Corruption is a major stumbling block to our well being and development. It has not only infected the body politics of India but has also come in the way of good governance, thus affecting decision making in favour of public interest. There is an urgent need to find out quick solutions to combat this menace which is assuming cancerous growth. Mr Pradeep Kumar, Former Central Vigilance Commissioner, Government of India, set the tone of his talk in light of these thoughts in an engrossing talk on “Corruption in India and ways to combat it” which was presented by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in association with the Telegraph at the Chamber premises on May 7,2015.
Mr Pradeep Kumar, IAS, served as the Central Vigilance Commissioner of India from 2011 to 2014 and he spoke on the subject with authority coming out of his vast experience. He outlined the numerous leakages and deprivations in public life that have been happening owing to deep rooted corruptions across all levels in civil society. Funds meant for the poor are not reaching them, resources are wasted, projects are not selected on merit resulting in cost and time overruns, roads & bridges are built to nowhere etc. Corruption in the field of education, where allocated funds for the purpose are getting diverted, actually tantamount to depriving our school children of education. Same is the case in health care. Through drug adultration and other malpractices, it is ultimately the patients who are suffering. Similarly in businesses too, corrupt practices are hampering free and fair trade, industry and commerce.
Mr Pradeep Kumar spoke about corruption being rooted in human greed & self interest. Corruption has always stayed with us although the scope and scale of corruption may have change with time. India is ranked 85 out of 174 countries in the list of most corrupt countries. What is shocking is, many African countries are higher in the ranking order than India. When we talk of India, according to the World Economic Forum report, corruption is the second biggest problem area which comes in the way of doing business in India, the first being infrastructure. Mr. Kumar feels, India as a society, has always accepted corruption as a way of life. However, according to him, of late there is a changed perception and consensus on bribery and corruption, which are no longer being acceptable norms for doing business. The demand for good governance & corruption free society is coming from the grassroot levels.
Corruption has many facets, but broadly it can be divided into two major categories - petty corruption and grand corruption. Petty corruption is corruption at the retail or transactional levels, often in the form of facilitation payment. This is the type of corruption which troubles the citizens the most. It is cohesive in nature. It normally involves the core levels of bureaucracy. Grand corruption involves the coalition of entities - private entities & public servants, politicians & bureaucrats to grant undue favours to business entities and in personal interests. Typically, it includes grant of licences, award of large public contracts, allocation of natural resources, and regulatory clearances. Some of the other key drivers in corruption are real estate transactions, administration of food & drugs, tax evasion and of course political corruption.
Various efforts have been made to strengthen the anti-corruption framework of the country and over a period of time many Sate Governments and Central Governments have tried to strengthen the institutional framework to address corruption. The approach of the Central Vigilance commission to combat corruption has been in two fronts : “Preventive” and “Punitive”. It is not enough to punish people, systemic improvements are important if we really want to fight against corruption. Four major reasons of why corruption takes place were identified, namely; (i) administrative delays (ii) cumbersome rules & procedures (iii)arbitrary exercise of power & excessive discretion in the hands of public servants and ( iv)Governments handling more than what they could manage by way of regulatory functions.
The State Governments have established anti corruption agencies such as the State Vigilance Commission established by the Government of West Bengal. The Directorate of Enforcement was established by the Ministry of Finance and the Serious Frauds Office was established a few years back by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The Prevention of Corruption Act 1946 was amended in 1988 to give more strength to it and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was passed in 2002. The enactment of Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, was a landmark measure developed to empower citizens, bring about transparency, openness and accountability. Another landmark development has been the passing of Lokpal Act 2013. Once in existence, it is likely to become a powerful weapon in the fight against corruption. The challenge of governance is to create an environment where the honest can work fearlessly and the corrupt are dealt with ruthlessly because if the honest cannot work then the system itself will collapse. The investigation system should be independent, fair and objective. Basically investigation has to be competent and time bound.
The most important rider of corruption, Mr Kumar felt, was the human element. If we have to fight corruption, we need proper leadership. People in high offices, in addition to their unimpeachable financial integrity also need to be intellectually honest. They need to be guided by high ethical and moral standards, should be able to distinguish between right and wrong and lead by examples. As per his views, Integrity is at the heart of the matter and needs to be pursued by all those who are in buisness and in government.
For a long time the rich and powerful in our country thought that they would get away with anything, with virtually one set of laws prevailing for them and another for the rest. But for the first time, at this juncture today after several reforms and enactments, the rich and powerful are feeling unsettled and they are realizing that the long arms of the government will not spare them for their wrong-doings, despite all their connections. Today we see Union Cabinet Ministers, Chief Minister, political leaders, top civil servants, industrialists, army generals facing legal actions. Some have been put behind bars and some have lost their jobs. Mr. Kumar’s view was that the country is slowly and steadily moving towards a rule based democracy where the law will be uniformly blind. There may be shortcomings or there may be some blemishes but the direction is clear.
In conclusion, Mr Kumar emphasized that harsh laws and stringent punishments are not the ultimate answer to corruption. China is one such example, where they have had harsh and severe laws like death sentences but still they happen to be pretty low down in the list of corrupt countries (behind India). Along with reforms in governance, we should have an appropriate set of incentives & disincentives to reward the honest and punish the corrupt. Most importantly, from a long term societal perspective, he felt that we need to encourage and inculcate the right moral values. We need to create an environment which encourages ethical conduct because that is the long term solution. Family and school are the two most important institutions which shape our lives, character and views. Therefore, it is important that right from the beginning in the schools we create an environment conducive to inculcating ethical values. The battle against corruption has to be fought on many fronts. Mr Kumar believed that the task cannot be tackled by the Government law enforcing agencies, or accountability institutions alone. Every Indian has to pitch in and do his bit. And as Gandhiji said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world”.