Corruption
Corruption is the misappropriation of public funds or a public position for personal gain. When control over public administrators is shaky and the division of power between political, executive, and bureaucracy is ambiguous, the potential for corruption grows. Political corruption, which is sometimes inextricably linked to bureaucratic corruption, is more common in authoritarian regimes where the public and the press are unable to speak out against it. However, India's paradox is that, despite a vigilant press and public opinion, the country's level of corruption is exceptionally high. This can be attributed to the bribe-takers' complete insensitivity, lack of shame, and lack of any sense of public morality.
• They do, in fact, flaunt their badges of corruption and shamelessness with equal élan and bravado. The increased opportunities for government intervention in economic and social life has greatly increased the potential for political and bureaucratic corruption, particularly since politics has become more professionalised.
• Corruption today threatens not only the quality of governance, but also the very foundations of our society and government.
• Corruption has thrived because there aren't enough successful examples of corruption cases that have been successfully prosecuted. Cases that are ill-founded, investigations that are half-hearted and incomplete, and a trial that is late and delayed all combine to produce a morally ill-deserved but legally inevitable acquittal.
• Accepting corruption as an unavoidable reality has resulted in silent reconciliation and acceptance of such wrongs. There must be a vital stimulation in our society's social consciousness.
• It is true that the current process of citizens – that is, neither has a place in the personal nor in the social – withdrawing the State from various sectors in which it should never have entered or in which it is incapable of performing efficiently may reduce the chances of corruption to some extent, but even if we migrate to a free market economy, there must be economic regulation as opposed to restrictions on industrial activity.
• Contracts, purchases, and other forms of governance would continue to be required.
FORMS OF CORRUPTION
1. Embezzlement: This is the theft of resources by those who are entrusted with their administration. Employees who are unfaithful to their employers steal from them. When public officials misappropriate public resources, when a state official steals from the public institution where he or she works and from resources that he or she is supposed to administer on behalf of the public, this is a serious offence.
2. Nepotism: Nepotism is a type of favouritism in which an officer favours his immediate family and relatives (wife, brothers and sisters, children, nephews, cousins, in-laws). Many unrestricted presidents have attempted to shore up their (fragile) power by appointing family members to key political, economic, and military/security positions in the state apparatus.
3. Conflict of Interest: This is a minor but important aspect of the larger issue of police ethics and corruption.
4. Favouritism: Favouritism is a tool of power abuse that entails “privatisation” and a highly biased distribution of state resources, regardless of how these resources were acquired. Favouritism is a natural human tendency to prefer friends and family over strangers. Favouritism is linked to corruption in the sense that it implies a skewed distribution of resources. This is the other side of the coin, where corruption is defined as the accumulation of wealth.
5. Fraud: Fraud is a type of financial crime that involves deception, swindling, or deception. Fraud is defined as the manipulation or distortion of information, facts, and expertise by public officials who are placed between politicians and the general public in order to profit personally. Fraud occurs when a public official (principal) who is responsible for carrying out orders or tasks assigned by his superiors (principal) manipulates the flow of information for personal gain, resulting in the widely used principal-agent or incentive theory used by economists to study this phenomenon.
6. Bribery: Bribery is defined as the payment (in cash or in kind) made or received in a corrupt relationship. A bribe is a fixed sum, a percentage of a contract, or any other monetary or in-kind favour paid to a state official who can make contracts on the state's behalf or otherwise distribute benefits to companies or individuals, businessmen, and clients.
CORRUPTION AND THE SOUTH ASIAN PUZZLE
Corruption can be found anywhere. It has sparked election campaigns in Italy and the United Kingdom, led to the overthrow of governments in Japan and Indonesia, and prompted legislative action in Russia and the United States. Why should South Asia be concerned about corruption if it exists in wealthy, economically successful countries?
The answer is straightforward: corruption in South Asia has four distinct characteristics that make it far more harmful than corruption in other parts of the world.
1. For starters, in South Asia, corruption occurs upstream rather than downstream. Corruption at the highest levels distorts fundamental development priorities, policies, and projects. Even though petty corruption may occur downstream, in industrial countries, these core decisions are made through transparent competition and on merit.
2. Second, in South Asia, corruption money has wings rather than wheels. The majority of the region's corrupt gains are immediately smuggled out to safe havens abroad. While capital flight occurs in other countries as well, a larger portion of it is invested in the United States. In other words, in North Asia, corruption money is more likely to be used to finance business rather than to fund foreign accounts.
3. Third, in South Asia, corruption frequently leads to promotion rather than imprisonment. Unless they belong to the opposing team, big fish rarely fry. Industrialised countries, on the other hand, frequently have a process of accountability in which even top leaders are investigated and prosecuted. Former Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi, for example, was forced to live in exile in Tunisia to avoid extradition to Rome on corruption charges. The most frustrating aspect of corruption in South Asia is that the corrupt are frequently too powerful to go through an honest accountability process.
4. Fourth, corruption is more common in South Asia, where 515 million people live in poverty, rather than in countries with per capita incomes of more than 20,000 dollars. While corruption in wealthy, rapidly growing countries is tolerable, though reprehensible, in poverty-stricken South Asia, it is political dynamite when the majority of the population is unable to meet their basic needs due to massive human deprivation and even greater income disparities, while a few make fortunes through corruption. As a result, corruption in South Asia does not result in simple Cabinet portfolio shifts or inequalities in newspaper headlines.
5. Combating corruption in the region is about saving lives, not just punishing corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. Corruption can be divided into two categories. One type of corruption is exploitative corruption, in which a public servant takes advantage of a helpless poor citizen. The other type is collusive corruption, in which a citizen bribes a public servant in exchange for financial benefits. Black money is the lifeblood of collusive corruption.”
CHARACTERISTICS OF CORRUPTION
1. There is a disconnection between group and individual interests.
2. Two or more parties are required because it is difficult to be corrupt with one's own self.
3. Consenting adults who understand each other.
4. Enhancement of the benefits.
5. The existence of power that can be seized, usurped, entrusted, or otherwise accessed.
6. Misuse of power, which frequently drives a wedge between stated and intended positions, resulting in unintended benefits.
• In India, corruption is the result of a nexus between bureaucracy, politics, and criminals. It has been established that "mafia raj" consists of municipal and other government officials, elected politicians, judicial officers, real estate developers, and law enforcement officials who acquire, develop, and sell land in illegal ways in cities and villages across India.
• Many government-funded construction projects in India, such as road construction, are dominated by construction mafias, which are made up of corrupt public works officials, material suppliers, politicians, and contractors.
CHALLENGES FACED BY INDIA IN COMBATING CORRUPTION ARE:
A. WILLFUL ABUSE OF OFFICE
There are four type of wilful abuse of office-
1. Gross perversion of the Constitution and democratic institutions, including wilful violation of the oath of office: The Supreme Court has found individuals in high positions guilty of gross misconduct amounting to perversion of the Constitution in some of those cases. There are no legal provisions to punish the perpetrators in such cases, aside from public opinion, political pressure, and the dictates of the individual's conscience.
2. Unjustly favouring or harming someone without any monetary consideration or gratification: In such cases, partisan interests, nepotism, and personal prejudices often play a role, though no corruption in the strict, 'legal' sense of the term is involved. Nonetheless, the harm caused by such wilful acts or criminal neglect of one's dues has far-reaching consequences for society and undermines the very framework of ethical governance and the rule of law.
3. Obstruction or perversion of justice by unduly influencing law enforcement agencies and prosecution: In most of these cases, partisanship, nepotism, and prejudice, rather than financial gain or gratification, may be the motivation. The failure of justice that results undermines public trust in the system and breeds anarchy and violence.
4. Waste of public funds, including ostentatious official lifestyles: In all of these instances, there is no private financial gain or loss to any citizen. There is no misappropriation as well. The public purse suffers as a result, and public interest and citizen trust in government are eroded.
B. COLLUSIVE BRIBERY
Bribery can be classified into two types:
1. Coercive bribery occurs when the bribe giver is a victim of extortion and is forced to pay for a simple service because failing to comply with the public servant's extraordinary demands will result in him losing much more than the bribe. The consequences of non-compliance with bribe demands – delays, harassment, uncertainty, lost opportunity, loss of work and wages – are so severe that the citizen is sucked into a vicious cycle of corruption for day-to-day survival.
2. 'Collusive bribery,' in which the bribe-giver and bribe-taker fleece society together, and the bribe-giver is just as guilty as the bribe-taker. These include cases of substandard work, price fixing, robbing the public purse, commissions in public procurement, tax evasion through collusion, and causing direct harm to people through counterfeit drugs and violations of safety regulations.
C. REQUIREMENT OF SANCTIONS FOR PROSECUTIONS
• For prosecution of serving public officials, the PCA required prior approval from the appropriate government. The Amendment Act extends the requirement of prior approval to any investigation, inquiry, or investigation conducted before a prosecution.
UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION
The United Nations Convention against Corruption, which establishes some preventive anti-corruption policies and practises in Article 5, serves as an international standard against corruption. They are as follows:
1. Each State Party shall develop and implement or maintain effective, coordinated anti-corruption policies that promote societal participation and reflect the principles of the rule of law, proper management of public affairs and public property, integrity, transparency, and accountability, in accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal system.
2. Each State Party shall make every effort to establish and promote effective anti-corruption practises.
3. Each State Party shall make an effort to evaluate relevant legal instruments and administrative measures on a regular basis in order to determine their effectiveness in preventing and combating corruption.
States Parties shall collaborate with each other and relevant international and regional organisations in promoting and developing the measures referred to in this Article, as appropriate and in accordance with the fundamental principles of their legal systems. Participation in international programmes and projects aimed at preventing corruption could be part of that collaboration.
CORRUPTION IN PRIVATE SECTOR
• Markets are distorted by corruption, which leads to unfair competition. To win public procurement contracts, companies frequently pay bribes or rig bids.
• Corruption is often hidden behind secret subsidiaries and partnerships. Or they are attempting to sway political decision-making through dubious means. Others take advantage of tax laws, form cartels, or take advantage of legal loopholes.
• Many public spheres are dominated by private companies. From energy to healthcare, these are frequently critical. It's easy to see how business corruption harms taxpayers' interests.
PRIVATE SECTOR CORRUPTION CALLS FOR A THREE-PRONGED APPROACH:
1. Businesses can take internal measures to avoid it. Bribery and corruption must be treated with zero tolerance. It also needs to be enforced through anti-corruption measures.
2. An honest operating environment is also required by businesses. As a result, governments must enforce anti-bribery laws and conventions around the world. Companies are protected from corruption across borders and down supply chains as a result of this.
3. In order to detect cases of corporate corruption, fair and transparent audit mechanisms with appropriate accountability systems for all stakeholders must be implemented.
The private sector is addressed in Article 12 of the UN Convention against Corruption, to which India is a signatory:
1. Each State Party shall take measures to prevent corruption in the private sector, improve accounting and auditing standards in the private sector, and, where appropriate, provide effective, proportionate, and dissuasive civil, administrative, or criminal penalties for failure to comply with such measures, in accordance with the fundamental principles of its domestic law.
2. Measures to achieve these goals may include, for example:
a. promoting cooperation between law enforcement agencies and relevant private entities
b. promoting cooperation between law enforcement agencies and relevant private entities
c. promoting cooperation between law enforcement agencies and relevant private entities
d. Promoting the development of standards and procedures to protect the integrity of relevant private entities, such as codes of conduct for the correct, honourable, and proper performance of business and all relevant professions, the prevention of conflicts of interest, and the promotion of good commercial practises among businesses and in business-government contractual relations
e. Promoting transparency among private entities, including, where appropriate, identity measures for legal and natural persons involved in the formation and management of corporate entities
f. Preventing the misapplication of procedures governing private entities, such as those governing subsidies and licences granted by public authorities for commercial activities
g. Preventing conflicts of interest by imposing restrictions on former public officials' professional activities or employment by the private sector after their resignation or retirement, as appropriate and for a reasonable period of time, where such activities or employment are directly related to the functions held or supervised by those public officials during their tenure
h. Ensuring that private enterprises, taking into account their structure and size, have adequate internal auditing controls to aid in the prevention and detection of corruption, and that such private enterprises' accounts and required financial statements are subject to appropriate auditing and certification procedures.
3. To combat corruption, each State Party shall take all necessary measures, in accordance with its domestic laws and regulations governing the maintenance of books and records, financial statement disclosures, and accounting and auditing standards, to prohibit the following acts committed for the purpose of committing any of the offences set forth in this Convention:
a. The creation of "off-the-books" accounts
b. Performing off-the-books or improperly identified transaction
c. The recording of fictitious expenses
d. The incorrect identification of liabilities' objects when they are entered
e. The falsification of documents
f. Deliberate destruction of accounting documents prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
4. Each State Party shall prohibit the deductibility of expenses that constitute bribes, the latter being one of the constituent elements of the offences established in accordance with articles 15 and 16 of this Convention, as well as other expenses incurred in the prevention of corrupt conduct, where appropriate.