Anti

Corruption

in India

• In layman’s language corruption is defined asmisuse of official power for personal benefits.

• By TI (Transparency International) Corruption is operationally defined as the misuse of entrusted

power for private gain.

As with many developing nations, corruption

is widespread in India. India is ranked 84 out

of a 180 countries in TransparencyInternational's Corruption Perceptions Index,

although its score has improved consistently

from 2.7 in 2002 to 3.4 in 2008 (Although this

may be due to the change in polling that the

survey has undergone). Corruption has taken

the role of a pervasive aspect of Indian

politics and bureaucracy.

History

The economy of India was under socialist-inspired

policies for an entire generation from the 1950s until the

1980s. The economy was subject to extensive

regulation, protectionism, and public ownership, leading

to pervasive corruption and slow growth. License Raj

was often at the core of corruption.

The Vohra Report was submitted by the former Indian

Union Home Secretary, N.N. Vohra, in October 1993. It

studied the problem of the criminalisation of politics and

of the nexus among criminals, politicians and

bureaucrats in India.

The report contained several observations made by

official agencies on the criminal

network which was virtually running a parallel

government. It also discussed criminal

gangs who enjoyed the patronage of politicians, of all

parties, and the protection of

government functionaries. It revealed that political

leaders had become the leaders of

gangs. They were connected to the military. Over the

years criminals had been elected to

local bodies, State Assemblies and Parliament. The

unpublished annexures to the Vohra Report were

believed to contain highly explosive material.

According to Jitendra Singh, "in the bad old days, particularly pre-1991, when the License Raj held sway, and

by design, all kinds of free market mechanisms were hobbled

or stymied, and corruption emerged almost as an illegitimate price mechanism, a shadowy quasi-market, such that scarce

resources could still be allocated within the economy, and decisions could get made. These were largely distortions

created by the politico-economic regime. While a sea change

has occurred in the years following 1991, some of the distorted cultural norms that took hold during the earlier

period are slowly being repaired by the sheer forces of competition. The process will be long and slow, however. It

will not change overnight." One of the major problems and

obstacles to development that many developing countries face is corruption by greedy, power-hungry politicians, which

is endemic in certain parts of the world.

EFFECTS OF CORRUPTION:

Corruption affects everybody.

• Its effects are four-fold:

Political Economic

Social Environmental

POLITICAL :

In a democratic system, offices and institutions lose their legitimacy, when misused for private advantage.

ECONOMIC :

Economically corruption leads to depletion of national value.

SOCIAL:

It also damages the social fabric of society. People lose faith in the political system and its leadership.

ENVIRONMENTAL:

Environmental degradation is another effect of corrupt system.

MAJOR AREAS OF CORRUPTION:

• Areas are:

i. Works Contract

ii. Supply Contracts

iii. Services to internal customers

iv. Services to external customers

Some people in India strongly believe that the root of corruption lies at the higher levels,

and that the major conspirators have to be punished first.

Criminalization of Indian politics is a problem.

In July 2008 The Washington Post reported

that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian

Parliament members faced criminal charges,

"including human trafficking, immigration

rackets, embezzlement, rape and even

murder". At state level, things are often worse.

In Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2002,

candidates with criminal records won the

majority of seats.

Politics

BureaucracyA 2005 study done by Transparency International (TI) in India found that more than 50% of the people had firsthand

experience of paying bribe or peddling influence to get a job

done in a public office. Taxes and bribes are common between state borders; Transparency International

estimates that truckers pay annually $5 billion in bribes. A 2009 survey of the leading economies of Asia, revealed

Indian bureaucracy to be not just least efficient out of

Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Philippines and

Indonesia; further it was also found that working with the India's civil servants was a "slow and painful" process.

Officials often steal state property. In Bihar, more than 80%

of the subsidized food aid to poor is stolen.

In cities and villages throughout India, Mafia Raj consistingof municipal and other government officials, elected

politicians, judicial officers, real estate developers and law

enforcement officials, acquire, develop and sell land inillegal ways. Many state-funded construction activities in

India, such as road building, are dominated by constructionmafias, which are groupings of corrupt public works officials,

materials suppliers, politicians and construction contractors.

Shoddy construction and material substitution (e.g. mixingsand in cement while submitting expenses for cement)

result in roads and highways being dangerous, andsometimes simply washed away when India's heavy

monsoon season arrives.In Government Hospitals,

corruption is associated with non availability of medicines(or duplicate medicines), getting admission, consultations

with doctors and availing diagnostic services.

Judiciary

Corruption is rampant in the judicial system

of India. According to Transparency

International, judicial corruption in India is

attributable to factors such as "delays in the

disposal of cases, shortage of judges and

complex procedures, all of which are

exacerbated by a preponderance of new

laws".

Police

Despite state prohibitions against torture and

custodial misconduct by the police, torture is

widespread in police custody, which is a major

reason behind deaths in custody. The police often

torture innocent people until a 'confession' is

obtained to save influential and wealthy

offenders. G.P. Joshi, the programme coordinator

of the Indian branch of the Commonwealth

Human Rights Initiative in New Delhi comments

that the main issue at hand concerning police

violence is a lack of accountability of the police.

The chief economic consequences of corruption

are the loss to the, an unhealthy climate for

investment and an increase in the cost of

government-subsidised services. The TI India

study estimates the monetary value of petty

corruption in 11 basic services provided by the

government, like education, healthcare, judiciary,

police, etc., to be around Rs. 21,068 crores. India

still ranks in the bottom quartile of developing

nations in terms of the ease of doing business,

and compared to China and other lower

developed Asian nations, the average time taken

to secure the clearances for a start up or to

invoke bankruptcy is much greater.

According to Transparency International, Bihar

is the most corrupt state in India.Magazine

said in 2004 that Bihar has become a byword

for the worst of India, of widespread and

inescapable poverty, of corrupt politicians

indistinguishable from mafia dons they

patronize, caste-ridden social order that has

retained the worst feudal cruelties.

Anti-corruption

efforts

Right to Information Act

The Right to Information Act (2005) and equivalent

acts in the states, that require government officials

to furnish information requested by citizens or face

punitive action, computerisation of services and

various central and state government acts that

established vigilance commissions have

considerably reduced corruption or at least have

opened up avenues to redress grievances. The

2006 report by Transparency International puts

India at the 70th place and states that significant

improvements were made by India in reducing

corruption.

Computerization

Bhoomi is a project jointly funded by the

Government of India and the

Government of Karnataka to digitize the

paper land records and create a

software mechanism to control changes

to the land registry in Karnataka.The

project was designed to eliminate the

long-standing problem of inefficiency

and corruption.

Whistleblowers

Whistleblowers play a major role in the fight against

corruption .India even today does not have a law to

protect whistleblowers.However subsequent to the

murder of whistleblower Sri Satyendra Dubey,

Government of India after much pressure directed by an

order making the Central Vigilance Commission to hear

and protect whistleblowers. The latest Administrative

Reforms Commission also has suggested to encourage

whistleblowing and to protect whistleblowers. But this

benefit is not available to whistleblowers working to any

officer working under state governments.An ongoing

effort can be seen here http://fightcorruption.wikidot.com.

http://www.corruptioninindia.org is another "not for profit"

website dedicated to increase awareness against

corruption in India and contains comprehensive info of

corruption in India.

THANK YOU