Corruption in India Essay

CORRUPTION ï‚ §Corruption is defined as the misuse of any power of public consequence for private gain. ï‚ §Corruption is not something new, as per Arthasastra of Kautilya ( around 3rd century B.C) : â€Å"Just as it is impossible not to taste the honey(or the poison) that finds itself at the tip of the tongue, so it is impossible for a government servant not to eat up, atleast, a bit of the king’s revenue.† â€Å"Just as fish moving under water cannot possibly be found out either as drinking or not drinking water, so government servants employed in the government work cannot be found out (while) taking money( for themselves)† Major Scams in India Year 1976 1981 1987 1987 1991 1991 1992 1992 1994 1995 1996 1996 1996 2000 2001 2002 2006 2009 2009 2010 2012 Scam KUO OIL DEAL SCAM ANTHULAY TRUST (PAY OFF) HDW COMMISSION BOFORS SCAM TELGI SCAM JMM BRIBE SECURITY SCAM(HARSHAD MEHTA) INDIAN BANK RIP – OFF SUGAR IMPORT BHANSALI SCAM FODDER SCAM HAWALA SCAM UREA DEAL UTI SCAM MUTUAL FUND SCAM HOME TRADE SCAM IPO SCAM MADHU KODA SCAM SATYAM SCAM THE 2G SCAM (MOTHER OF ALL SCAMS) COAL ALLOCATION SCAM TOTAL AMOUNT Amount (In crore) 2.2 30 20 64 43000 0.3 4000 1300 650 1200 950 810 233 32 1350 600 61 4000 24000 1,76,000 1,85,591 4,43,894 Effect Of Corruption On Poor Brought Out By CMS-TII †¢With special focus on BPL household’s 2008 survey shows the following results. †¢About one third of the BPL families paid bribe in the last one year for one or more of the eleven public services covered in the study. †¢ This shows that even the poorest of the poor are not spared in their targeted programs. †¢The survey shows that about 3.4 % of people paid a bribe for a school education and 48% in the case of police service. †¢4% BPL households used contacts for PDS ,school education & electricity as they could not pay the bribe. †¢2% of the people could not get the above services sine they could not pay the bribe or had no contacts. Effects Of Corruption On The Poor BREAK UP OF BRIBES PAID FOR 11 BASIS SERVICES IN MILLION Services covered Public distribution system Hospital School education (up to class XII) Electricity Water supply National rural employment guarantee scheme Land record / registration Forest Housing Banking Police Total for 11 basic services of BPL families Total bribe paid in an year 450 870 120 1050 240 70 1240 240 1570 830 2150 8830 Source: TII-CMS India Corruption Study (2007) CPI – Corruption Perceptions Index-2012 ï‚ § As per the data for the year 2000 , India was in the 69th rank with CPI score of 2.8. ï‚ §As per Ratan Tata â€Å"Corruption has become worse after liberalization†¦Prior to 1991, corruption was in the form of granting licenses. Now, it’s replaced by the award of contracts and in changing the terms of contractual obligations.† Source: Transparency International 2012 CPI score. CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX 2012 Source: Transparency International 2012 Corruption Stifles Economic Progress Agents Role In the Licensing System †¢Corruption leads in reduction in efficiency. †¢Corruption leads to wastage of public funds and Resources. ï‚ §Institutionalization of corruption. †¢Most prevalent form of corruption in India. Eg: Driving Licensing Process in most states. †¢Willingness to pay bribes. †¢Bounce back on the society. Source: February 2, 2008-Economic & Political Weekly. What Is The Root Cause Of Corruption ? †¢Traditional practise. †¢Government services being monopolistic in nature. †¢Lack of trans-parency. †¢Lack of efficient and review monitoring mechanism. †¢Issues with electoral process (funding). †¢ Corporate politician nexus-(State Capture). †¢Socio economic divide. †¢Lack of effective grievance redressal system. Major Demands Of The Team Anna and Kejriwal †¢All govt. servants under the jurisdiction (Including PM). †¢Election and removal be independent of the govt. authorities. †¢CBI’s corruption investigation agency shall be brought under the admin control. †¢Investigation procedure shall be in tune with the criminal investigation procedures. †¢Setting up of lokayuktas. †¢Provision for the citizen’s charter. †¢Effective grievances redressal forum. Earlier Movements Against Corruption: †¢1974 Navnirman movement of Gujarat. †¢Jayaprakash Narayan’s (JP) anti-corruption movement in Bihar of 1974-75 were both against corruption. †¢Other movements: †¢Farmers movements. †¢Dalit movement. †¢Womens Movement. †¢Environmental Movements. †¢RTI Movement. India Against Corruption Movement -How it Differed ? †¢Anna’s Image. †¢Political Vacuum at its peak. †¢Media coverage. †¢In the first phase it seemed completely detached from existing political establishment. †¢Second phase suggested a political alternative. †¢Pan Indian image. ADVANTAGES: †¢Gave a very strict dead line. †¢Proposed several use full amendments. †¢His is a political struggle backed by a moral struggle. †¢Attracted the Youth. †¢Advantages of formation of a political party : †¢Other parties tend to choose better candidates. †¢Other parties tend to give more freedom to the lower level workers. †¢Other parties tend to function more transparently. †¢Could be a failure in election. But politically success. DISADVANTAGES: †¢Less features to prevent corruption prospectively. †¢Based on the assumption that Lokpal will be full of honest and efficient people. Lessons From Karnataka Lokayukta Lessons learnt : ï‚ §Lokpal should have the power of a criminal court. ï‚ §Selection of right candidate . ï‚ §Including PM ministers and MPs under the jurisdiction of the bill. Recommendations by Hegde : ï‚ §Powers to implement recommendations of the Lokpal should be the authority of Lokpal rather than the government. ï‚ §Lokpal to have a separate police force for investigation. ï‚ §Lokpal to have the administrative control over CBI’s corruption investigation team. ï‚ §Making CVC answerable to Lokpal. WAYS TO PREVENT CORRUPTION †¢We need a complete overhaul (holistic approach). †¢Bottom up approach will not work (top officials are also corrupt). †¢We need a top down approach (bring all levels of officers under the jurisdiction of Lokpal). †¢Have faith in the citizens. Emphasis on decentralized the governance structures. †¢Better salaries. †¢Better discipline (accountability and other related aspects). †¢Better recruitment process (importance of Attitude, Aptitude, Ethics). †¢Better automation (Transparency and related aspects). †¢Political will/commitment. †¢Social norms/values should change. †¢Electoral reforms. Question & Answer Session