Corruption is an issue which adversely affects India's economy of central, state and local government agencies. Not only has it held the economy back from reaching new heights, but rampant corruption has stunted the country's development. A study conducted by Transparency International in 2005 recorded that more than 62% of Indians had at some point or another paid a bribe to a public official to get a job done. In 2008, another report showed that about 50% of Indians had first-hand experience of paying bribes or using contacts to get services performed by public offices, however, in 2018 their Corruption Perception Index ranked the country 78th place out of 180, reflecting a steady decline in the perception of corruption among people.
The largest contributors to corruption are entitlement programs and social spending schemes enacted by the Indian government. Examples include the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the National Rural Health Mission. Other areas of corruption include India's trucking industry which is forced to pay billions of rupees in bribes annually to numerous regulatory and police stops on interstate highways.
The causes of corruption in India include excessive regulations, complicated tax and licensing systems, numerous government departments with opaque bureaucracy and discretionary powers, monopoly of government-controlled institutions on certain goods and services delivery, and the lack of transparent laws and processes. There are significant variations in the level of corruption and in the government's efforts to reduce corruption across different areas of India.
Politics
Corruption in India is a problem that has serious implications for protecting the rule of law and ensuring access to justice. As of December 2009, 120 of India's 542 parliament members were accused of various crimes, under India's First Information Report procedure wherein anyone can allege another to have committed a crime.
Many of the biggest scandals since 2010 have involved high level government officials, including Cabinet Ministers and Chief Ministers, such as the 2010 Commonwealth Games scam (₹70,000 crore (US$10 billion)), the Adarsh Housing Society scam, the Coal Mining Scam (₹1.86 lakh crore (US$27 billion)), the Mining Scandal in Karnataka and the Cash for Vote scams.
Bureaucracy
A 2005 study done by the Transparency International in India found that more than 92% of the people had firsthand experience of paying bribes or peddling influence to get services performed in a public office.[3] Taxes and bribes are common between state borders; Transparency International estimates that truckers annually pay ₹222 crore (US$32 million) in bribes.
SOME AREAS
1.Land and property
2.Tendering processes and awarding contracts
3.Hospitals and health care
4.Income tax department
5.Preferential award of mineral resources
6.Driver licensing
7.Trends
Black money
Black money refers to money that is not fully or legitimately the property of the 'owner'. A government white paper on black money in India suggests two possible sources of black money in India; the first includes activities not permitted by the law, such as crime, drug trade, terrorism, and corruption, all of which are illegal in India and secondly, wealth that may have been generated through lawful activity but accumulated by failure to declare income and pay taxes. Some of these black money ends up in illicit financial flows across international borders, such as deposits in tax haven countries.
Anti-corruption efforts
Right to Information Act
The 2005 Right to Information Act required government officials to provide the information requested by citizens or face punitive action, as well as the computerization of services and the establishment of vigilance commissions. This is considerably reduced corruption and opened up avenues to redress grievances.
Right to public services legislation
Right to Public Services legislation, which has been enacted in 19 states of India, guarantee time bound delivery of services for various public services rendered by the government to citizen and provides mechanisms for punishing the errant public servant who is deficient in providing the service stipulated under the statute.[69] Right to Service legislation is meant to reduce corruption among the government officials and to increase transparency and public accountability.
Anti-corruption laws in India
Public servants in India can be imprisoned for several years and penalized for corruption under the:
- Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Prosecution section of Income Tax Act, 1961
- The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
- The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 to prohibit Benami transactions.
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
Anti-corruption police and courts
The Directorate General of Income Tax Investigation, Central Vigilance Commission and Central Bureau of Investigation all deal with anti-corruption initiatives. Certain states such as Andhra Pradesh (Anti-Corruption Bureau, Andhra Pradesh) and Karnataka (Lokayukta) also have their own anti-corruption agencies and courts.
Andhra Pradesh's Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has launched a large scale investigation in the "cash-for-bail" scam.[81] CBI court judge Talluri Pattabhirama Rao was arrested on 19 June 2012 for taking a bribe to grant bail to former Karnataka Minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, who was allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Investigation revealed that India Cements (one of India's largest cement companies) had been investing in Reddy's businesses in return for government contracts. A case has also been opened against seven other individuals under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Civic anti-corruption organizations
A variety of organizations have been created in India to actively fight against the corrupt government and business practices. Notable organizations include:
1.[Bharat Swabhiman Trust], established by Ramdev, has campaigned against black money and corruption for a decade.
2.5th 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.
3. India Against Corruption was a popular movement active during 2011–12 that received much media attention. Among its prominent public faces were Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, and Anna Hazare. 4. Kejriwal went on to form the Aam Aadmi Party and Hazare established Jan Tantra Morcha.
5.Jaago Re! One Billion Votes was an organization founded by Tata Tea and Janaagraha to increase youth voter registration.[84] They have since expanded their work to include other social issues, including corruption.
6. Association for Social Transparency, Rights and Action (ASTRA) is an NGO focused on grass-roots work to fight corruption in Karnataka.
7. The Lok Satta Movement has transformed itself from a civil organization to a full-fledged political party, the Lok Satta Party. The party has fielded candidates in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Bangalore. In 2009, it obtained its first elected post, when Jayaprakash Narayan won the election for the Kukatpally Assembly Constituency in Andhra Pradesh.
Source: Wikipedia