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Remember our CONSTITUTION?
"WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to
constitute
India into a SOVEREIGN
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, and to secure to all its
citizens :
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity; and to promote among
them all;
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity
of the Nation:
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949,
do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND
GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.“
2
In the Republic of India there is a widely shared desire
in the country to consolidate the gains made now as
also to assess our future.
• Undoubtedly, the people of the country and the
managers of society can be congratulated on many
counts for India's achievements,
• (i) self-sufficiency (in fact surplus generation) in
food-grains,
• (ii) a strong industrial base,
• (iii) a rising expectancy of life,
• (iv) a higher percentage of literacy,
• (v) a united and better integrated India and
• (vi) a growing recognition by the world of our
capabilities and potential.
3
On the negative side, one can’t ignore the
nagging problems of
• unemployment, illiteracy and poverty,
• accentuated by an irresponsive population.
Also, delay in implementation, inadequate
infrastructure, feudalistic tendencies and a
pathetic contempt of rule of law and ethics in
public life.
Finally, an administration which is perceived as
lacking in smartness and quick response.
4
• The Transparency International (TI)
Corruption Perception Index (CPI), ranks
countries in terms of the degree to which
corruption is perceived to exist among public
officials and politicians. It is a composite index
derived from 15 different polls and surveys from
9 independent institutions carried out among
business people and country analysts.
5
6
Corruption Perception Index (CPI), defines
corruption as the abuse of public office for private
gains. The index provides an annual snap shot of
the views of business people and analysts like
bribing of public officials, kickbacks in public
procurement or embezzlement of public funds.
• In 2013, India ranked 94th among 177 nations in the
global corruption index released by the Transparency
International.
• As per the 2013 corruption index, Bhutan ranks 31st, Sri
Lanka 91, Nepal 116, Pakistan 127 and Bangladesh
136.
• In 2012, Bhutan stood at 33rd rank, Sri Lanka at 79,
Nepal 139, Pakistan 139 and Bangladesh 144. India,
maintained a status quo with 94 Rank both in 2013 and
2012
7
• There is nothing to be proud of India's ranking in the
Transparency International's Corruption Perception
Index 2014:Rank: 85 /175, Score: 38
• The country ranked low also in the Bribe Payers Index
among emerging economic giants.
• The use of public funds for private gain is common.
• The misuse of power, position and privilege is
widespread, whatever party is in power.
• Corruption seems to be a fact that affects all sections of
society. People seek short-cut paths to goals.
8
TYPOLOGY OF CORRUPTION
Corruption is defined as the use of public office for private gains
Scales of corruption can be Grand, Middling or Petty and payment of bribes can be due to collusion between the bribe taker and the bribe giver, due to coercion or even anticipatory. Easy solution to personal issue.
Existence of corruption implies that there are corrupt people, there are also corrupt practices, and there is a corrupt system.
Therefore, all the three have to be fought simultaneously to eliminate the vice of corruption.
9
Corruption in public life in India - 2015
As an editorial in a leading newspaper observed:
Corruption in public life is one of the daunting
issues facing the country.
Edmund Burke: All that is necessary for the forces
of evil to triumph in the world is for enough good
men to do nothing.
10
Mahatma Gandhi:
(70 years ago)
Corruption will be out one
day, however much one
may try to conceal it.
The public can, as its right
and duty, in very case of
justifiable suspicion, call
its servants to strict
account, dismiss them,
sue them in a
law court or appoint an
arbitrator or inspector
to scrutinize their
conduct, as it likes.
(It doesn’t care)
11
Corruption accentuates poverty, aggravates economic
disparity, thwarts development, undermines
democracy and is a threat to national security and,
destroys the moral fibre of the Nation.
Corruption will NOT destroy India.
Why Not?
Because, much of India functions, 'oiled' by
corruption. It damages India, for sure. But just as the
average Indian has more of a 'natural immunity' to
TB, Asthma, Dengue, Malaria, Conjunctivitis, 'Delhi-
Belly' and other 'gastro viruses and bacteria', than
other peoples, Indians have found ways of
continuing to work around this corrupt system. 12
13
Seven frequently asked questions about public
corruption:
(1)What is corruption?
(2) What are the common characteristics of countries with
high corruption?
(3) What is the magnitude of corruption?
(4) Do higher wages for bureaucrats reduce corruption?
(5) Can competition reduce corruption?
(6) Why have there been so few (recent) successful
attempts to fight corruption?
(7) Does corruption adversely affect growth?
PEOPLES’ PERSPECTIVE Indians think ( some even hope) that corruption cannot be eliminated in India – at least not in their lifetime. This pessimistic and cynical perception of the people is largely an outcome of confusing corruption with all kinds of illegal actions and activities by individuals.
Corruption arises in the ways people pursue, use
and exchange wealth and power, and in the
strength or weakness of the state, political and
social institutions that sustain and restrain those
processes.
Most illegal actions, many of which are private actions,
are confused with corruption.
The Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and Indian
Penal Code clearly distinguishes between corruption
indulged by public servants for private gains and illegal
actions by individuals.
There are separate Acts in India for dealing with different
kinds of illegal actions of private individuals. For example,
if a public servant amasses wealth disproportionate to his
known sources of income then he can be tried under
Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.
However, if a business-person amasses wealth
disproportionate to his known source of income he will be
dealt under Income Tax Act for concealing his income and
not under Prevention of Corruption Act.
15
Happenings in India
Corruption defined by the World Bank as the ‘use of public
office for private profit.’ Others are illegal acts of citizen.
In India, there are five major players on the corruption scene,
interdependent, strengthening and supportive of the vicious
cycle. They are the neta, the corrupt politician; the babu, the
corrupt bureaucrat; the lala, the corrupting businessman; the
jhola, the corrupt NGO; and the dada, the criminal of the
underworld !
The Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and Indian
Penal Code _ clearly distinguishes between
corruption indulged by public servants for private
gains and illegal actions by individuals.
17
September 2000: Former President Rao was convicted of criminal
conspiracy and corruption in the 1993 vote buying scandal and became
the first Indian P M to be convicted . He was acquitted on appeal,
March 2001: Following the release by an Indian news website of a
videotape showing 31 politicians, high level officials, bureaucrats and
army officials taking bribes, the Defence Minister and leaders of the
ruling BJP party were forced to resign. Four defence ministry officials
were also suspended.
September 2005: Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav was charged
with misappropriating state funds in the long running “fodder scam”. He
and Bihar C M were charged with embezzling over US$ 40 million in
state funds intended for the purchase of animal fodder.
18
In January 2006: A reporter in Assam writing articles accusing local
forestry service officials of having links to timber smuggling was
murdered. Later, some rationalist writers were bumped off.
In March 2006: The BJP alleged corruption in a military contract to buy
six submarines from two French companies, claiming that the
government overpaid by approximately US$ 113 million and used the
excess to pay middle men that helped secure the deal.
In January 2009: Satyam Computer Services Ltd was barred by the
World Bank from bidding for contracts for eight years and top officials
were arrested after a major financial fraud over several years was
disclosed.
In 2010: Telecom Minister Andimuthu Raja allegedly rigged the sale of
2G telecoms licenses for lower prices to the companies he favored.
19
In 2010: There was a scam involving homes for war widows. The
CM's relatives, army officers and bureaucrats are among those
who allegedly acquired apartments. He denied any wrongdoing in
relation to the Mumbai housing project.
In 2010: Suresh Kalmadi, the much-maligned organising
committee chief of Commonwealth Games in Delhi, quit his post.
An other housing loan scam involving state-owned institutions
and a private company Money Matters Financial Services Ltd had
been exposed. At least three of the four independent directors in
Money Matters, whose CMD and two senior executives were
arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), were ex-
bankers and chairpersons of financial institutions.
20
In fact, a non-executive independent director on the
board of Money Matters was the chairman of LIC and
LIC Housing Finance for more than a year till May
2005. He has served in LIC since 1968 till his
retirement in 2005. Money Matters, the CBI has
alleged, bribed senior officials in LIC and LIC Housing
Finance while mediating and facilitating loans for
builders and corporates from these institutions. Among
those arrested include the chief executive of LIC
Housing Finance. The other two are the former
chairman and managing director of state-owned
Allahabad Bank and a former CEO and chairman of
state-owned financial institution IFCI Ltd.
21
Given their understanding and clout in the financial
services sector, experts wondered if they took their
role of 'independent directors' seriously and asked the
right questions. The fourth non-executive
independent director in Money Matters is Sanjiv
Kapoor, a chartered accountant, who has audited the
books of the state-owned insurer LIC.
Who will investigate these allegations?
• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)
• Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
• Comptroller and Auditor General
(C & AG)
22
VYAPAM SCAM IN M P:
An enquiry into death of Shailesh, son of Governor of M
P, whose name figured in the scam, is being conducted
by C B I.
CBI has registered more than 10 cases against 200
people in connection with the Vyapam scam, about
irregularities in Police Constable Recruitment Test case,
pre-medical test in 2010, 2008, 2009, and 2011, leaking
model answer key, impersonation in the exams in 2014,
etc.
23
LALITH MODI AND CRICKET SCAM
Indian Premier League (IPL) that administered
cricket with eight franchise teams since 2008, had
Lalith Modi as Commissioner. He brought money to
the BCCI and with that came in corruption. The
2010 edition of the IPL came under scrutiny and
charges of money laundering put Lalith Mody in a
spot.
He was also accused of manipulating the auctions
and broadcast deals.
He fled the country and remained defiant.
24
BLACK MONEY LAW 2015
“Black Money is the aggregate of incomes which are
taxable but not reported to authorities.”
2015: ‘The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and
Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015’ has been
announced and criticized as harsh. It is commented that
officers would harass them. Black money is a serious
problem, which needs strict handling.
It needs to be brought into the economic mainstream.
Stringent penalties are applicable under money laundering
legislations globally.
24
25
The government was at an advanced stage in
considering the requirement of furnishing PAN
(permanent account number) card details for cash
transactions beyond a limit. The NDA government's
strategy was to put more money in the pockets of
middle and low income groups by raising
exemption limits and incentivise savings which will
encourage consumption and which, in turn, will
increase volumes of indirect taxation.
26
The FM said opening a large number of payment
gateways, internet banking, payment banks and the
emerging reality of e-commerce will prompt the use of
banking transactions and plastic money significantly.
He said those who had declared their undisclosed
assets abroad in the compliance window offered by the
government "can now sleep well" and those who have
failed to file such a declaration will be subjected to
penal provisions.
27
GLOBAL CORRUPTION INDEX
India, 94/177 Rank both
in 2013 and 2012.
India - Corruption Perception Index- 38
India-2015
Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched over rumours in village Bisara of U P. in September, 2015.His son Danish was injured.
The village returned to normalcy and nine people were arrested by police by October middle.
Anna Hazare claimed that reservation system has become a political tool to woo voters.
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is not happy with the progress of implementation of Swatch Bharath Mission projects of Ganga Action Plan.
“Corruption can be tackled only if various stakeholders join hands in their effort to clean the country,” said Justice (retired) Kamleshwar Nath, who is the Chair of TII.
28
• The present system provides for taking on the
corrupt persons through a legal mechanism,
which has not been found to be effective.
• Many corrupt practices fall outside the
purview of existing laws and need to be
tackled by people themselves.
• The responsibility for dealing with corrupt
people, corrupt practices and corrupt systems
devolves equally on individuals, civil society
institutions, legislature, executive, and the
judiciary.
29
CORRUPTION IN INDIA: A scenario-1
India is a most regulated economy with powers
concentrated in few hands. It is a country with high
population and scarce resources where demand is
always more than supply. The receivers of the
public services are largely poor, ignorant, and
illiterate. Does service reach them in time?
There was also absence of transparency and
accountability of the public servants.
There was no system of rewards and punishments
for the public servants.
30
CORRUPTION IN INDIA: A scenario-2
There was also no right to information. The license-permit-quota-inspector regime was pervasive in India since independence and continued under a different nomenclature even after liberalization and globalization of 1991.
In addition, there are 3000 central statutes and 10 times as many state statutes plus subsidiary and administrative laws (most of them archaic), with several exemption clauses and discretionary powers sans accountability.
All these conditions were fertile breeding grounds of corruption
31
Good Governance Agenda
The growth of civil society networks engaged in anti-corruption work has played a useful role.
The last decade has seen the rise of NGOs involved in a broad range of anti-corruption activity at the village, city, regional and national levels.
These organisations are active on many fronts and are increasingly networking and provide useful role models for anti-corruption campaigners throughout the country.
The rise of civil / judicial activism has been accompanied by demands for greater transparency in public life.
Electronic media with ‘Crime news’ played an active role now 24X7. What will Digital India be?
32
C o r r u p t i o n f l o u r i s h e s i n o u r s y s t e m b e c a u s e o f f i v e
b a s i c r e a s o n s . T h e s e a r e : ( i ) s c a r c i t y o f g o o d s a n d
s e r v i c e s ( u r g e n c y i n a v a i l a b i l i t y ) ; ( i i ) r e d t a p e a n d
c o m p l i c a t e d r u l e s a n d p r o c e d u r e s ; ( i i i ) l a c k o f
t r a n s p a r e n c y i n d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g ; ( i v ) l e g a l c u s h i o n s
o f s a f e t y f o r t h e c o r r u p t u n d e r t h e ‘ h e a l t h y ’ p r i n c i p l e
t h a t e v e r y o n e i s i n n o c e n t t i l l p r o v e d g u i l t y ; a n d ( v )
t r i b a l i s m o r b i r a d a r i a m o n g t h e c o r r u p t w h o p r o t e c t
e a c h o t h e r. T h e p o p u l a r p h r a s e i s ‘ t h i c k a s t h i e v e s ’
n o t ‘ t h i c k a s h o n e s t p e o p l e ’ .
‘Satyameva Jayate’ …. eventually
Citizen Charters has been introduced to improve the quality of public services
34
N. Vittal spent a four-year term as Central Vigilance
Commissioner and he was aware of the challenge
which the forces of corruption in our country posed
to those who want to fight it. India pays lip service to
the principle of honesty. Gandhiji told us before he
was killed: truth, non-violence the fundamental
principles of existence. Vedic dictum is , ‘Satyam
vadha - dharmam charah’. Our nation’s motto is
‘Satyameva Jayate’ or ‘Truth will triumph’.
35
The role of the Chief Vigilance Office, may broadly
be divided into two parts. i.e. preventive and
punitive. The Chief Vigilance Officers have so far
been concentrating mainly on the punitive side,
i.e. dealing with actual vigilance has not received
adequate attention. The word vigilance” mainly
implies watchfulness. The role of Vigilance Officer
is predominantly preventive. While detection and
punishment of corruption and other malpractices
is certainly important, what is even more
important is the taking of preventive measures
which could reduce the number of vigilance cases
considerably.
36
Corruption is a two-way street. For every bribe taker,
there is a bribe giver.
The debate on corruption in our country has
focused on the demand side of corruption,
i.e., on public servants and politicians who demand
bribes.
There has to be a thundering action on the supply
side of corruption,
37
i.e., around the business community which bribes
the public servants and politicians.
It is therefore interesting to note the business
community’s focus on the issue of ethics in
business. The CII organised a session on ethics
and corporate integrity. Preventive measures at
the source could reduce the number of vigilance
cases.
38
Corruption is like malaria, handled by either
giving medicine to those affected or by
preventing the breeding of mosquitoes.
Many of our rules and procedures breed
corruption. Orders have therefore been
issued to check and simplify procedures.
One example is a ban on post-tender
negotiations in government purchases,
except with the lowest bidder. Such
negotiations are a flexible source of
corruption.
39
Corruption flourishes in our system because of
five basic reasons. These are: (i) urgent need
for goods and services; (ii) impatience with
complicated rules and procedures; (iii) lack of
transparency in decision-making; (iv) legal
cushions of safety for the corrupt under the
‘healthy’ principle that everyone is innocent till
proved guilty; and (v) tribalism or biradari
among the corrupt and lazy seeker of an
urgent service/benefit, who protect each
other. If we believe corruption can be
eliminated, it can be.
40
Given the integration of global markets and the
increasing application of information technology,
billions of dollars can be transmitted from one
market to another at the click of a computer
mouse. When foreign financial institutions invest
in an emerging market, they want to be sure that
not only will the management functions be
performed effectively, but that decisions will also
be taken in a transparent manner and principles
of corporate ethics observed. When the chips are
down, integrity and corporate ethics do count in
global trade today.
Business frauds Preventive and Predictive Maintenance
41
The level of security in the financial
institutions is important. The need is for
training in computerisation and using
information technology for enhancing the
level of security in the financial institutions.
Ultimately, as Oscar Wilde said, the thief is
the artist and the policeman only a critic.
42
Is eliminating corruption a myth or reality? If we
believe corruption can be eliminated, it can be; if not,
it will remain a reality.
When Vivekananda went to meet Ramakrishna
Paramhansa, he asked directly, ‘Does God exist? Do you
believe in Him?’ Ramakrishna Paramhansa supposedly
replied, ‘Yes, not only do I believe in Him, but I can also
make you see Him?’ Vivekananda has also described the
experience where as Ramakrishna touched him, he felt the
presence of God.
43
When it comes to business frauds, it is always
better to adopt preventive and predictive
maintenance principles rather than the breakdown
maintenance principle, which is like locking the
stable doors after the horse has bolted. A classic
example is the Harshad Mehta scam where
because of lack of computerisation in the Public
Debt Office of the Reserve Bank of India, a Rs
l8,000 crore scam was perpetrated. It was only
after the fraud was unearthed that the RBI
computerised the Public Debt Office.
44
The need for training in computerisation and using
information technology for enhancing the level of security in
the financial institutions becomes especially important
because ultimately, as Oscar Wilde said, the thief is the artist
and the policeman only a critic. What computerisation does
is provide a means of processing a vast amount of data,
which inter alia also give an idea about the modus operandi
of fraudsters. Intelligent application of these concepts can
help in preventing corruption and fraud.
Ah! put in place effective punishment
Legal systems have to be dilatory in nature, and
the guilty often escape even if punishment is
meted out, as it takes a long time.
Often, the fraudster has so many resources at his
command that he can engage the best legal brains
to buy his way to freedom.
Who should rework the punishment regimen and
our legal system to ensure speedy punishment to
the really corrupt and the guilty?
45
Democratization of information and
knowledge:
The truth is that governments and citizens are fully
aware of the corruption which pervades the country.
The problem is that the people are ‘powerless’ to stop
corruption.
Information, knowledge and patience are critical for
realizing all the human aspirations, such as,
improvement in quality of life. In the knowledge
society, in which we live today, acquisition of
information and knowledge and its application have
intense and pervasive impact on productivity gains.
46
47
The concept of Citizen Charters had been introduced to
improve the quality of public services. It ensured
accountability, transparency and quality of services
provided by various government / business organistions.
It enabled citizens to avail of services with minimum hassle,
in reasonable time, and at a minimum cost.
Effective implementation of Citizens Charters will go a long
way in controlling corruption.
The Government of India had launched an ambitious
programme for formulation and implementation of Citizens
Charters in all government departments.
48
There is need to re-examine our culture, which had
normalised corruption in its many different forms. The
“Seven Nolan Principles of Public Life” — selflessness,
integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty
and leadership by example — should form the standards
for holding public office. There should be regular and
independent reviews of individual and organisational
functioning.
The challenge is to inspire and change individuals and
to transcend and transform societal norms.
A pluralist society with high ethics
in public life: Awake to it, India Vice of corruption can be overcome
Jai Ho
Adopting this strategy, we can definitely see India becoming a less
corrupt, progressive and developed country in the next 10 to 15
years.
Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti
A Prayer for Wisdom
(Let us come together. Let
us enjoy together. Let our
strengths come together.
Let us move from
darkness to light. Let us
avoid the poison of
misunderstanding and
hatred. That way lies
progress.)
50
INDIA can become a Nation, which is best described in the
words of Rabindranath Tagore
"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by
narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards
perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into
the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led by thee into ever widening thought
and action- Into that heaven of freedom, Oh Citizens, let our
country awake."
Source: Gitanjali, verse XXXV.
51
61
"We are responsible for what
we are, and whatever we wish
ourselves to be, we have the
power to make ourselves. If
what we are now has been the
result of our own past actions,
it certainly follows that
whatever we wish to be in
future can be produced by our
present actions; so we have to
know how to act. "
-- Swami Vivekananda
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.
62
63
Ombudsman [LokAyukta]
The LokAyukta is an anti-government corruption organization in the Indian states.
An amendment to the Constitution has been proposed to implement the Lokayukta
uniformly across Indian States as a three-member body, headed by a retired
Supreme Court judge or high court chief justice, and comprise of the state vigilance
commissioner and a jurist or an eminent administrator as other members .
Computerization [Digital India]
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.
Introduction of smart cards for vehicle registration and drivers licenses by Karnataka
Regional Transport Organization.
Enforcement automation of traffic violations by Bangalore Traffic Police .
64
• The world view of an average Indian is averse of
vices. The broad masses of the people has simple
task to ask for transparency, accept the verdict as the
rule of the game what they otherwise do in the name
of their fate, burn the real life demon what they do with
the mythological ones.
• Get to zero tolerance for the perpetrators beyond all
bounds of personal links and likes. Operational side of
the campaign calls for making the institutions of
democracy efficient. It will handle much of the nexus of
political, bureaucratic and criminals.
• Jai-Ho