The Prime Minister in his 76th Independence Day’s address targeted the twin challenges of corruption and nepotism and raised the urgent need to curb them.
Corruption
- Corruption is dishonest behavior by those in positions of power.
- Those who abuse their power may be individuals or they may belong to organizations, such as businesses or governments.
- Corruption can entail a variety of actions, including giving or accepting bribes or inappropriate gifts, double-dealing, and defrauding investors.
- India was ranked 85 among 180 countries in the corruption perception index 2021.
Reasons for the Prevalence of Corruption in Civil Service
- When civil service positions are used as rewards for political support or swapped for bribes, the opportunities for high levels of corruption increase significantly.
- Lowering wages for civil servants compared to those in the private sector.
- Certain employees may resort to taking bribes in order to compensate for the difference in wages.
- Delays in the clearance of files are the root cause of corruption.
- In a society which worships power, it is easy for public officials to deviate from ethical conduct.
- Various laws have been made to curb the evil of corruption but their weak enforcement has acted as a hindrance in curbing corruption.
Impact Of Corruption
- In a system with corruption, there is no quality of service.
- To demand quality, one might need to pay for it. This is seen in many areas like municipality, electricity, distribution of relief funds, etc.
- Corruption in the judiciary system leads to improper justice. And the victims of offense might suffer.
- A crime may be proved as a benefit of the doubt due to a lack of evidence or even the evidence erased.
- Due to corruption in the police system, the investigation process has been going on for decades.
- In countries with more corruption, one can notice more health problems among people. There will be no fresh drinking water, proper roads, quality food grains supply, milk adulteration, etc.
- These low-quality services are all done to save money by the contractors and the officials who are involved.
- Research by individuals needs government funding and some of the funding agencies have corrupt officers.
- These people sanction the funds for research to those investigators who are ready to bribe them.
- Corruption in government bodies has led to many foreign investments going back from developing countries.
- An official who needs to pass clearances for projects or industries delays the process in order to make money and other unlawful benefits. A work which can be done in a few days may be done in a month.
- This leads to delays in investments, the starting of industries, and also growth.
- Many new industries willing to get started in a particular region change their plans if the region is unsuitable.
- If there are no proper roads, water, and electricity, the companies do not wish to start up there, which hinders the economic progress of that region.
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT