Corruption is an epidemic tearing into India’s foundation and economic wellbeing. It can only be fixed by those who live in this country — ‘we, the people’. Indeed, it is our civil society and ‘we, the people’ who have to stand up peacefully and resist corruption.
India ranked a dismal 94 out of 176 countries in the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International.
Perhaps the greatest cost is to India’s social fabric which is being irreparably harmed, leading to a deficit of the public’s trust in government. Corruption is one of the causes for structural poverty, instability and inequality in India.
The end of a particularly ugly campaign cycle where politicians have traded allegations and counter-allegations of corruption. It is clear that unless corruption becomes the most important election issue for the average citizen when going to the polls, things are unlikely to change.
Corruption in India is a result of the connection between bureaucrats, politicians and criminals. 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.
Tax evasion is one of the most popular forms of corruption. It is mostly practiced by Government officials and politicians who lead to the accumulation of black money which in turn spoils the moral of the people.
Political corruption is worst in India. The major cause of concern is that corruption is weakening the political body and damaging the supreme importance of the law governing the society. Nowadays politics is only for criminals and criminals are meant to be in politics.
Major Factors Responsible For Corruption:
- The most important factor is the nature of the human being. People in general, have a great thirst for luxuries and comforts and as a result of which they get themselves involved in all unscrupulous activities that result in monetary or material benefits.
- Moral and spiritual values are not given utmost importance in educational system, which is highly responsible for the deterioration of the society.
- The salary paid to employees is very less and as a result of which they are forced to earn money by illegal ways.
- People of India are not awakened and enlightened. They fear to raise their voice against anti-social elements prevailing in the society.
Measures to Control Corruption:
There are some specific measures to control increasing corruption.
- The Right to Information Act (RTI) gives one all the required information about the Government, such as what the Government is doing with our tax payments. Under this act, one has the right to ask the Government on any problem which one faces. There is a Public Information Officer (PIO) appointed in every Government department, who is responsible for collecting information wanted by the citizens and providing them with the relevant information on payment of a nominal fee to the PIO. If the PIO refuses to accept the application or if the applicant does not receive the required information on time then the applicant can make a complaint to the respective information commission, which has the power to impose a penalty up to Rs.25, 000 on the errant PIO.
- Another potent check on corruption is Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). It was setup by the Government to advise and guide Central Government agencies in the areas of vigilance. If there are any cases of corruption or any complaints thereof, then that can be reported to the CVC. CVC also shoulders the responsibility of creating more awareness among people regarding the consequences of giving and taking of bribes and corruption.
- Establishment of special courts for speedy justice can be a huge positive aspect. Much time should not elapse between the registration of a case and the delivery of judgment.
- Strong and stringent laws need to be enacted which gives no room for the guilty to escape.
- In many cases, the employees opt for corrupt means out of compulsion and not by choice. Some people are of the opinion that the wages paid are insufficient to feed their families. If they are paid better, they would not be forced to accept bribe.
The one thing that needs to be ensured is proper, impartial, and unbiased use of various anti-social regulations to take strong, deterrent, and timely legal action against the offenders, irrespective of their political influences or money power. Firm and strong steps are needed to curb the menace and an atmosphere has to created where the good, patriotic, intellectuals come forward to serve the country with pride, virtue, and honesty for the welfare of the people of India.
