According to Corruption Perception Index report released on January 25, India is holds 85th position in the Transparency International’s corruption index.
India’s corruption index:
The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people, uses a scale of 0 to 100 to rank Corruption Perception Index (CPI), where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. Transparency International gave India a CPI score of 40.
Previous year:
In 2021, India ranked 86th with the same CPI score of 40. The report highlighted concerns over the risk to journalists and activists who have been “victims of attacks by the police, political militants, criminal gangs and corrupt local officials.” “Civil society organisations that speak up against the government have been targeted with security, defamation, sedition, hate speech and contempt-of-court charges, and with regulations on foreign funding,” the report said.
India records highest rate of bribery:
India has the highest rate of bribery and use of personal links to access public services such as healthcare and education in Asia, according to a survey released by global civil society Transparency International.
According to a report by the Corruption Barometer- Asia, “India has the highest overall bribery rate (39%) and the highest rate of citizens using personal connections (46%), following India, Indonesia and China have the second and third highest rates of people using personal connections with 36% and 32% respectively.”
It states that in India, 50% of those involved in bribery are asked to bribe, while 32% of those who used personal connections say they will not receive the service otherwise.
The report also says, “Of the people surveyed in India, who came into contact with the police, 42% had paid bribes. The use of bribes was also rampant (41%) to obtain official documents such as identity papers. Use of personal connections was also largely made in dealings with the police (39%), procurement of identity documents (42%), and in relation to courts (38%).”
Changing nature of corruption:
However, the nature of corruption is changing over time. In the days of licence-permit regime with shortages, rationing and price controls, the scope for corruption was enormous. People had to wait for years to get things like a HMT watch, a Bajaj Chetak scooter or a Maruti 800 car or a BSNL landline telephone or an LPG gas connection.
Bribing to jump the queue was commonplace. Alongside, a thriving black market developed as people lucky to get the permits found it profitable to sell those coveted permits/goods to others willing to pay a premium price.
Smuggling and black-marketing were rampant in the markets for foreign exchange and imported goods. These types of corruption have mostly vanished with the abolition of industrial licensing, entry of new players with corresponding increase in supply of goods, abundance of foreign exchange reserves, abolition of import quotas and sharp reduction in import duties.
Some important differences exist between Indian-style corruption and the corruption that prevails in the developed countries. Even in countries like the US, Japan, South Korea and Israel, corruption exists in high places and several prime ministers and presidents have been forced to resign on corruption charges.
But, unlike in India, ordinary people there do not have to face corruption in everyday life. In addition, in India, sometimes there are multiple contenders (in government offices and political parties) who promise to deliver a service in exchange for bribes. One is not sure whom to bribe and whether the person taking the bribe would actually be able or willing to deliver the promised favour.
Punishment for corruption:
Some suggest that the punishment for corruption needs to be severe if it has to be an effective deterrent. Actually, it is not the quantum of punishment but the probability of getting caught, prosecuted and ultimately sentenced that holds the key. Here, the honesty/efficiency of regulators, police and judiciary working in a time-bound manner comes into play. These are areas where a lot is lacking in India.
