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NEW DELHI: India has emerged as having the highest bribery rate of 39 percent in the Asian region and the highest rate of people (46 percent) who used personal connections to access public services, according to a recent survey report released by Transparency International.
“Nearly 50% of those who paid bribes were asked to, while 32% of those who used personal connections said they would not receive the service otherwise,” the report said.
Transparency International surveyed 20,000 people across 17 Asian countries for the survey report between June and September this year, seeking their perception of and experiences with corruption in the past twelve months. Six key public services are covered in the report including police, courts, public hospitals, procurement of identity documents and utilities.
Of the people surveyed in India, who came into contact with the police, 42% had paid bribes. The use of bribes was also rampant (41%) to obtain official documents such as identity papers. The use of personal connections was also largely made in dealings with the police (39%), procurement of identity documents (42%) and in relation to courts (38%), said the report.
Bribery in public services continued to plague India. Slow and complicated bureaucratic process, unnecessary red tape and unclear regulatory frameworks force citizens to seek out alternate solutions to access basic services through networks of familiarity and petty corruption, according to the report.
An issue of concern reflected in the report is that while reporting of corruption is critical to curbing the spread, as many as 63% of those in India, were particularly concerned about retaliation.
“Both national and state governments need to streamline administrative processes for public services, implement preventative measures to combat bribery and nepotism and invest in user friendly online platforms to deliver essential public services quickly and effectively,” it suggests.
In an earlier report, issued by Transparency International released in January at Davos at the World Economic Forum, India was ranked at 80th position among 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index.
The survey report finds that three-quarters of respondents across Asia believe that corruption is a big problem in their country, with nearly one in five people (19%) paying a bribe when accessing public services in the previous year. This is equivalent to about 836 million people.
In addition to bribery, the use of personal connections to access public services is also prevalent across Asia. India had the highest rate of citizens using personal connections to access a service.
In an earlier report issued by Transparency International released in January at Davos at the World Economic Forum, India had been ranked at 80th position among 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index.
