Radha krishna Bijalwan :KHR2010SMBA21P006-Batch-21

Corruption

As with many developing nations, corruption is widespread in India. India is ranked 83 out of a 180 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, although its score has improved consistently from 2.7 in 2003 to 3.3 in 2010. Corruption has taken the role of a persistent aspect of Indian politics and administration.

Corruption In Politics

Criminalization of Indian politics is a main problem. The public trust in democratic processes in India is seriously undermined by opaque financing of electoral processes, widespread bribery and other forms of corrupt practices.

The recent Global Corruption Barometer reveals that political parties are perceived by Indian citizens as one of the sectors most affected by corruption in the country, with a score of 4.6 on a 5 point scale.
Although politicians are regularly involved in major corruption scandals, investigations are rare and very few politicians and civil servants have been convicted.

Corruption In Administration

A 2009 survey of the leading economies of Asia, revealed Indian administration 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 Government Hospitals, corruption is associated with non availability of medicines (or duplicate medicines), getting admission and consultations with doctors.

Cont

Corruption In Judiciary

Corruption is rampant in the judicial system of India. Court procedures are very slow and complicated, and the court system is severely backlogged and understaffed. This results in delays in the processing of cases, and a loss of confidence in the law and in the justice system. In spite of the various legal provisions in place, the appointment of judges is not always free from political interference.

CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX

YEAR RANK RATING 133 COUNTRIES 145 COUNTRIES 158 COUNTRIES 163 COUNTRIS 179 COUNTRIES 180 COUNTRIES 3.3 OUT OF 180 COUNTRIES

2004
2005

83
90

2.8 OUT OF

2.8 OUT OF

2006
2007 2008 2009 2010

88
70

2.9 OUT OF

3.3 OUT OF

72
84 83

3.5 OUT OF 3.4 OUT OF

Effects

The chief economic consequences of corruption are the loss to the exchequer. Creates unhealthy climate for investment and an increase in the cost of government-subsidized services.

The Transparency International 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 cr.
High-level corruption and scams are now threatening to derail the country's credibility and economic boom

Deficiencies in the present anti-corruption systems

Anti Corruption System At Central Government Level: 1)Central Vigilance Commission (CVC): Lack of Adequate resources & Merely an advisory body CVC cannot direct CBI to initiate enquiries against any officer of the level of Joint Secretary and above on its own It does not have powers over politicians CVC does not have powers to register criminal case

It does not have any direct powers over departmental vigilance wings Appointments to CVC are directly under the control of ruling political party

Deficiencies in the present anti-corruption systems

2)Departmental Vigilance Wings

officers in the vigilance wing of a department are from the same department In some departments, especially in the Ministries , some officials double up as vigilance officials It does not have the powers to register an FIR They also do not have any powers against politicians

Deficiencies in the present anti-corruption systems

3)CBI Overburdened Directly under the administrative control of Central Government

Anti-corruption efforts
1) Right to information act:

The Right to Information Act was introduced in 2005 It is a law enacted by the Parliament of India giving citizens of India access to records of the Central Government and State Governments. computerization 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 2007 report by Transparency International puts India at the 70th place and states that significant improvements were made by India in reducing corruption.

Cont

Anti-corruption efforts
2) Jan Lokpal Bill :

The Lokayukta is an anti-government corruption organization in the Indian states Social welfare worker Anna Hazare has led a movement to compel the Indian Government to notify the Committee for the implementation of the Lokayukta against corruption as an independent body and also giving enough powers to the Lokayukta to also receive corruption complaints against politicians, bureaucrats and even sitting judges. Anna Hazare has achieved this big success through his non-violence measures like fasting till death The public also gave nation-wide support to Anna Hazare in his demand for strong and tough anti-corruption law. Drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde (former Supreme Court Judge and present Lokayukta of Karnataka), Prashant Bhushan (Supreme Court Lawyer) and Arvind Kejriwal (RTI activist).

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Salient Features of Jan Lokpal Bill

An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up. They will be completely independent of the governments. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.

Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.

Salient Features of Jan Lokpal Bill Cont

Its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.
Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months. CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal.

It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption

Anti-corruption efforts
3) whistleblower: Whistleblowers play a major role in the fight against corruption

A whistleblower (whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities (misconduct) occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company. India currently does not have a law to protect whistleblowers

Anti-corruption police and courts

The income tax department of India, Central Vigilance Commission and Central Bureau of Investigation all deal with anti-corruption initiatives. There have been calls for the Indian government to create an anti-theft law enforcement agency that investigates and prosecutes corruption in government at national, state and local levels. Special courts that are more efficient than the traditional Indian courts with traveling judges and law enforcement agents are being proposed.

The proposal has not yet been acted upon by the Indian government. Certain states such as Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Pradesh Anti-corruption Bureau) and Karnataka (Lokayukta) have similar agencies and courts.

Anti-corruption organizations

A variety of organizations have been created in India to actively fight against corrupt government and business practices. Notable organizations include:

5th Pillar is most known for the creation of the zero rupee note, a valueless note designed to be given to corrupt officials when they request bribes. India Against Corruption is a movement created by a citizens from a variety of professions to work against corruption in India. It is currently headed by Anna Hazare. Jaago Re! One Billion Votes is an organization originally founded by Tata Tea and Janaagraha to increase youth voter registration. They have since expanded their work to include other social issues, including corruption. Association for Social Transparency, Rights And Action (ASTRA) is an NGO focused on grass-roots work to fight corruption in Karnataka.

Anti corruption websites

Ipaidabribe is a website that is very popular among people who wants to report a bribe they were forced to give. It also gives various reports on corruption basis the information presented to them by the people.

Another website is EkakiZunj which is a resource centre for various scams in India and user submitted details of various fraud. Ejanmat is a site which carries out a voting between the government and Anna Hazare's version of Janlokpal bill