If yes, then tell us about it. The fight against Corruption may well begin with simple acts of documentation.

For too long we have shied away from disclosing this very personal pain that most of us have to endure. Occasionally people pay a bribe to get something done out of turn or to get things hastened up . The blame in those cases is shared squarely between the one paying bribe and the one receiving it. But in most other cases, one is forced to pay a bribe because there is no other  alternative but to forgo the requested service. All we then do is to pay silently and forget about it. But now there is way to get back – by  creating a ‘virtual record’ of the the acts of bribe. The Bribe Rate Chart is an initiative to use our collective strength[ recall: Why Social Media can fight Corruption - Aggregation] to send a definitive signal to our ruling elite that Corruption is a problem that has to be dealt with expeditiously.

[recall: July 22, 2009, Corruption Unveiled]

“This blog aspires not just to become a forum for discussion to vent pent up anger. It also aims to become a means for gauging the level of corruption in society. One of the primary reasons for corruption to flourish is the utter secrecy associated with it. Everyone knows it is there but no one talks about it. Everything has got a price, they say. What if the price becomes known and the veil of secrecy is lifted? How about a live rate chart for bribes fueled by nationwide personal experience. Let us bring to bear the might of Social Media to unravel the corruption conundrum in India.”

The promise is now live in the form of a Bribe Rate Chart. This is a page to be built by the contributory knowledge of all you. You can directly add to the limited information provided on this page from the wealth your own personal experience or your private sources of information. Your inputs will shape this page. If however you find it difficult to add the information directly you may send us the information in either of the below three ways. We will then include the same in the ‘Bribe Rate Chart‘.

1. Send us via an email at tellus@nobribe.org. Please mention a) Department/ Designation b) Citizen Service c) Location d) Reference (explanation on the help page)

2. Tweet about what you want to add with #NoBribe hash tag.

3. Leave a comment at the bottom of the ‘Bribe Rate Chart’ post.

Its time now that together we force the hands of our democratic masters to deal with this problem. [recall: Obituary to Corruption]

There are two main types of Corruption  based on its quantum – Petty Corruption faced by common man in his day to day life and Grand Corruption which takes place at higher levels. While the former is based predominantly on duress, the latter is more consensual and is driven by expectations of mutual gain. Out of the two, Grand Corruption is more difficult to measure as both parties have an interest in keeping things under cover.

Measurement of Corruption thus far, has been limited to measuring perception of Corruption (CPI). This is an indirect measure of Corruption where a sample of population is polled about their perception of the level of Corruption present in a region or service. Since the queries are general and have no reference to specific instances of Corruption, people are more forthcoming and the data is easier to collect. However as the data may or may not be based on ’self experience’, it is likely to vary wildly between real and imaginary. Also since there is also no correlation between when the bribe was paid and when the question was asked, so the responders are more likely to adjust their responses along expected lines with the passage of time. Hence  Perception while being an important indicator can not replace direct measurement of Corruption.

Direct Measurement of Corruption is a daunting task because of the cloud of secrecy and fear associated with it. The victims fear retaliation and the perpetrators have a vested interest in secrecy, leading to a quiet burial of the incident. So most often, any direct corruption data is difficult to obtain and its also more likely to be intentionally tampered . Yet this is an exercise that needs to be indulged into if only to form one of the several indicators in measuring Corruption.

Various approaches to measure Corruption directly may be suggested based on how other intractable quantities are measured.  One such model to measure petty Corruption based on Inflation, is discussed below:-

Inflation Model: As Inflation is measured on the basis of prices of a basket of goods and services, similarly a basket of public services that suffer from rampant corruption may be surveyed on a regularly basis to measure Corruption trends. The basket of services may consists of common services like a) Driving License b) Registration of new Company c) New Vehicle Registration d) Registration for Sales Tax e) Passport Application f) Issuance of ‘C’ Forms etc. Survey questionnaire should cover both the cost of obtaining the service (including legal fee, bribes paid and agent commission etc.) as well as the time taken to obtain the services. Those to be surveyed may be chosen randomly from the list of people who recently availed those services (example- A Harvard Study on Corruption in Driving Licenses). Such surveys should should be undertaken at regular intervals across various regions for each of the services in the basket. Data for the same service across various regions should be compared to find out if there are any location specific bottlenecks. The time duration for obtaining the services may act as an alternate indicator of Corruption trends. The collected data should be aggregated over time to yield a Corruption trend. While this model may fall short of giving an indication of the overall quantum of Corruption, it may be useful in determining the trends as well location specific anomalies.

Other models for measurement of Corruption may be built around Exit Polls or Confession Boxes.  Those who have recently paid bribes or are  likely to have paid a bribe, should be encouraged to anonymously disclose their bribes. Exit polling may be attempted discreetly near the places of service delivery.  Each of these models would require a lot of tweaking before they deliver credible results. Much of this initiative will have to come from the Private sector with the help of academics, media and corporates to make it work. Measuring corruption is also a lot about collective intent.  It will depend upon how serious we are we as a society to uproot this menace.

While searching for information on the scale of Corruption in India, one is struck by the amazing dearth of any credible information.

There are a whole host of scales and indexes for everything under the sun including the esoteric Business Confidence index, Human Development index, Happiness index to the more mundane such as Inflation, GDP, Government Approval ratings etc.
But for an all important issue like Corruption, the sole measure that exists is the Corruption Perception index maintained by an international NGO, Transparency International. While the index has done immense service to the anti-corruption cause, it is primarily meant for a broad level comparison among countries and is based on perception rather than actual ground level data. Its utility in managing our country’s internal affairs is limited. Apart from that, there are no meaningful studies on the geographical spread of Corruption, nor any information on its time line trends, no best practices, not even a common place commission of inquiry on the spread of Corruption.

Overall there are no credible estimates of the quantum or cost of corruption in India. This has led to a situation where a feeble improvement on the Corruption Perception Index off late has hidden an astounding growth in the quantum of Corruption as evident from recent disclosures – Koda scam, I.A.S. raids, 300 Crorepati babus. The monetary estimates of Corruption normally vary from billions of dollars annually to trillions of dollars in accumulated figures. The figures are either based on very broad rules of thumb or are completely a figment of one’s imagination. The higher the estimate, the higher is the air of invincibility around it. Most of these figures have a hollow ring to them and are unable to mobilize public opinion to force the hands of the government. We continue to live in a hazy daze where everyone knows that Corruption exists but there is no official confirmation of the same. It allows the government to put their blinkers on and go about their work ignoring the existence of Corruption completely while continuing to bring out new schemes & policies that benefit the intermediaries more than their intended recipients. There is another school of thought that believes that growth in economy will itself deal with Corruption, so we may choose to ignore it till such time we are riding the growth tiger. In the process however, Corruption has grown stronger and stronger. Most importantly, it has led to a situation where Corruption has become a low risk, high return game and is feeding on itself to grow monstrously.

There are strong reasons for developing new metrics to measure Corruption despite its underlying difficulties. Some of them are enumerated below:

1. Primary reason for measuring Corruption is that measurement is the first step towards a cure. We need to measure something to be able control it.

2. The monstrous growth in Corruption can only be dented by a committed public opinion. Such a public opinion can only be built around a systematic measure of Corruption.

3. Behind the facade of anti-corruption, there is a growing tolerance for corruption in our society. It is undesirable, everyone says, but inevitable. Inevitability blunts public opposition. The inevitability stems largely from our inability to measure and track Corruption.

4. The smokescreen of impossibility of measuring Corruption because it is secret is often used to prevent probing on this front. However secrecy hasn’t stopped us from probing several other clandestine issues such as Sexual preferences & Political inclinations( Election Surveys, Exit Polls).

5. Corruption has always been treated as aberration of individuals who need to be exposed & punished. Hence very little effort has been made to check institutionalized Corruption which needs measurement on an ongoing basis.

6. Most of our present knowledge of Corruption levels is perception based. Even those perceptions are limited and shaped by new disclosures in scams. We have never pro actively sought to measure Corruption, which alone can deal with the fast mutating problem.

We have come a very long way from a Rs. 62 crore Bofors scam which shook the Central Government and led to a Prime Minister loosing election, to a Rs. 4,000 crore Koda scam where another tainted politician was sworn in as state Chief Minister soon after the scam came to light. How much farther do we need to travel before we act? The time to act is now!!

The beginning of a new decade is a time to look back and set new strategic goals for future. A decade is a definitive period in a country’s history that can shape its fortunes for a long time to come. So let us review the progress of our fight against Corruption and resolve for a decade of concerted actions culminating in a Corruption Free India.

After I started this blog in May last year, I have seen the issue of ‘Corruption’ rise up steadily in public consciousness. Earlier Corruption used to hit the headlines whenever there was a new ‘expose’ only to fade away in oblivion after that. A lot seems to have changed in the past few months with Corruption being recognized as the key bottleneck inhibiting India’s progress. Several key opinion leaders have in unison thrown their weight behind the issue of Corruption in India. Some people might say that this is just a storm in the teacup. It might well be that. Yet many a cataclysmic change have started on more insignificant notes.

One such storm in the tea cup happened when ‘Jaago Re’, the much acclaimed campaign of Tata Tea, decided to adopt ‘Corruption’ as their next focal issue after running a successful voter turnout campaign for several years. The credibility of their earlier campaign as well as the strength of the Tata brand together promise a sustained campaign against corruption. It began with new TV spots Khilana Band Pilana Shuru as well as a brand new interactive website www.jaagore.com .

Several prominent bloggers too have zeroed in on ‘Corruption’ as being the key to India’s future. Atanu Dey has been most incisive of them all. He has written several posts on the issue of Corruption and how it inhibits economic development. At the end of one such post A Digression on Corruption… , he aptly concluded that India is poor because it is Corrupt. Another regular blogger, a Delhi based foreign correspondent, John Elliott wrote The Blight of Corruption in India . It explores how corruption at state levels have risen by leaps and bounds and it often forces the hands of the Central Government in the federal structure of our democracy.

Rajesh Jain, India’s numero uno Internet entrepreneur,too spelt out his thoughts on Corruption in a 5 part series Corruption in India declaring that fighting Corruption could be the next game changer for India. Gurcharan Das, the famous author of ‘India Unbound’ too emphasized the need to wage a war against Corruption in his new year post Future is ours to seek .

The ‘Corruption’ expose of the year was undoubtedly the Madhu Koda scam where almost a Billion Dollar graft by the ex Chief Minister of Jharkhand was unearthed Outlookindia – Cover Story on Madhu Koda . The sheer size of the scam has put the spot light back on Corruption. Our effort now should be to keep it there.

On my blog, I started by laying the groundwork for a greater role of Social Media in fighting Corruption. I followed it up in a 3 part series starting with Gods of Corruption detailing how easy it was to find Corruption in India. My regular activity on Twitter can be followed at nobribe . A Facebook Fan Page Corruption Free India was launched a few months back to facilitate interactivity among the support group. At this stage however, there are many more questions than answers – Why are we corrupt? ; Is Corruption in India inevitable? ; How can we tackle Corruption? ; What is the extent of Corruption? ; Why do we need to measure Corruption? ; How to measure Corruption? ; How can Social Media fight Corruption? and many more such questions. I do not claim to have all the answers but I am sure we will find our way if we keep looking for the answers together. A lot of you have encouraged me in my journey to unravel this mystery and offered your active support. I propose to take up some of the questions (not in the same order) in the weeks and months to come. Also working on a ‘wiki’ based solution that will allow for greater collaboration.

Recently the most influential management guru in the world, C. K. Prahlad dwelt at length on the issue of Corruption in India while delivering the Nani A Palkhivala memorial lecture Business Standard – Corruption Costs… estimating its cost to the Indian economy to be $54.3 Billion. He exhorted the nation to confront this issue with all the resources at its command. On a similar wintry, cold Delhi morning at the start of the previous decade Prahlad had boldly suggested that India should target 10% GDP growth rate . This was the time when India was just coming out of its customary slow growth rate and even a 7% target seemed awfully ambitious. Yet there he was,fresh from his success of the ‘Bottom of the Pyramid theory’ propounding a bold path forward for India to move on. Many people felt at that stage that he might just be shooting from his hips, yet by end of that decade, even though we didn’t actually attain 10% growth rate, yet the number does not raise any eyebrows anymore. Here is hoping that this new decade will mark the beginning of the end of Corruption in India. Let’s all work for it.

Corruption is silently eating into the vitals of our nation like termite. Bit by bit, it is denting our dignity and compromising our soul. Not only does it affect individuals like you and me but alarmingly it affects our nation as a whole. Imagine our nation slowly transforming into a nation of scoundrels and imbeciles. The odds, that next person you meet on the street, having either asked for or having paid a bribe, are getting higher by the day. India’s ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index too has slipped from 72 to 85 in 2008. All this exhibits a problem that is not going anywhere soon and mocks the high moral ground that we aspire to occupy in the international arena.

Corruption has afflicted all the organs of our society including the polity, bureaucracy, judiciary, police, businessmen, and even  public at large. It has rendered our governance apparatus hollow and ineffective. Countless efforts to combat corruption have not made any significant dent into this hydra headed monster. It simply keeps growing bigger & bigger, consuming new and old alike. Things have come to such a pass that it is much more difficult for an honest person to survive in the system while the dishonest are clearly made to feel at home. Such a system forces even fresh recruit to quickly fall in line and creates a vicious circle that promotes corruption.

So how do we break this vicious circle? This blog aspires not just to become a forum for discussion to vent pent up anger. It also aims to become a means for gauging the level of corruption in society. One of the primary reasons for corruption to flourish is the utter secrecy associated with it. Everyone knows it is there but no one talks about it. Everything has got a price, they say. What if the price becomes known and the veil of secrecy is lifted? How about a live rate chart for bribes fuelled by nationwide personal experience. Let us bring to bear the might of Social Media to unravel the corruption conundrum in India.