India Ranks First In Asia For Bribery & Using Connections To Avail Public Services

Have you ever gone into a government office and been asked to pay for a service, or assistance with a service that should actually be free of charge? Or been low-key threatened to pay money, the consequence of refusal being your work will be halted, hampered or ignored altogether?

Yep. It¡¯s all too familiar to anyone who has had to avail a public service like getting a passport or license issued, among other things. Turns out, there is numerical evidence that India is faring rather badly on the bribery front.

According to a report by Transparency International - Global Corruption Barometer - India has the highest bribery rate among the 17 countries scrutinised in the purview of the survey. Figures indicate that 39% of public service users had to pay a bribe to avail the requisite service, in the last 12 months.

Also read: Delhi Man Fighting For B.Ed Degree For 17 Years, Seeks PM's Help To Get It Without Paying A Bribe

Transparency International

In Bribery, India tops the list, followed by Cambodia (37%) and Indonesia (30%); the countries that have the lowest bribery rate seem to be Maldives and Japan with 2% each.

The report also indicates that of the people who paid bribes - 23% paid to avail police service, 17% to courts, 17% to get identity documents issued, 14% to schools, 14% to access utilities and 10% to hospitals.

Transparency International

Also read: Telangana Govt Official Caught With Rs 1.1 Crore While Accepting Bribe To Settle A Dispute

In addition to bribery, there¡¯s another crooked way to ¡®get things done¡¯, that is so prevalent, it¡¯s almost considered normal - using personal connections to avail public services or ensure they are promptly accessible. The most relevant - but undocumented - example of the same is people frantically trying to find connections in hospitals and the ministry, when they need a COVID bed for a family member, especially in cities where cases are mounting rapidly.

According to figures indicated by Transparency International, 46% public users in India used personal connections to get various jobs done. 20% of them did so to get a job done in courts, 19% each to get identity cards issued, police work and access utilities; 18% used public connections in schools and 16% in hospitals.

Transparency International

This report is based on interviewing about 20,000 people across 17 countries, conducted between March 2019 and September 2020. Overall, 38% people thought corruption had increased in the last 12 months, 32% thought it had decreased, and 28% thought there was not much change.

The report also indicates that around 54% of people are scared of reporting corrupt practices or individuals for the fear of consequences.

Corruption has been an evil that has been prevalent as long as society itself. It might never go away a 100%, but checks and balances to control it need to be in place. The common man should not feel intimidated and bullied as soon as they walk into a government or public service office. We¡¯re already paying for these in the form of various taxes. The least we deserve is decent service without having to gratify someone¡¯s ego and possibly, an already swollen bank account.

Also read: Two Hyderabad Policemen Allegedly Caught Taking A Bribe, Suspended