Corruption is an act of dishonesty and a criminal offense conducted by a person or a

group of people or an organisation by abusing and taking advantage of their power and
position of authority. This means that anything unethical done, for the greed of money,
which is beyond the boundaries of the legality of the land, will be termed as corruption.
Corruption can be on various levels. A minister taking bribes to provide a license for a
businessman, a pion taking kickbacks and bribes to let you inside a government office,
a doctor taking a bribe from you to provide you with a fake medical certificate are all the
different levels of corruption. One thing we should remember is, giving bribe is as bad
and unethical as taking a bribe. Whether the bribe is Rs. 10 or Rs. 10,000 crore does not
matter, a bribe is a bribe.

While it is easy to say that we shouldn’t pay bribes, the ground relates to it are far from
easy. Imagine your loved one has severe health issues and you don’t have enough
money to go to a private hospital. So you have taken them to a government hospital,
where you are required to pay a bribe for the authorities to get your loved admitted into
the hospital. The question of ethical dilemma becomes faded here and saving the life of
our loved one takes precedence. One can’t expect to follow rules and integrity in a time
of crisis like this. So how do we tackle corruption in India?

The tacking of corruption should come from higher authorities and the strongest laws
and regulations should be in place. There are many laws in places such as the
Prevention of corruption act and Jan Lokpal to name a few. While laws are robust in
nature, its implementation is somehow weakened. This essay on corruption free India is
mostly confined to corruption in the public sector. There is massive corruption in private
sectors as well who circumvent the law of the land to make quick money.

To prevent corruption, we have to understand why corruption takes place in the first
place.

Why does corruption take place in India?

 Low salaries for government employees

 An additional side income
 Lack of fear of authorities and the law of the land
 The mentality of “everyone takes a bribe, so why not me?”
 In times of urgency, bribing might be the only way out. But,

Whose responsibility is to prevent corruption

We simply can’t expect everything to be done by the government when in some cases,
the government leaders are themselves involved in massive corruption scandals. The
responsibility lies equally with everyone, right from top-level ministers to mid-level
government employees and low-level watchmen and workers. The responsibility also
lies with the customer and common citizen of the country. He or she should be vigilant
and record the acts of corruption and expose such people in accordance with the law.

How to prevent corruption?

While there is no one good answer to that question, here are some steps that should be
taken to prevent corruption.

 Accountability- A sense of accountability of income should be given by all

the worker at all levels to prevent taking bribes
 Vigilance- The anti-corruption officers should be vigilant
 A sense of responsibility by the bribe givers should be inculcated by
conducting anti-corruption awareness campaigns
 String and robust laws in place
 Constant monitoring and surveillance of office premises
 Monitoring and following the irregular financial levels of the employees in
question

QUOTES

“Without strong watchdog institutions, impunity becomes

the very foundation upon which systems of corruption are
built. And if impunity is not demolished, all efforts to bring
an end to corruption are in vain. “ — Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel
Prize laureate.
 Corruption is a cancer, a cancer that eats away at a citizen’s
faith in democracy, diminishes the instinct for innovation
and creativity.” — Joe Biden, former vice president of the United
States.