All luxury corrupts either the morals or the state.
-Joubert
Corruption in the Indian society has prevailed from time immemorial in one form or the other. The basic inception of corruption started with our opportunistic leaders who have already done greater damage to our nation. People who work on right principles are unrecognized and considered to be foolish in the modern society. Corruption in India is a result of the connection between bureaucrats, politicians and criminals. Earlier, bribes were paid for getting wrong things done, but now bribe is paid for getting right things done at right time. Further, corruption has become something respectable in India, because respectable people are involved in it. Social corruption like less weighing of products, adulteration in edible items, and bribery of various kind have incessantly prevailed in the society.
The term “corruption” has always been considered under voodoos and conspiracies. Corruption in India is an issue that adversely affects it’s economy of central, state and local government agencies. Not only has it held the economy back from reaching new heights, but rampant corruption has stunted the country’s development. India continues to be among the most corrupt countries in the world. According to Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2019, which ranks 180 countries, awards India a score of 41, rendering it the 80th most corrupt country in the world. Developed nations like Ghana, Morocco have also achieved the same score.
Causes of corruption in India
There are abundant reasons for the cause of corruption in India. The primary reasons being lack of effective management in organisation. Due to mismanagement, there is a weak control on various departments and their working. This uncontrolled and unsupervised administration gives way to rise in corruption in small scale, which results in large scale corruption. Besides, appointment of inefficient managers, supervisors and executives at various levels of hierarchy also leads to mismanagement. Secondly, lack of support for good leaders. Due to fewer good leaders, they find hard to eradicate corruption from the society. But due to lack of support and cooperation from important sections of the society, good leaders are often defeated and suppressed. Lack of proper vigilance systems in the country. Here, some officials are tempted to get illegal money, thereby leaving corrupt people without any penalty or punishment. Finally, lack of economic stability which leads to unemployment and changes in standard of living. It develops a feeling of insecurity in the minds of affected people which are taken advantage by corrupt people.
Consequences of Corruption in India
Hindrances for Development- Corruption leads to loss of wealth and prosperity which is a great loss for the future of India. For the past ten years, India has shown growth in corruption rate, where the country has lost billions and billions dollars of money in various scams, which are tax payer’s money. Many developmental projects are taking unnecessary delay for their completion due to corruption. This leads to backwards in every field like sports, technology, medicine, research, economy, defence, and infrastructure.
Obstacles for Business- Corruption in 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. Payments to expedite public services, such as police protection, water supply, and government assistance will be a headache. Likewise, irregular payments to government officials even for applying business license are proving to be a major hindrance for business. Companies personally feel bad, when they have to bribe officials even for getting a water or electrical connection.
Backwardness and Poverty- Due to corruption in India, the Indian government is unable or lacked the will to eradicate poverty. While the rich are becoming richer, the poor are becoming more poorer. Despite the announcement of rehabilitation and monetary packages, corrupt people in various government departments and contractors, suck the fund through various means leaving very little for the end users.
Brain Drain and Loss of Talent- Corrupt government employee and mediators offer jobs to unskilled and incapable candidates by taking bribe leaving the management with poor decision making. When good employees in private sectors also face harassment due to government policies and corruption in India they move to foreign countries. This is a tremendous loss for the country as a developing nation without the contribution of talented and creative people can never grow.
Loss of Faith in Judicial System- There is a high risk of corruption in India while dealing with India’s judiciary, particularly in lower court levels put the common man in great stress. With bribes often exchanged in return for favorable court decisions leads to people to lose faith in judiciary. Besides, prosecution of office abuse by public servants is tough, as it requires authorized by a minister prior to launching an appeal. Such a legal hurdle hinders the judicial process. Besides, delaying the allotment of judges and creation more courts leads to delay in justice. When it comes with resource shortages negatively impact the efficiency of the court system; the current backlog of cases runs into crores.
Loss of Natural Resources- India is abundant in natural resources, but corruption in India leads to loss the precious resources. Widespread problems in the illegal mining of sand, results loss revenue also severely disturbing water resources in the country. Bribery in the mining industry is common, leading very huge revenue for the government. This mainly due to the fact that there is a lack of oversight and transparency, for example, it is estimated that nearly half of the iron ore exported from the state of Goa has been mined illegally.
Solution
The first and foremost solution is to change the government processes. If the members of the government and procedures are transparent one can reduce corruption drastically. Besides, provision related to the electing of the people representatives must be stringent that if there is any case filed against a person then he would not be eligible for election. In India there is already a provision that no person as a criminal shall be allowed as a Member of Parliament or member of legislative. This would be effectively offered a first step towards zero corruption.
Secondly, offering direct connectivity between government and public. This can reduce corruption by increasing direct contact between government and the governed. E-governance could help a lot towards this direction. Thirdly, everyone should be a responsible citizen, it is essential that every citizen should perform his/her duties faithfully and to the best of their abilities. Every citizen should personally strive hard to eradicate corruption. Responsible citizens should report cases of corruption to the vigilance department immediately without delay. Besides, they should follow up the cases of corruption as a mere reporting of the evil practice is not sufficient for effective eradication.
Thirdly, government and vigilance agencies should always keep a check on their source of income and bank accounts for the leaders and their associates. If any suspicious transactions are found they must be reported to the judicial system. Besides, if any leader is not performing his duties properly, then he/she should be sacked from the position. Top government post and position should be based on performance. Government should do performance appraisal of leaders regularly.
Finally, leaders need to take strong and effective decisions. All those who are granted powers and authority through election should fulfill their promises and pledge given to people. They should strive hard to eradicate corruption from government administrations. Remove unwanted hindrances and even laws which help the corrupt to escape punishment.