Corruption in a form of behavior which departs from ethics, morality, tradition, law and civic virtue. Etymologically, the word corruption’ comes from the Latin verb ‘corruptus’ (to break). Corruption is being perceived differently from country to country, it tends to include the following behavior: conflict of interest, embezzlement, fraud, bribery, political corruption, nepotism, sectarianism and extortion. The subject of corruption is closely linked with the concept of integrity; it is relative in nature rather then absolute. All moral theoreticians, all over the world, are unanimous in saying that there cannot be a truly valid concept of absolute integrity, and hence a totally corruption free society.

Historical Background

• Kautilya visualized various forms of corruption in Public Services. He writes-“just as it is impossible not to taste the honey or the  poison that finds itself at the tip of the tongue, so it is impossible for a government servant not to eat up, at least, a bit of the  king’s revenue.”  Similarly, “Just as fish moving under water cannot possibly be found out either as drinking or not drinking water, so government servants employed in government work can not be found out while taking money for themselves.”
• Independent India inherited two legacies from its past: a clean politics from Mahatma Gandhi and an honest public administration from the Raj. Gandhiji inherited the Indian National Congress which then was but an euphemism for a more or less exclusive club of western educated Indians and converted it into mass ruralised political party founded on a solid rock of ethical and spiritual values. He made politics a saintly profession of sacrifice and suffering and as a result the politician who emerged was of the weberian ‘ideal type actuated by nothing short of the highest moral, unselfish standards.
• Electoral politics dealt a death blow to the Gandhian category of politicians. It changed the mode of recruitment, which means the emergence of different class of produce. The orienting values of this tribe of politicians are altogether different.
• During the British rule, corruption was generally confined to lower level functionaries, barring few rare case of high level corruption. Even among the lower levels, corruption was prevalent only among the staff of a few departments like PWD, excise, forest, civil supplies and the police. The higher Civil Services were generally free from corruption. The Second World War time (1939-45) scarcities, controls, rationing, numerous war related civil works and supply contracts sowed the seed of corruption in the concerned departments. When these transactions increased in number and in monetary terms involving crore of rupees, the corruption level also went upward bringing higher officers within its clutches. Soon after independence power started corrupting some elected leaders as well.
• The Second Five Year Plan (1956-61) imparted both a new direction and dimension to corruption in India. Oriented towards industries and entailing large public expenditure, the Second Five Year Plan for the first time in Indian political history brought the politician, the industrialist and civil servant closer to each other, the industrialist needed a permit, licence or a  quota essential in the mixed pattern of economic development adopted for the country. The political minister possessed the final authority to award it but for this to materialize the papers were required to by processed and the case made out by the civil servant. Once in a television interview, J.R.D. Tata remarked that in the 1920s no bribes were given because there were no takers. The sixties, for the first time, saw the emergence of a golden triangle in Indian politics. The minister, the civil servant and the industrialist learnt to accommodate each other in various ways whatever be their protestation in public. The net result was the emergence of institutionalized corruption in Indian politics and public administration. 

Causes of Corruption

• Scarcity of goods and services
• Lack of transparency
• Red tapism and delay –At times, the system actually forces officials to be corrupt, at any rate, connive at corruption.
• Faulty societal value— A significant social catalyst for corruption is the increasing social acceptance.
• Cultural essentialism –the tolerance of corruption in developing countries is in part due to the environment where there is little or no stigma attached to bribery and nepotism.
• Faulty electoral practices—A political is one who graduates into political by contesting an election. The political has necessarily to spend a lot of money contesting an election far more than legally allowed.

Consequences of Corruption

• It causes reduced investment or even disinvestment. In the presence of corruption, investors are often made aware that an upfront bribe is required before an enterprise can be started and that afterwards corrupt officials may lay claim to part of the proceeds from investment. The transparency international has pointed out that the world’s three richest countries- USA, Japan and Germany are also the top three sources of corruption in developing countries.
• Corruption reduces the effectiveness of aid flow through the diversion of funds.
• Where corruption proves more lucrative than productive work, there is every chance that talent will be misallocated.
• When corruption takes the form of tax evasion or claiming improper tax exemptions, it brings about loss of tax revenue.
• Corruption distorts the composition of the government expenditure. It tempts government officials to choose government expenditure less on the basis of public welfare than on the opportunity they provide for extorting bribes.
• The allocation of public procurement contracts through corrupt system leads to lower quality of infrastructure and public services. This can jeopardize health and safety of citizens.
• Corruption has the greatest adverse impact on the most vulnerable part of the country’s population. The diversion of scarce resources by corrupt parties affects government’s ability to provide basic services to the poor.
• Corruption reduces legitimacy of government in the eyes of people.

General Strategies for Combating Corruption

• Two kinds of actors are involved in corruption-bureaucrats and politicians. It is a cardinal rule that while bureaucrats can be corrupt independently, politicians can be corrupt only in collusion with conniving officials. So, if only bureaucrats can be made honest, political corruption will automatically come under contract.
• Ethical cleansing of the society is a crying need. India retired religion too prematurely under the name of secularism and today what we have in India is an ‘amoral society’. Moral education must be imparted right from the start of life and to this end a restructuring of educational syllabus is imperative. The present-day mania to ‘get-rich-quick’ must be under played. What India directly needs is a moral and ethical commission to tone up the moral level of the entire society.
• Consumerism must be checked and controlled. Consumerism and corruption feed on each other and thus go hand in hand, especially in a developing society.
• Politics has become a breeding ground of corruption in modern time. Use of muscle power and black money during elections has become a common parlance. To reform our electoral system, our election pattern that is, first past the post system has to go in order to ensure that the true representatives of the people find their rightful place in the legislature.
• Making accountability stricter for bureaucrats and politicians—for bureaucrats, we should adopt ‘Seshan technique’ Seshan succeeded in discipline and adherence to a code of conduct by holding individual officials solely and personally responsible for all that happened under their jurisdiction. To tackle the problem of rising corruption among ministers, the Santhanam Committee recommended that specific allegations against any of them should be promptly investigated by “an agency whose finding would command respect.”
• Building organizational morale-It is widely accepted that the most pernicious misuse of political power is the motivated transfer of officials. To protect hones individuals and promote objectiveness and fairness in administration the Civil Service management function should be made the responsibility of statutory Civil Servants. The political heads should have minimum necessary role in the postings, transfers and promotions of officers.
• Greater decentralization of power and funds- The present concentration of power at the Centre and in the States reinforced manifold by the centralizing role of the political parties, is basically a source of corruption. The remedy is to decentralize both decision-making and tax collecting so that at each level of government there is adequate autonomy to run affairs within their jurisdiction and competence, with the right to raise fund locally.
• Down seizing and right seizing of government –Corruption became wide spread after independence as due to large-scale involvement of government in socio-economic development plans in addition to its earlier role of maintenance of law and order.
• Laws should be made responsive to the changing conditions and needs, as archaic laws sometimes lead to corruption. Obsolete laws should be reviewed or deleted from statute books. The Jain Committee appointed by the Government to study obsolete laws has found that out of 2500 administrative laws, 1300 are outdated and obsolete.

Anti—Corruption Measures by Government

• To tackle the problem of corruption at Central level, government constituted special police establishment in 1943 and this organisation was replaced by the Delhi special police establishment in year 1946. Presently this organisation is a part of Central Bureau of Investigation.
• Government enacted Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. This Act was replaced by ‘prevention of Corruption Act, 1988’. This Act applied to the whole of India and contains provisions for more effective prevention of bribery and corruption. All government servants were also required to submit annual property returns to make sure that all property transactions were legitimate.
• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was set up in 1963 by a resolution of the   ministry of home affairs. Presently, it is under the ministry of personnel and enjoys the status of an attached office. It plays an important role in preventing corruption and maintaining integrity in administration.
• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was established in 1964 on the recommendation of the Santhanam Committee. In August 1998, this body was given statutory status. The CVC has wide ranging powers to supervise the functioning of investigation agencies like the CBI and enforcement directorate. Its preset jurisdiction is limited to the gazzetted officers and officers of equivalent status only. It has no power to probe into the cases of political corruption.
• The Administrative Reform Commission submitted a special interim report on ‘Problem of Redressal of Citizens’ Grievances,’ in 1966.in this report, the ARC recommended the setting up of two special authorities designated as ‘Lokpal’ and citizens’ grievances. The Lokpal would deal with complaints against ministers and secretaries at Central and State levels and the Lokayukta (once at the Centre and one in every State) would deal with complaints against other specified higher officials.
• Right to Information (2005) - Obligation on government department/ institution to furnish information within prescribed time limit. Provision for penalty for refusal or delay in furnishing the information.

Conclusion

In every society there is a limited room for sinners. Corruption can be minimized and checked but not eradicated altogether and hence it is futile taking a purist view. It has to be accepted that entire manses of people cannot be turned into saints. There has been corruption in all societies in all history, and it has taken various forms. How to keep to the bare minimum level is what ought to concern us, and, in that view of the matter, every step in that direction that promises a reduction in the level of corruption should be welcomed. Care would still need to be taken that the remedy advocate is not eventually worse than the disease.