Introduction
The Roots of Corruption
An anti-corruption protester hoists a portrait of activist Anna Hazare during a demonstration in New Delhi in 2011. (Photo: Adnan Abidi/Courtesy Reuters)'
" LICENSCE RAJ "
"Historically, the roots of India's corruption came from the proliferation of licenses," says CFR Senior Fellow for International Economics Jagdish Bhagwati. "The idea was to ensure economical use of resources, so you would not waste foreign exchanges. To this day, this is what Indians have been very aware of: that the institution of licenses and permits was responsible for creating corruption on a massive scale."
The first major law to combat government malfeasance was the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) of 1947, enacted to prevent officials from cashing in on post-war reconstruction funding. Parliament also established the Anticorruption Bureau in 1961 to investigate violations of the PCA, which has since been amended twice (last in 1988). The latest revision was a direct response to the late-1980s Bofors scandal, in which then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and other politicians were accused of receiving large kickbacks in a weapons bid from Swedish arms company Bofors. Many observers considered the scandal to be a main reason the Gandhi-led Congress Party was voted out of power in 1989.
Under the PCA, bribery is punishable by a fine and up to five years imprisonment. But many analysts believe India's sprawling bureaucracy and weak institutions—the police and judiciary were ranked as the second and third most corrupt institutions in India, respectively, after political parties—have thwarted convictions, and arguably increased incentives for bribery. In recent years, graft pervaded society from small-scale "harassment bribes" (payments for essential social services) to scandals on a national level. At least 42 percent of young Indians have paid a bribe, according to a 2012 Hindustan survey.
Under the PCA, bribery is punishable by a fine and up to five years imprisonment. But many analysts believe India's sprawling bureaucracy and weak institutions—the police and judiciary were ranked as the second and third most corrupt institutions in India, respectively, after political parties—have thwarted convictions, and arguably increased incentives for bribery. In recent years, graft pervaded society from small-scale "harassment bribes" (payments for essential social services) to scandals on a national level. At least 42 percent of young Indians have paid a bribe, according to a 2012 Hindustan survey.
"There's been corruption in India for thousands of years—it's endemic—but what you see is the kind of corruption changing," says Milan Vaishnav, a South Asia associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "In the past two decades, there's been a shift toward grand corruption: the recent scandals are just qualitatively and quantitatively bigger than anything we've seen. And a big reason for that is India's rapid growth. Growth has expanded the possibilities for rent-seeking."
A 2011 report from KPMG stated that 68 percent of India's total illicit capital loss happened after the country's economic liberalization in 1991, indicating that the reform and rise of India's economy has contributed to the transfer of "black money" abroad.
A Spiraling Problem
"The recent scandals are just qualitatively and quantitatively bigger than anything we've seen. And a big reason for that is India's growth." —Milan Vaishnav
Soon after, controversy mired the government again when an auditor's report uncovered a massive telecom scam estimated to have cost the government some $39 billion, making it one of the largest cases of state corruption in Indian history. Telecom minister Andimuthu Raja, accused of orchestrating the sale of licenses below market value, resigned in 2010. (He was arrested in 2011, and was out on bail as of late 2013.) During the affair, outraged opposition parties shut down parliament for three weeks and prompted massive protests in Delhi. Public anger escalated when the 2012 "Coalgate" scandal, in which an estimated $34 billion was lost, implicated the prime minister himself. The breadth of corruption has even touched the U.S. government, as cables released in 2011 by Wikileaks revealed that a Congress Party aide allegedly showed a U.S. diplomat chests of cash intended as a payoff to secure Parliament's endorsement of a controversial 2008 U.S.-India nuclear deal.
The Fallout From Corruption
Public outrage peaked by the spring of 2011. A social activist named Anna Hazare emerged as a prominent organizer of the anticorruption movement, vowing a "fast unto death" unless the government established a new anticorruption agency (Lokpal) to review complaints at the highest level. Thousands of citizens took to his cause, and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)–led government announced in August that it would form a committee to draft the law. (The bill remained stalled in Parliament as of late 2013.)
"In the end, the corruption in India is of a form that undermines growth in our institutions. It's a very expensive way to be corrupt." —Jagdish Bhagwati
Some experts note that while there isn't necessarily a direct correlation between corruption levels and India's economic health, the nature of the graft has been corrosive to its growth. "The way corruption has been practiced in India has been particularly harmful," says Bhagwati, who contrasts India's rent-creating corruption, which carves out monopolies for cronies, with China's profit-sharing system, which takes an interest in growth. "In the end, the corruption in India is of a form that undermines growth in our institutions. It's a very expensive way to be corrupt."
Campaigning for Reform
As India's economy slows, successive revelations of graft have exacerbated public outrage at the inability of the Congress-led government to mitigate corruption. In turn, the country has seen an uptick of anticorruption rhetoric as it approaches important state elections in November and December 2013. The Aam Aadmi Party, led by activist Arvin Kejriwal, emerged as a new political party that got its start on an anticorruption platform, while the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also taken on the issue of good governance. The party has championed the clean track record of its leader Narendra Modi, whose reform efforts as chief minister of Gujarat have made his home state a key driver of national economic growth. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who leads one of India's poorest states, Bihar, has also won accolades for his success in emphasizing good governance.
"What is new and politically relevant has been, in response to citizen outrage, the rise of parties explicitly focusing on governance," says CFR's Alyssa Ayres. "And most importantly, the transformation of campaigning from a mode that focused on a language of empowerment with an appeal to caste, to one focusing on good governance and delivering services to citizens."
Yet corruption remains rife in India's political landscape. In 2012, criminal cases were pending against 31 percent of members of parliament and the legislative assembly. Campaign spending limits are low, driving expenditure underground and fostering reliance on "black money." Many experts also point to Indian voters' complex relationship with corruption; research from a wide range of states finds that political candidates often promote their criminality as an indication of their ability to defend the interests of their communities.
So while the scandals have put corruption on the public agenda, experts say it won't be enough to shape Congress's fate in state elections. "Corruption is an interesting subject because there's a feeling on the part of the Indian voter that everyone is corrupt: as an issue, it's not necessarily a defining feature in this election," says Vaishnav, who adds that of the surveys he's seen, the top issues have been growth, jobs, and India's inflation woes.
Prospects for Progress
India's government has made a few attempts at the federal level to combat corruption. The 2005 Right to Information Act allows citizens to request access to any public record and, if approved, receive it within thirty days. The law, which can penalize noncompliance and requires authorities to digitize records, has been hailed as a pivotal achievement in the fight against corruption. The government is also considering moves to strengthen the national antigraft law, potentially introducing changes that would punish corporate failure to prevent bribery.
"What is new and politically relevant has been, in response to citizen outrage, the rise of parties explicitly focusing on governance." — Alyssa Ayres.
Technology has also helped. Some states like Gujarat have implemented online systems for state contract bids, allowing for greater transparency. Others have also put land records and death certificates online, while websites like IPaidaBribe.com expose graft associated with common public services. The government is also devising an electronic ID system, which would allow poor citizens to avoid intermediaries and receive aid directly through a bank account.
But technology can only do so much, says Jennifer Bussell, assistant professor of public policy at the University of Califonia Berkeley. Bussell notes that technology's most important contribution has been granting citizens greater access to information. "Some combination of administrative reforms and local-level technology initiatives to help bring corruption to light—in addition to efforts by organizations like the Comptroller and Auditor General, which is exposing corruption at the highest levels of government—would help. You need all of these things."
Resources
Transparency International India offers statistics and reports about the current state of corruption in India.
Accountability Initiative offers reports and policy briefs using publicly-available data collected from the Right to Information Act.
This CMS India Corruption Study breaks down corruption statistics by state and public service.
This U4 Anticorruption Resource Center report gives an overview of India's corruption problem and efforts to address reform.
This article asks whether computerization of public service transactions could help curb petty corruption in India.
(Spurce-VASUNDHARA
No comments:
Post a Comment