essay on corruption of india

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Corruption In India Essay

Corruption refers to dishonest or fraudulent behaviour by individuals in positions of power or authority, such as government officials, politicians, business leaders, or law enforcement officers. Corruption can take many forms, including bribery, embezzlement, nepotism, abuse of power, and fraud. Here are a few sample essays on corruption in India.

100 Words Essay On Corruption In India

200 words essay on corruption in india, 500 words essay on corruption in india, addressing the problem of corruption.

Corruption is a significant problem in India that has been prevalent for decades. It affects all levels of society, from the poorest to the richest. Corruption in India can take many forms, including bribery, embezzlement, nepotism, and misuse of public resources. Corruption in India has resulted in the misallocation of resources, poor governance, and a lack of accountability. It also leads to a loss of trust in public institutions, weakens the rule of law, and hinders economic development. Despite various efforts to curb corruption, it remains a significant challenge for India, requiring continued vigilance and strong political will to address this issue.

Corruption is a widespread problem in India that has been a matter of concern for several decades. It is a menace that plagues all levels of society, from the poorest to the richest. Corruption in India takes various forms, such as bribery, embezzlement, nepotism, and misuse of public resources. The root cause of corruption in India is a lack of transparency, accountability, and a weak legal system.

Consequences | Corruption in India has severe consequences on the country's social and economic development. It has resulted in the misallocation of resources, poor governance, and a lack of essential services to the people. Corruption has also undermined democracy and the rule of law, with political parties and leaders using corruption as a means to maintain power and control.

Measures | The Indian government has taken several measures to address corruption, such as setting up anti-corruption agencies, enacting laws and regulations, and promoting transparency and accountability in public institutions. However, corruption remains a significant challenge in India, requiring continued efforts and political will to combat.

Citizens also have a crucial role to play in fighting corruption by refusing to participate in corrupt practices, reporting corruption, and demanding accountability from their leaders. Addressing corruption in India requires a collective effort from all stakeholders, including the government, civil society, and citizens, to build a more transparent, accountable, and fair society.

Corruption has been a rampant problem in India for decades, plaguing all levels of society, from the poorest to the richest. Corruption in India takes many forms, such as bribery, embezzlement, nepotism, and misuse of public resources. It undermines the country's democratic institutions, weakens the rule of law, and has severe consequences on social and economic development.

Causes For Corruption

Lack of transparency in public institutions provides an environment conducive to corruption. When there is no transparency in government functioning, it is easier for officials to engage in corrupt practices without fear of detection or punishment.

The weak legal system in India is also a significant contributor to corruption. Corrupt officials can evade justice, and the lack of severe punishments acts as a deterrent to corrupt practices.

Political influence is another significant cause of corruption in India. Politicians use their power and influence to benefit themselves and their associates, often at the expense of the public interest.

Poverty and a lack of economic opportunities create an environment where corruption thrives. People in positions of power often exploit the vulnerable to engage in corrupt practices.

Despite various anti-corruption measures, a lack of political will to tackle corruption remains a significant challenge. Corruption often goes unchecked because of a lack of will to enforce laws and regulations.

Addressing the root causes of corruption in India requires a comprehensive approach that involves structural reforms, strengthening of institutions, and a change in societal attitudes towards corruption. It requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders, including the government, civil society, and citizens, to build a more transparent, accountable, and fair society.

Reducing corruption in India is a complex and challenging task that requires a multi-faceted approach. Here are some steps that can be taken to decrease corruption in India.

Strengthening institutions such as the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and anti-corruption bodies can help reduce corruption. These institutions should be provided with adequate resources, training, and autonomy to perform their functions effectively.

Greater transparency in government functioning can help prevent corruption. Measures such as public disclosure of government contracts, budgets, and decision-making processes can help reduce opportunities for corruption.

Encouraging citizen participation and creating channels for feedback is another method that can help in the eradication of corruption. This can be done by promoting citizen engagement in decision-making processes, creating whistleblower protection laws, and establishing grievance redressal mechanisms.

Strict enforcement of laws and regulations is critical to reducing corruption. This requires political will to prosecute corrupt officials and to ensure that they are held accountable for their actions.

Promoting ethical leadership can help reduce corruption by ensuring that leaders at all levels of government are selected based on their integrity and track record of ethical behavior.

The use of technology can help reduce corruption. For example, e-governance systems, online portals for filing complaints, and digital payment systems can reduce opportunities for corruption.

Educating the public about the negative effects of corruption and promoting ethical behavior is crucial to reduce corruption. This can be done through awareness campaigns, education in schools and colleges, and public service announcements.

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Corruption in India: Status, Causes & Impacts

From Current Affairs Notes for UPSC » Editorials & In-depths » This topic

The menace of corruption is the most talked-about issue in India which grapples the sphere of public debate very often. The phenomenon touches every human being from the one living in slums to the person occupying the highest echelons of the State system. Just like the fictional Voldemort, corruption grows at every utterance of it. In the words of Kautilya “Just as it is impossible not to taste the honey that finds itself in the tip of the tongue, so it is impossible for a government assistant not to eat up, at least a bit of King’s revenue.”

What is Corruption?

Transparency International (TI) defines corruption as “The abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the amounts of money lost and the sector where it occurs”

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What is the Status of corruption in India?

• In 2021, the country was ranked 85th out of 180 in the Corruption Perceptions Index, with the lowest-ranked countries perceived to have the most honest public sector. Corruption is caused by a variety of factors, including officials stealing money from government social welfare programmes.
• CPI, 2019 highlighted that unfair and opaque political financing, undue influence in decision-making and lobbying by powerful corporate interest groups, has resulted in stagnation or decline in the control of corruption.
• As per the India Corruption Survey 2019, 51% of the respondents admitted to paying bribes. Rajasthan and Bihar fared the worst in the country with 78% and 75% of respondents admitting to paying bribes.

What are the causes of corruption?

Inquiry into the causes of corruption presents a detailed picture of a socio-political-economic-administrative scenario that breeds corruption on a daily basis.

• Legacy issues –
• Rampant poverty and empty coffers of the government at the dawn of independence leading to chronic low salaries of the government officials.
• Pre liberalization license permit raj catered by Monopolies and restrictive trade practices facilitated the corruption. The lack of economic freedom led to abuse of the system.
• Necessities of development overshadowed vigilance procedures.
• Political system
• Use of black money in elections to win at any cost (breaching statutory spending limits) creates the need for the recovery of that cost through malpractices.
• Election funding is not transparent making it prone to the usage of black money and funding based on quid pro quo.
• It leads to crony capitalism, an unholy nexus between politicians and corporates.
• Criminalization of politics- when the rule-breakers become rule makers, the casualty is the rule of law.
• Economic structure
• Low levels of formalization (merely 10%) of the economy breed black money.
• Stringent compliance rules for entry and exit for businesses result in bribery.
• Unequal distribution of wealth- Transparency International data suggests that corruption is directly proportionate to the economic gap in a nation.
• Faulty process of liberalisation- we first opened ourselves to the world and then took to legislation for various sectors like FDI, resource auction making it easy for foreign companies to manipulate the system.
• Legal lacunae
• Archaic laws like IPC 1860 don’t capture the complexities of administration and lead to the escape of wrongdoers.
• narrows down the definition of corruption,
• increases the burden of proof
• prior approval from the government for inquiry or investigation of officials
• Lacunae in the Lokpal act and delays in the appointments both at the state and central levels.
• Dilution of the RTI act and political misuse of CBI and other agencies.
• Loopholes give discretionary powers to the officials making working prone to corruption.
• Lack of resources, funding, infrastructure and manpower in the vigilance institutions.
• Lack of incorporation of standard practices by organizations like Banks, sports organizations which results in multi-billion-rupee scams. E.g. Punjab National Bank scam, commonwealth scam.
• Delays and dying away from the corruption cases at the judicial level due to lack of evidence or faulty investigation. It also showcases politician-public servant-judicial (lower levels) nexus.
• Lack of protection to good Samaritans
• Targeting of upright and non-corrupt officials and rewards to corrupt officials
• Near non-existent whistleblowers protection
• Social problems
• The mindset of the citizenry that doesn’t look at the problems seriously and even accepts it as a necessary part of the system.
• Illiteracy, poverty, and inability to understand complex procedures.
• Increasing consumerism in the new middle class that is ready to bribe to get things done.
• Failure of social morality, education system to inculcate the values.

What are the impacts of corruption?

• Hindrances to developmental process
• loss of wealth due to corruption and siphoning away of taxpayers’ money leave little to spend in the social sector.
• many developmental projects cannot be completed or get dragged for decades because of red-tapism, corruption cases raising the expenditure
• out of pocket expenditure by the poor to get things done creates a vicious cycle of poverty.
• Corruption in the social sectors like PDS, health and education schemes lead to demographic disadvantage.
• It misdirects developmental strategy from decentralized, directed projects to big-budget projects on account of crony capitalism.
• Economic loss
• Undermines ease of doing business
• Corruption in the public services sector carries high risks for conducting good businesses. Companies are likely to unwanted red tapes, petty corruption, bribes for finalizing any procedures or deals.
• Wrong allocation policies result in undervaluation of resources like Coal blocks, Hydrocarbon projects, Spectrum allocation. Eg. 2G scam, Coalgate. This mismanagement of resources leads to environmental degradation and exploitation.
• Low tax collection due to tax authority- corporate corruption. It results in low spending in the capital building.
• Corruption of financial sector officials like Banks, the stock market erodes the strength of the economy. E.g. PNB scam, PMC scam, Harshad Mehta scandal
• Rising black money artificially enhances the market capability which is always at the risk of collapse.
• Harmful to national security
• We have a history of corruption in defense procurement and consequent litigation. It undermines the preparedness of the armed.
• Corruption in the border security establishment creates problems of terrorist infiltration. Illegal migration has caused the issue of NRC implementation
• Social sector losses
• Corruption in government projects targeting poor and vulnerable section of the society increases the economic gap between the rich and the poor
• Corruption is always paid by the poor. The loss of exchequer by the big scams are always recovered by higher taxes. It hampers intergenerational parity in taxation.
• The corrupt system denies the poor a chance to improve their status rendering them eternally poor
• On the political front, corruption is a major obstacle to democracy and the rule of law.
• It then leads to the loss of legitimacy of the political systems and gives free hand to non-state actors. E.g. Left-wing extremism
• Judicial corruption too undermines its legitimacy.

Way forward

There is a need for windfall reforms in each and every section of the system to fight the menace. Every aspect of governance must be improved for efficiency, economy, and effectiveness .

• Barring the criminals from even participating in the elections as suggested by the election commission.
• Imposing limits on the overall expenditure of the political parties.
• Making state funding of elections a reality.
• Empowering ECI by giving legal force to MCC and making paid news a criminal offence.
• Strengthening of autonomous institutions
• Protecting the autonomy of CIC-giving him a constitutional status
• Provision of required manpower, infrastructure, training of vigilance agencies
• Eliminate overlapping of jurisdiction- e.g. Lokpal and CBI
• Administrative reforms
• Establishing the Civil Service Board to curb the excessive political control over the administration
• Reducing the hierarchy levels in the governments
• Conducting periodic sensitivity training for the civil servants
• Simplifying the disciplinary proceedings and strengthening preventive vigilance within the departments to ensure corrupt civil servant do not occupy the sensitive position
• Police and judicial reforms- implementation of Prakash Singh recommendations
• Governance reforms
• e-gov apart from advancing the good governance objectives of accountability and transparency also seeks to reduce the manual interface between state and citizen thus preventing the incidences of bribery
• Drives like Digital India projects like Government e-Marketplace must be implemented.
• Enactment of the right to service act. E.g. Rajasthan social accountability bill
• Economic reforms
• Negating legal lacunae in banking, stock market legislations.
• Improving corporate governance by implementing corporate governance committee reports
• Formalisation of the economy
• Refining and speedy implementation of GST
• Social sector improvements

As Transparency International chairman Delia Ferreira Rubio says, “People’s indifference is the best breeding ground to the corruption”. citizen empowerment is a basic need in the fight against corruption

• Awareness of citizenry by training them in RTI act, Citizens charter, social audits.
• Increasing democratization of the masses.
• Curriculum reforms to inculcate values even in higher education by which youngsters acquire high standards of ethical mindset.

Integrity, transparency, and fight against corruption have to be part of the culture. They must be thought of as fundamental values of the society we live in. corruption should not be seen as cancer to be eliminated root and branch for now. A practical approach would be to see it at obsession to be cured.  An incremental approach to the problem will lead to an achievable target-setting and faster completion. People should be aware that they can change the system. India against corruption movement of 2011 was not the last fight as we have seen and it cannot be either. There has to be continuous checks and balances in the system. Corruption can be tackled effectively. But it needs homegrown solutions that eliminate indigenous problems.

• India has dropped to 82nd position in 2021, five places down from 77th rank last year, in a global list that ranks countries based on business bribery risks. The list by TRACE, an anti-bribery standard-setting organization, measures business bribery risk in 194 countries, territories, and autonomous and semi-autonomous regions.
• A strict anti-corruption law is “necessary” because corruption is hollowing out the country, the Centre told a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court, which was considering whether public servants can be prosecuted for bribery if bribe givers fail to record their statements or turn hostile.

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CORRUPTION IN INDIA The development of India and its people and the future is irreparably destroyed due to the massive corruption, bribery and influence peddling. The rule of law is ignored. India is faced with absolute lawlessness, no one is safe and no one’s property is safe. The Higher Judiciary to take stern action against the corrupt politicians, executives and the who’s who of India. In pandemic the leaders have failed its people and caused massive death. Ramesh Mishra Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

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Major Factors Responsible For Corruption

• The most important factor is the nature of the human being. People in general, have a great thirst for luxuries and comforts and as a result of which they get themselves involved in all unscrupulous activities that result in monetary or material benefits.
• Moral and spiritual values are not given utmost importance in educational system, which is highly responsible for the deterioration of the society.
• The salary paid to employees is very less and as a result of which they are forced to earn money by illegal ways.
• The punishments imposed on the criminals are inadequate.
• The political leaders have spoiled the society completely. They lead a luxurious life and do not even care about the society.
• People of India are not awakened and enlightened. They fear to raise their voice against anti-social elements prevailing in the society.

Measures towards control / eradication of corruption in india

• The Right to Information Act (RTI) gives one all the required information about the Government, such as what the Government is doing with our tax payments. Under this act, one has the right to ask the Government on any problem which one faces.
• Another potent check on corruption is Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). It was setup by the Government to advise and guide Central Government agencies in the areas of vigilance. If there are any cases of corruption or any complaints thereof, then that can be reported to the CVC. CVC also shoulders the responsibility of creating more awareness among people regarding the consequences of giving and taking of bribes and corruption.
• Establishment of special courts for speedy justice can be a huge positive aspect. Much time should not elapse between the registration of a case and the delivery of judgment.
• Strong and stringent laws need to be enacted which gives no room for the guilty to escape.
• In many cases, the employees opt for corrupt means out of compulsion and not by choice. Some people are of the opinion that the wages paid are insufficient to feed their families. If they are paid better, they would not be forced to accept bribe.

A report on bribery in India published by Trace International in January, 09 states that

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