CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX

ChinmayaIAS Academy - Current Affairs September 8, 2022 GS2 Leave a comment 204 Views

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.