The fabric of Indian values and ethics is gradually deteriorating, particularly in the business community, but Tata Group will not involve itself in corruption and bribery because it is based on strong ethics, India's largest conglomerate’s head Ratan Tata has claimed.

Mr. Tata was speaking during a ceremony in which the University of New South Wales awarded him with an honorary Doctorate of Business.

He said that India had several changes of government, but the outlook might not be as bad as one might think.

The Australian daily quoted Mr. Tata as saying, “India (may have) had many changes of government, but the outlook 'might not be as bad as you might think... I would have hope'.”

He also expressed hope that China too would move towards democracy, while several democratic countries would have to sort out new ways to enforce what they desire to do if they really wanted to move forward.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Tata also advocated strengthening of bilateral trade ties between India and Australia.

The 74-year-old chairman of Tata Group described Australia as a vibrant economy, and India could benefit from the high technology where Australia was at the forefront. He also claimed that Australia would also benefit from the strengthening trade ties with India as India had more than 350 million middle class consumers, and the number would jump as high as 600 million in the coming years, creating a big market for foreign producers.