Hinting at action against non-complying companies, Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman M Damodaran  said on Thursday the regulatory body was 'barking so far but will bite soon.'

"Regulation cannot be done in a way where we go out one day armed with clause 49 and shoot the non-complying companies. Sebi has been barking so far. We have not yet bitten..we will bite," Damodaran said while inaugurating an international conference on 'Business ethics, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility' in Chennai.

"What we follow in India is a rules based approach to legislation and not principles based approach. We have been lax with non-compliance."

Asking youngsters to swear by ethics, he said, "Young India should articulate the need for a cleaner,moral environment. "Business should be conducted on the basis of values. If the voice of young India fails to reach out, we will end up repeating the same mistakes." 

"Corruption is a divide between the haves and have-nots. Corruption impedes growth."

Ends did not justify the means if values were not upheld. "Means and ends are just as important.But do not abandon values and compromise for the sake of reaching an end," he said.

"Values support business in a number of ways..it provides us with an internal discipline, trust..that is the essence of leadership," J J Irani, director, Tata and Sons, said.

"Values give faith at a time when we feel we are surrounded by darkness. It provides us courage and confidence, creates a culture that can withstand all turbulence," he said, adding, ethics in business was essential and it pays in the long run. "Never sacrifice your principles in any environment."