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Trials and convictions under the Prevention of Corruption Act and related sections of the Indian Penal Code in 2013, The Times of India

Corruption: a ‘fact of life’ in India-US embassy

From the archives of The Times of India

New Delhi: The US embassy in July 1976 said corruption in India was a “cultural/political/economic fact of life”, and that it was not a Western import but historically a local phenomenon. It called the Congress party India's "united givers fund”. “It is impossible in any single message to give a description of the extent and modalities of corruption in India. Entire books have been written on this subject and there is little doubt but that these only dealt with the tip of the iceberg. It should be added that corruption is not a phenomenon which was brought to India by the West. Kautilya, the ancient philosopher, in his treaties Arthasastra refers to various kinds of corruption and prescribes corresponding punishments.” The cable said corruption was not confined to the business or political world. “Hindu and other religious shrines in India have long been known for their corrupt practices,” the cable said.

The Global Corruption Barometer, 2013

Graft in India twice the global average

Kounteya Sinha TNN 2013/07/10

The Times of India

London: Corruption in India has reached an all-time high with rates being exactly double of the global prevalence. Globally, 27% people say they paid bribes when accessing public services and institutions in the last year.

In India, however, the number of people who did the same was 54%. Political parties have been found to be the most corrupt institution in India with a corruption rate as high as 4.4 on a scale of 5 (1 being the least corrupt and 5 highest).

The highest amount of bribe however was collected by the police — 62% followed by to those involved in registry and permit (61%), educational institutions (48%), land services (38%). India’s judiciary has also been found guilty — 36% involved in bribes. Cynicism about a corruption free future is widespread among Indians with 45% saying they don’t think common man can make a difference.

On the other hand, around 34% people (1 in 3) said they wouldn’t report corruption if they face it. These are the findings of the Global Corruption Barometer 2013 — a survey of 1.14 lakh people in 107 countries released on Tuesday.

The index found that corruption is widespread globally, with 27% of respondents (1 in 4 people) having paid a bribe when accessing public services and institutions in the last 12 months, revealing no improvement from previous surveys. More than one person in two thinks corruption has worsened in the last two years. The police and the judiciary were seen as the two most bribery prone globally.

Transparency International, 2014

India less corrupt than China: Study TIMES NEWS NETWORK The Times of India Dec 04 2014

But Still Ranks With Burkina Faso, Benin Ladakh

For the first time in 18 years, India ranks asless corrupt than China in the annual corruption survey by global watchdog Transparency International.

In its annual survey of 175 countries, India ranks an otherwise depressing 85th, but has improved in the index, jumping 10 places.

China, on the other hand, has fallen 20 places to rank 100th despite Chinese president Xi Jinping unleashing a massive campaign against corruption, arresting a number of high profile political and military leaders. While India and China were at more or less similar levels in 2006-07, this is the first time since the rankings started in 1996 that India is perceived to be less corrupt than China. The Corruption Perception Index is compiled by experts like banking institutions, big companies and other organizations based on their view of corruption in the public sector. Transparency International's annual report measures perceptions of corruption using a scale where 100 is cleanest and 0 most corrupt. India's score moved up to 38 from 36. Despite a slightly better showing by India, its contemporaries on the index are countries like Burkina Faso and Benin, nothing to write home about.

The Berlin-based organi zation published its 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index of 175 countries on Wednesday .Turkey and China showed the greatest drops in the index.

India's perception improvement is attributed to a heightened awareness and public antipathy to corruption from the time Anna Hazare began his agitation in 2012. This was succeeded by the first ever Lokpal Bill being passed in parliament. India's reputation has also been burnished somewhat by the pending anti-corruption bills wending their way through Parliament. Corruption was a major plank in the election campaign in the recently concluded general elections, a central part of BJP's pitch. Even Arvind Kejriwal's short-lived government in Delhi was premised on an anti-graft platform.

The top performer is Denmark at 92. In a statement, Transparency International said it is campaigning for countries to adopt a procedure called Unmask the Corrupt, urging the EU, US and G20 countries to follow Denmark's lead and create public registers that would make clear who really controls, or is the beneficial owner, of every company .

Times View

We could celebrate the fact that India's rank and score have improved in the 2014 rankings over the 2013 ones, but the improvement is too little and from too low a base to warrant such a reaction. India's current score of 38 is way below the 92 that the least corrupt countries like Denmark have achieved and its rank of joint 85th among 175 countries means it is in the middle of the range. If the country is to realize its full economic potential, the situation will have to improve dramatically and soon. The government has a major role to play in ensuring this happens by reducing discretionary powers and making processes more transparent, but civil society too must play its part in the form of anti-corruption movements and constant vigil.

Chief Ministers

Jaya first CM in office to be convicted

Politicians in legal trouble as of late 2014 The Times of India

The Times of India TIMES NEWS NETWORK Sep 28 2014

Several Indian politicians, including former and serving CMs, have been imprisoned for political reasons and a handful have been jailed on corruption charges. But J Jayalalithaa is the first CM in office to go to jail on the charges of amassing illegal wealth.

Former CMs jailed for corruption are Lalu Prasad, Madhu Koda, B S Yeddyurappa, O P Chautala and Jagannath Mishra.

Lalu Prasad was the first former CM to be imprisoned in a corruption case. He was first jailed in July 1997 in one of the fodder scam cases. He was finally convicted in September last year. Three-time CM of Bihar Jagannath Mishra was first jailed in 1997.He too was convicted in September 2013.

Jharkhand ex-CM Madhu Koda, was sent to jail in November 2009, facing charges of having accepted bribes for allotting mining contracts in the state. Karnataka ex-CM B S Yeddyurappa was charged with favouring his sons in land allotments.

Om Prakash Chautala, the former CM of Haryana, was charged with taking bribes for recruiting 3,000 teachers and sentenced to 10 years in jail.

CISF’s cash limit upheld

HC okays CISF rule that staff on duty can have only Rs 20

Rosy Sequeira Mumbai:

The Times of India Nov 05 2014

The Bombay high court has upheld a 2007 circular of the Central Industrial Security Force allowing its personnel to keep only up to Rs 20 with them while on duty .

A division bench of Justices N H Patil and R V Ghuge agreed that the measure was a step towards curbing illegal gratification and possible security breach at various sensitive locations. The court said the office ordercircular of August 23, 2007, cannot be a substitute to a rule or service condition but “keeping in view the object and purpose for which the CISF has been brought into existence, we are of the opinion that the office order needs to be given due importance“.

The ruling came on a plea by constable Ram Tiwari, who was found on August 3, 2008, with Rs 500 while on duty at JNPT, Navi Mumbai. On April 10, 2009, constable Ram Tiwari was held guilty of illegal gratification and removed from service. On September 8, 2009, “keeping in mind his unblemished service record of 16 years“, CISF authorities replaced the punishment with “compulsory retirement“ with full pension. The chargesheet said an inspector saw Tiwari counting money and directed a sub-inspector to frisk him. While removing Tiwari's belt, notes worth Rs 500 fell near his leg. Tiwari denied the money belonged to him and claimed the inspector implicated him due to an animosity .

CISF advocate Vinod Joshi argued that the Rs 500 found on Tiwari could only have come by way of bribes as he had declared before duty he had only Rs 20. The possibility of CISF personnel indulging in illegal gratification from container drivers cannot be ruled out and to curb such acts the circular allowed “CISF personnel on duty to keep only Rs 20 on their person as pocket money“. Joshi said if the punishment is set aside, it will send a wrong signal and “seriously affect the discipline maintained in the CISF“.

2015: Survey by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)

Bribes decoded: Urban and rural areas Graphic courtesy: The Times of India

The Times of India May 24 2015

Dipak Dash

Govt survey pegs bribe at Rs 4,400yr per family

An average urban household in India pays around Rs 4,400 annually as bribe while rural households shell out Rs 2,900, a government-commissioned study on unaccounted wealth has revealed. Individuals in Lucknow, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and rural areas paid maximum amount of bribe for general work, admission and to police personnel, the survey by National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) showed.

In the cities, an average Rs 18,000 was paid for securing jobs and transfers, while bribes to traffic police personnel totalled Rs 600 a year. The survey was conducted between September and December 2012. Surveys showed that black money is generated through bribes and pay-offs to bureaucrats and politicians, which could range from award of contracts to leakages from development schemes, mining, sale of oil products and settlement of non-performing loans by banks.

The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), along with the National Institute of Public Finance & Policy and National Institute of Financial Management, had been tasked by the Centre to provide black money estimates, following an observation by the parliamentary standing committee on finance. While the reports were submitted to the finance ministry in 2013 and 2014, it is only now that they have been circulated for comments from other departments.

Pointing out that bribe is rampant in rural areas, the NCAER survey report has revealed how half the beneficiaries of government schemes, including MNREGS, public distribution system, Indira Aawas Yojna, social security programmes and scholarships had to offer money to get their entitlement. This finding is based on a survey of 359 households in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Despite government claims, the report estimates that leakages are more common under MNREGS.

It also highlights the extent of corruption, which ultimately generates black money , so far as public sector investment is concerned. Based on interviews of retired government officials, the report suggested that public sector investment is an easy source of illegal funds for politicians and bureaucrats. The unaccounted money earned could be 2-10% of the project cost and it could cross 20% due to delays. The report estimated that 5-10% of the additional cost in siphoned off.

Based on a survey of private contractors in 15 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the report says on an average 9% of the project cost is paid as bribe. About 80% of contractors interviewed have admitted of paying bribe for works. It is no different so far as manufacturing sector is concerned. According to the report, 91% of the respondents admitted to have paid bribe.

The report has also brought to light how on an average people running roadside vends and eateries pay approximately Rs 1,100 per month. These findings are based on a survey in Delhi, Noida, Lucknow, Patna and Hyderabad. The report says about 13% of the earnings are given as bribe.