Download - 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unpublished annexures to the Vohra Report were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.
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 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.