New Delhi, September 23
India's image as a corrupt country is getting worse, slipping from the 72nd position last year to the 85th place in 2008, a report released today by Transparency International India (TII) shows.
This is despite the recently enacted Right to Information (RTI) Act, aimed at bringing more transparency in government functioning and thereby reducing corruption.
A possible reason for the image crisis on this score is the waving of wads of currency notes, claimed to be bribe money for influencing MPs, during the July 22 trust vote in the Lok Sabha, TII chairman Admiral R H Tahiliani (retd) told reporters after releasing the Corruption Perception Index 2008.
Among the 180 countries surveyed, Somalia was found to be
the most corrupt in terms of perception, with Myanmar, Iraq, Haiti and Afghanistan faring just a shade better. Myanmar and Iraq shared the 178th place, while Haiti came 177th and Afghanistan 176th.
Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden shared the top honours, jointly placed at the number one position, having scored a corruption perception index (CPI) of 9.3 each on a scale of 10. These proud countries were followed immediately by Singapore, Finland, Switzerland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada.
The UK was placed at 16, while Japan and the US shared the 18th spot.
India's CPI was placed at 3.4 this year, against 3.5
in 2007.
Admiral Tahiliani, however, would not accept that the RTI had failed to make a positive impact on corruption.
It was just a matter of time that more and more people would come forward to make use of the new law and strengthen the fight against corruption, being waged by global civil society organisations like TI.
Pressing ahead with long-pending legislation like the Lok Pal Bill and the Corrupt Public Servants (Forfeiture of Property) Bill would go a long way in minimising corruption, he said.
In South Asia, Pakistan was found to be in the 134th place with a CPI score of 2.5, while Nepal finished at 121 (2.7), the Maldives at 115 (2.8), Sri Lanka at 92 (3.2) and Bhutan at 45 (5.2).
China was placed 72nd with a CPI of 3.6.
