Why in news?
Recent scams in public works and procurement have renewed public debate on corruption in India. With Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranking India 93rd among 180 countries in 2024, the subject remains a pressing governance challenge in 2025.
Forms of corruption
- Petty corruption: Small bribes paid to obtain routine services such as licences, police verifications or hospital admissions. It burdens ordinary citizens and undermines trust.
- Grand corruption: Large‑scale embezzlement or diversion of public resources, often involving high‑level officials and business interests. Examples include mega‑project scams and defence kickbacks.
- Collusive corruption: When both parties benefit from an illegal arrangement, such as contractors colluding with officials to inflate costs or deliver substandard work.
- Political corruption: Vote‑buying, quid‑pro‑quo appointments and illicit funding of parties. The criminalisation of politics allows criminals to enter legislatures and influence policy.
- Systemic corruption: A situation where corrupt practices become normalised across institutions, leading to a culture of impunity.
Causes
- Administrative factors: Excessive discretion, opaque procedures, and red tape create opportunities for rent‑seeking. Low public sector salaries can tempt officials to seek illicit income.
- Economic drivers: Poverty and inequality make people more willing to pay bribes to access services. Crony capitalism and monopolies also breed corruption.
- Political reasons: Weak internal democracy in parties, opaque electoral funding and the nexus between politicians and criminals enable corruption.
- Social and cultural norms: Gift‑giving and patronage networks may encourage favouritism. In some communities bribery is viewed as a necessary evil.
- Legal and institutional gaps: Slow judicial processes, weak enforcement of anti‑corruption laws and inadequate protection for whistle‑blowers allow offenders to escape punishment.
Impacts
- On individuals: Corruption reduces access to essential services and forces the poor to spend a larger share of their income on bribes.
- On the economy: It diverts public funds from infrastructure, education and health, deters foreign investment and increases the cost of doing business.
- On society: Corruption erodes trust in institutions, fuels cynicism and promotes a culture of impunity. It exacerbates inequality and social unrest.
Measures to combat corruption
- Strengthen institutions: Fully operationalise the Lokpal at the national level and Lokayuktas in states. Equip vigilance commissions, anti‑corruption bureaus and the Central Bureau of Investigation with adequate resources.
- Administrative reforms: Simplify procedures, digitise services and reduce discretionary powers. Online platforms for land records, licences and payments minimise human interaction and opportunities for bribery.
- Electoral and political reforms: Introduce transparent funding of political parties, cap cash donations and disqualify candidates facing serious criminal charges.
- Legal measures: Establish special courts for corruption cases to ensure speedy trials. Enact a robust whistle‑blower protection law and a citizens’ charter in all departments.
- Societal change: Integrate ethics and civics education in schools. Encourage citizens to demand accountability and refuse to pay bribes. Public campaigns can help break the culture of silence around corruption.
Combating corruption requires a multi‑pronged approach involving laws, institutions, technology and social change. Transparency, accountability and a strong value system must become the cornerstones of public life for India to realise its development goals.