Tackling Corruption over Diet Coke and Salad…

At the monthly meeting of our political discussion group in London last week, we talked about “Corruption in India“…

While browsing around the net for more information on this topic, I stumbled on the transcripts of a dozen slides on “Managing Police Integrity – The Hong Kong Experience“. Unfortunately I could not locate the actual slides but the transcript makes the following points:

Given the complexity of the problem the HKP (Hong Kong Police) adopted a holistic four-pronged approach to address the issue of police integrity. The prongs are :
(a) Education and training;
(b) Minimizing Opportunities for malfeasance;
(c) Police and Independent Commission Against Corruption partnership and co-operation; and
(d) Discipline.

The strategy adopted to fulfil these diverse objectives is two-fold. Firstly to minimise opportunities for corruption and malfeasance. Secondly to introduce initiatives and measures to counter, reduce and minimise adverse or unethical influences.

The million dollar question is of course, does it work? We think so.
The red line shows that in 1974 some 47% of corruption complaints in Hong Kong were against the police compared with 13% by 2002. A significant and remarkable achievement

The conclusion? (emphasis added):

In summary my findings are that police malfeasance is universal. There is no panacea for unethical behaviour but we must minimise the opportunity for it.

Well said.

.

Later, I came across a reference to a paper by Dr Toke Aidt (University of Cambridge) titled, “Combating Corruption: The Value of Economic Analysis”, published in the Nov ’03 issue of the Economic Journal. In the paper, Dr Aidt noted that (emphasis added):

Thus, incentives are crucial both for understanding why corruption arises in the first place and for what can be done to reduce it. Proper incentives can be created by effective monitoring, by rewarding public officials with salaries above market alternatives and by penalising corruption when it is discovered.

Importantly, however, all these measures are costly to introduce: there is no free lunch. As a consequence, it (corruption) can be optimal to allow corruption up to a point.

Dr Aidt also noted how:

Once it takes root, corruption can be very persistent. This is because incentives to accept bribes are very different in societies with high and low levels of corruption. One reason is that reporting of corruption is less likely to happen in an environment in which almost all individuals take bribes and so, it pays for each individual to accept bribes because the risk is smaller.

This makes it extremely difficult to combat corruption in societies with high levels of corruption, and sustained, large-scale reforms of the incentive structures are the only way to move a society away from a high corruption ‘equilibrium’ to one with low corruption. The example of the Hong Kong police force, however, demonstrates that it can be done.

Over Diet Coke and salad, we discussed these and other points at the meeting. Brief excerpts from the conversation

  • It is high-level corruption that is a problem; not petty corruption (my view is counter to this)
  • Things will continue to get worse. There really is no solution
  • Corruption is not a disease but a symptom
  • It all boils down to governance; Unless good people come together, nothing will change
  • We Indians are by nature corrupt (again, I do not agree with this)
  • Indians do not think before we vote; The voters are idiots (eerily similar sentiments to this post)
  • NGOs and think tanks cannot fix this problem

I am interested to hear what you think about this issue…

Do you believe that corruption can be reduced in India within the next 10 years?

Do you believe it will reduce in the next 10 years?

If there was only ONE thing you could do on this (tackling corruption), what would that be? (My answer to this: reform political campaign financing)

Look forward to your thoughts and views. Pl use the following email address satyacomment AT gmail.com if you do not wish to leave your real email id while leaving a comment.

Related Posts:

Politics & Corruption: Here’s how to “fix the system”

End big-time corruption? I dont think so

Corruption in Public Life: Are we the only ones?

Past Monthly Meetings:

Jammu & Kashmir, Pizza and “Empowering India” in London

Food, Politics and some fund-raising

A busy few days…

Yeh “Liberal Agenda” kya hai?

B Shantanu

Political Activist, Blogger, Advisor to start-ups, Seed investor. One time VC and ex-Diplomat. Failed mushroom farmer; ex Radio Jockey. Currently involved in Reclaiming India - One Step at a Time.

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27 Responses

  1. K says:

    Weekend reading for the coming week

    http://www.etarunbharat.com/

    If you can read Marathi 🙂

  2. CatchCorrupt_AT_ALL_LEVELS says:

    We must catch the corrupt at EVERY LEVEL to break down corruption.

    Corruption is at a high scale in India only because of government, civil servants, politicians, police, private parties (which includes you and me) ALL joining hands.

    I feel Indian Police is the right place to begin reforms, better late than never.

    Today Indian Police’s mindset is the same as from British days, when they were trained to serve the British master. They do not ask why, and will just obey orders to please the master.

    Only the masters have changed — after Independence, it is the political and moneyed powers instead of the British.

    Police have to have their own code of conduct and should NEVER do anything which does not have proper orders and proper records. Record tampering is very common too, the same with refusal to file complaints and FIRs etc.

    I am not saying that Police is perfect in all developed countries, but the need for reform is acute in India.

  3. Dipinder says:

    I agree with “reform political campaign financing” as one of the roots where corruption can be stemmed.

    Other steps include liberalisation, and reducing discretionary role of the government and government officers. Salaries of police, and all government functionaries should be raised to ‘market levels’ and should be linked to their performance.

    I do not believe that Indians are by nature corrupt.

    Both petty corruption and high level corruption are harmful. However, it is true that we may give disproportionate attention to petty corruption as it is more ‘visible’. It is important to take equal steps to stem high-level corruption as well.

    Corruption and poor governance are big stumbling blocks holding India back. It is in our private interest to remove corruption and reform governance. Corruption is like an additional tax which all of us pay. It reduces our return on investments, increases risk and reduces our economic opportunities. We can all gain with a clean, robust economy and polity. Cheers !

  4. SHANTANU … U R CHANGING … JASWANT SINGH HAS BEEN KICKED OUT … AND THERE IS NOT SO MUCH AS A PASSING NOTE ON IT IN UR IMPORTANT THINGS TO TALK ABOUT … ? WOW …. R U TRYING TO BE POLITICALLY CORRECT ?

  5. B Shantanu says:

    @ Vivekam: The discussion (mentioned in the post above) was from last week…and the London group is a broader, more general group interested in politics (not just BJP).

    As for not even a passing note on Jaswant Singh, really, what is there to say? It does feel like the “Beginning of the End” for BJP, I am afraid.

    Am traveling on work so pl. expect delays in responses.

  6. Comment moved here

    Pl. continue the discussion on the relevant thread. Thanks/

  7. Khandu Patel says:

    Comment moved here

    Pl. continue the discussion on the relevant thread. Thanks/

  8. Khandu Patel says:

    Comment moved here

  9. KSV SUBRAMANIAN says:

    Under LDF dispensation honest civil servants are shunted out at the behest of the so called honest ministers of the communist variety. Read the report in the TNIE

    The Education Minister has taken action against the honest civil servant Shri Raju Narayanaswamy by siding with the allegedly corrupt Mohan Abraham. What a fall for the communist ideology.

  10. B Shantanu says:

    Thanks for the link KSV. This is a real shame.

    Raju NarayanaSwamy is not just a clean officer…He is one of the brightest we have (he is the topper of my batch and an IIT-ranker to boot)…pity that he has to suffer in this way.
    I feel sorry for him and despair at the state of affairs.

  11. A says:

    What should the Raju Narayanaswamy’s of India do ? I can empathize with his predicament out of my own personal experience.

    India needs a whistle-blower protection act. Civil servants should be allowed to disclose information related to such matters of public interest (except information that may compromise national security).

  12. B Shantanu says:

    A: In case you missed this post re. what happens to “whistle-blowers” in India.

  13. Clean IAS says:

    Interesting link for clean IAS officers :-
    Clean IAS

    Another interesting link to an officer fighting against corruption
    Fight Corruption

  14. B Shantanu says:

    @ Clean IAS: Thanks for the link…I had a quick look..Interetsing site. I will spend more time on that later.

  15. Kewl says:

    I take Raju Naraynaswamy as embodiment of honesty and integrity . As you hear that a politician or official has acted against him – at least – I immediately label that minister/ official as corrupt.

    Raju Narayanswamy stood first in Kerala 10th , 12th, 10th rank in IIT JEE then 1st IIT Btech, 1st in IAS . He dedicated his life (which is getting mauled by politicians now !!) to serve the people. Check out this link about this absolutely great person –

    http://home.iitk.ac.in/~ramcn/RajuNarayanaswami.htm
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raju_Narayana_Swamy

  16. dreams says:

    Corruption slows down development across the world. I think corruption can be stopped by replacing paper curreny with digital cash. What do you think?

  17. A says:

    A complete switchover to “Digital cash” hasn’t occurred even in the so-called advanced countries. Paper currency will continue to exist side by side. Obviously, there are several issues to be addressed. Refer http://spiffocracy.com/files/DigitalCash.pdf

    When it comes to corruption, I think of transparency, RTI etc as primary. Technological measures such as Digital Cash may modify the situation, but there is always the Swiss bank account for the rich, and payment in kind for the poor. Corruption can’t be stopped just by replacing paper currency with digital cash.

    “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”.

  18. manoj says:

    Raju Narayana Swamy is a fantastic administrator.As District Collector Trichur, he singlehandedly widened the roads of the town despite stiff opposition from certain lobbies.As DC idukki,he led the Munnar Mission.As DC kottayam,he waged a drive against hoarding of foodgrains.As MD Marketfed he cleansed the augean stables.He is sincere,honest,upright and hardworking.He is one with the common man.A true civil servant in the real meaning of the term.He is a good writer too.And a recipient of the coveted Sahitya Akademi Award as well.

  19. A says:

    I happened to come across one J Srinivasan’s (http://oh-my-india.posterous.com/) thoughts on corruption and other matters. Much has been written on the topic, but this seems refreshing and original, so here are the links:
    Magic Pill to Eradicate Corruption

    About Police corruption: India Police – Protectors or Perpetrators?

  20. B Shantanu says:

    @ A: Thanks for the links. will have a look

  21. A says:

    Please see the Slashdot article below.

    http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/01/03/0123216/Google-Sets-Censorship-Precedent-In-India

    With more censorship and more “collaboration” between Indian Police and internet companies like Google, the loss of civil liberties will be severe. The corrupt will only need to manage the mainstream media, which they already do.

  22. B Shantanu says:

    “..A lowly, yet very powerful official in the government, is the accounts superintendent, who writes government cheques and earns just Rs 15,000 a month..”
    Guess how much is his/her transfer “worth”?
    Around a crore. That is right. 1 crore.
    50+ times his/her annual salary.
    If you are not depressed enough already, read below… to understand how an entire government can be purchased for just under Rs 3000 crore – which pays for itself in a year 🙁
    http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/10/28/stories/2010102851210800.htm
    (Thanks to Sanjay for alerting me to this article).

  23. Khandu Patel says:

    Thanks Shantanu for enlightening us on the scale of the corruption menace in India. Even venality has different colours. The Duke of Marlborough (an ancestor of Sir Winston Churchill) whose brilliance as a military commander made him the most sought after person by the princes of the European countries. The high price he commanded made him the most corrupt Englishman. England which was unwilling to lose him had Parliament vote £2 million to secure him for British victories in Europe. This amount was in the currency of the the day, and not today’s equivalent. The investment was repaid handsomely in the person of PM Churchill who led the British to victory in the Second World War. It is often the case that the best in the world are so priceless that no price is adequate to describe their value. There were few if any worthy of such honours in India’s independence movement. Gandhi ensured his own line was cut off by disowning his own sons. Nehru’s family has moved from scam to the next with regular monotony. Sardar Patel, if ever there was a man matching Marlborough in stature of all the independence leaders (save perhaps Bose), family as far as I can see has disappeared off the face of the earth. In the UK, America and the West generally, such brilliance would not be as casually extinguished as in India. Instead we have Nehru’s family only manages to live on behind the shadow of Gandhi’s name which shows how low they are in their own achievements. If Gandhi is an example of person who passionately wanted to do right for India, yet he is the worst example of a man for any leader of India to imitate for the simple reason that he was the winner. Off course the new generation does not have to follow in the foot steps of the past. If it chooses to follow instead the well trodden steps provided by conventional wisdom, these are certainly some of the reasons why India will remain in a holy mess of its own making for all long time to come.

  24. Anon says:

    *** NOTE by MODERATOR ***

    Pl post comments on the relevant thread(s). They are very likely to be deleted otherwise. I am letting this stay for now but pl take care for the future.

    ***

    Police officers wer acting in a criminal manner and were fully exposed by CBI and the highest Courts…. but the Kerala govt drops the case… is that not complicity ?

    http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/kerala-drops-charges-against-police-officials-in-isro-espionage-case/article3958850.ece

    Also the background of some of these Police Officers including one Mr Sreekumar who supposedly keeps a record of everything even verbally ordered by Gujarat’s Mr Modi!

    http://ajitvadakayil.blogspot.com/2012/09/isro-spy-case-s-nambinarayanan.html