India's corruption woes

[Schadenfroh]

I respect India for being the world's largest representative republic. Several Indians I have met rejoice in their republic, despite the massive amount of corruption, saying that being free, even with some corruption and poverty, is better than living under a dictator even if that dictator improved the situation (although, one knows the old saying about absolute power).

Hopefully, with time, their corruption can be brought under control, as every time an elected official (or one appointed by an elected official) is shown to be corrupt, it sets back democracy's image ever so slightly. This is why transparency, term limits and sting operations by anti-corruption divisions of the FBI are so critical to keep our politicians in-line and their hands out of the cookie jar. It is a ghastly thought to have to bribe officials to get anything done.

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/30/137476993/for-want-of-a-bribe-indias-anti-corruption-push

India has been dealing with a series of corruption scandals, from the sale of telecom licenses, to last year's Commonwealth Games.
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The first time I came back from the U.S., the customs official said, "Give me 200 rupees and I won't open your suitcase."
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My friend said, "Bring some extra Kit Kats or Dove soaps for the customs guy."
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We don't even call it corruption. We give it names like black money. Or chai pani — a little something for tea and snacks. Police catch you running a red light? Need a copy of your birth certificate? A house building permit? Just slip in a few extra currency notes with your documents, for chai pani, you know.
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"I had two tins of saffron, and the customs officer took one and put it in a hidden drawer." Or, "I paid 5000 rupees [over $100] to get a birth certificate."
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And it's not just underpaid constables who are taking bribes. Government ministers are embroiled in huge telecommunications scams. Judges are accused of handing down verdicts for pay.

Thankfully, some citizens are getting fed up with it.

But now, some Indians are fighting back. First Anna Hazare, a 73-year-old activist and follower of Gandhi, went on a fast in New Delhi demanding an end to corruption. He wants the government to set up a Lokpal, a sort of anti-corruption czar. Thousands of middle-class Indians showed up to support him
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Baba Ramdev, decided to fast to death unless the government brought home all of the black money he says is stashed in foreign banks. Over 60,000 people showed up for his fast-athon

Citizen activists setup a website to showcase the corruption they have experienced, here:
http://www.ipaidabribe.com/

My hats go off to all of those who fight corruption.

 

[busydude]

My dad paid a lot of bribes, and I was witness to some of those(Money involved is quite staggering too). I would wager that almost all of the citizens of Urban India have paid bribes atleast once in their life time; the most common of all being... bribing a traffic police.

TBH, I have no idea how India can come out of this; yes, India is developing.. but corruption is also increasing exponentially. I don't have the exact reference, but the amount of bribes cops have taken have increased ~3 fold just in the past 5-6 years.

Although, recent corruption scandals have been in the limelight.. due to excessive media coverage, India has lot of history regarding these scandals.. and people tend to forget things very soon.

 

[JTsyo]

It's just the way things have been done in these areas. I think the younger generations aren't willing to deal with it as much. Hopefully all the new avenues of information exchange and ease of recording will even out the field.
On a larger scale kickbacks are just a cost of doing business there and when US corporations try to get deals there, they aren't allowed to offer kickbacks due to US laws and are at disadvantage to other corporations with lax standards.

 

[The Green Bean]

Even a Pakistani can get away with stuff by paying bribes in India
Once a friend had to pay off a police officer when a police bike barged into HIS car. That was ridiculous and hilarious.

 

[Infohawk]

It's in the culture and it's hard to change.

 

[Genx87]

We did a case study on a natural gas powerplant Enron wanted to build in India in the mid to late 1990s. The reason it ultimately failed was their complete lack of understanding about the culture of business. In other words they didnt understand bribes, kickbacks, and corruption is standard practice in India. And by not playing the game they were insulting govt and labor officials. When they failed to play within the system the state they were building the plant in moved to have it stopped. I believe Enron fought to the Indian supreme court but no idea if they won.

 

[hal2kilo]

It's in the culture and it's hard to change.

Sounds like Cook county, lol.

 

[rudder]

We did a case study on a natural gas powerplant Enron wanted to build in India in the mid to late 1990s. The reason it ultimately failed was their complete lack of understanding about the culture of business. In other words they didnt understand bribes, kickbacks, and corruption is standard practice in India. And by not playing the game they were insulting govt and labor officials. When they failed to play within the system the state they were building the plant in moved to have it stopped. I believe Enron fought to the Indian supreme court but no idea if they won.

India is buying some C-17's... so at least the U.S. government is now willing to look the other way when bribes are paid there to get something done.

Although the reason is because congress keeps production of the c17 full tilt while the USAF say enough is enough. Had to dump them somewhere.

 

[Lithium381]

so basically lobbyist at a lower level

 

[Slew Foot]

In India its a bribe, in the US its called lobbying

 

[werepossum]

We did a case study on a natural gas powerplant Enron wanted to build in India in the mid to late 1990s. The reason it ultimately failed was their complete lack of understanding about the culture of business. In other words they didnt understand bribes, kickbacks, and corruption is standard practice in India. And by not playing the game they were insulting govt and labor officials. When they failed to play within the system the state they were building the plant in moved to have it stopped. I believe Enron fought to the Indian supreme court but no idea if they won.

Enron lost, eventually selling the plant to the Indian government for a dollar.

 

[The Green Bean]

In India its a bribe, in the US its called lobbying

I wonder how much it costs to lobby a cop...

 

[Red Dawn]

I wonder how much it costs to lobby a cop...

A hell of a lot more than it costs in Pakistan where a cup of rice probably would get one out of a traffic ticket.

 

[busydude]

Even a Pakistani can get away with stuff by paying bribes in India
Once a friend had to pay off a police officer when a police bike barged into HIS car. That was ridiculous and hilarious.

Hey.. at least our military did not sell itself out... first to the Taliban Al qaeda, then LeT and finally to the US.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

In India its a bribe, in the US its called lobbying

lol. :thumbsup: