth story with
considerable interest. This scenario will push more and more companies to engage lobbyists who
can directly interface with politicians and bureaucrats and push their agendas.

Companies will get them by corrupt means, covering their tracks with middlemen, as some foreign
managers acknowledge in private and as high-profile Indian media investigations have alleged.

In other words, lobbying will always remain integral to Indian businesses and politicsͶlegal or not.
Ergo, doing away with it or making it illegal is not an option. This subversion can lead to skewed
policies, especially in a country like India which is in the process of establishing a larger institutional
framework for which the government needs creative inputs from various experts. As long as
lobbying does not lead to ͞policy or regulatory capture͟, climaxing in the government or regulators
getting so influenced by lobbyists that it results in an iniquitous regulatory framework, it should be
allowed.

But if thought from a contrary point, replacing one evil with another is
not a perfect solution. Lobbying itself is heavily regulated as it is very
easy for a lobbyist to stray into bribery, the most direct way to
influence legislation, obviously, is to bribe enough law makers to ensure
that the bill you support passes. It is of inconspicuous harm to both
private and public sectors but yet better compared to grass root
corruption. What India needs is a law that recognises the local issues
and limitations. India should not ape the LDA as the US is a mature
democracy where it is not as easy to subvert the systems as it is in our
country.Legalizing lobbying will benefit no one except for politicians
and corporations. The country will merely suffer.
India is still among the top 70 countries corruption list and when reality calls, we have to answer -
either lobbying or the resident evil - corruption. Public opinion always makes the difference.

†

 

  
 


Sometimes lobbyists attempt to influence policy in luxurious locations. Sometimes lobbyists make
campaign contributions and then ask their clients and friends to also make campaign contributions.
The ethical problem is that most people view the involvement of money in the system as inherently
corrupt. Further, most of the time the relationship between lobbyists and elected officials is clouded.
We have a murky system where money changes hands and decisions are made. Because of the lack
of transparency, people tend to believe that corruption exists and that no one in the political system
is working for the good of the people.

Ethical dilemmas related to lobbying tend to arise when various behaviours by lobbyists and
lawmakers undermine the fairness and transparency of that process and do not contribute to the
common good

+ 

The most obviously unethical (and illegal) practice associated with lobbying is paying a policy maker
to vote in a favourable way or rewarding him or her after a vote with valuable considerations. If this
practice were allowed, people and organizations with money would always win the day

Fairness questions also arise when some lobbyists have easier access to lawmakers than others.
Frequently discussed is the problem of revolving door lobbyists-those people who once served as
public officials who then go into the private sector and work to influence their former colleagues.



One way to improve the fairness of the lobbying process is to make sure that possible sources of
influence are visible to the public. This goal is behind various state and federal requirements that
lobbyists register and file reports on the issues they have discussed with lawmakers.On the local
level, some groups are calling for access to lawmakers' appointment books so that the public can see
who they met with and what they discussed.

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Lobbyists are advocates. That means they represent a particular side of an issue.But what is the
lobbyist's obligation to be fair to the other side?

An ethical approach to lobbying must ensure that someone stands up for the common good.
Lawmakers have an obligation to solicit the views of those who are not represented by powerful
lobbying groups.
o

 


 ,

Until the government makes up its mind on a law on lobbying, self-regulation may be the way
forward. There is talk of getting companies to voluntarily disclose their lobbying activities. But all this
works only where lobbying is recognised as a legitimate part of the democratic process

Based on research, following can be some steps for responsible lobbying:

1) Lobbying should based on real evidence from independent, credible sources

2) Transparency is vital. Lobbying positions should be clear, and obviously consistent with the values,
aims and intentions of the company

3) Lobbying should not be outsourced to third parties (relates to my above point about nefarious
activities that public affairs consultants can undertake on a company's behalf)

4) Lobbying should not be against the public interest

5) It should persuade by the force of argument rather than with money

6) Positions taken should be those any company would be happy standing up for in public

7) Responsible lobbying should not utilise inappropriate (favourable) access to politicians

8) It should not seek to persuade public servants to act outside their area of public duty

9) The motives for lobbying on a particular issue should be made clear at all times

10) Timeframes are important to consider. A short gain enabled by intense lobbying on an issue, for
example, may not be to the medium or long term corporate advantage.

http://www.peerpower.com/et/debate/99/Should-lobbying-be-legalised-

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265345 ʹ Used a lot

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/government_ethics/introduction/lobbying.html
Ethical dilemma and lobbying

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1431525/is_lobbying_ethical.html - chk out ..

http://ethicalcorp.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-is-responsible-lobbying-ten-ideas.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/business/worldbusiness/18iht-
lobby.1778893.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/lobby.php?id=d000000085 ʹ Good lobbying stats

http://www.alldc.org/ethicscode.cfm- Ethical code of conduct in US

Not used :

Lobbying done by Indian companies in Us

http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/04/stories/2009050456521800.htm

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090727/jsp/nation/story_11285441.jsp