Regulation on lobbying a dream

According to Jayoti Lahiri, secretary general, Public Relations Consultants Association of India, "There is very little literature on the functioning of public relations agencies in India, hence we along with the Personal Relations Council of India are trying to approach independent agencies to form some kind of ethics.' But Dilip Cherian, founder partner of Perfect Relations, South Asia's largest public relations and image management firm, does not believe in regulations. "In the area of public relations as well as lobbying, as long as things play in the open, less regulation is better. Otherwise you would need to have someone to regulate the regulator.'

The US has legitimised lobbying, but with certain regulations. The 1995 Lobbying Disclosure Act makes it mandatory for all lobbyists, who are paid to influence members of the Congress, register themselves and file reports on their activities twice a year. On January 18, 2007, the US senate passed the Ethics Reform Bill which prohibits "House members or employees from knowingly accepting gifts or travel from a registered lobbyist, foreign agent or lobbyist"s client' and requires a congressperson to obtain prior approval from the House Ethics Committee for any travel abroad that is financed by outside groups.