Deterrence Counts

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Deterrence Counts

• Towards an Anti Corruption Strategy

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What do the trends show

• Transparency International ranks India at 70 out
  of 163 countries. Significant improvement since
  2005
• In ranking of states Bihar, JK, MP, Karnataka
  Rajasthan are amongst the worst Kerala, HP,
  Gujarat and AP least corrupt.
• Corruption hurts the poorest most and cuts across
  all Service Delivery sectors particularly the
  Police, Health and ..

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The main actors Politicians Has Political
Corruption increased/decreased over the last
three years data from AP
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The main actors Government Officials Has
Official Corruption increased or decreased over
the last three years? Data from AP
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The Scale of CorruptionPerception Surveys not
perfect but indicate the extent of the problem

• 31 of Food Grains and 36 of Sugar meant for the
  Public Distribution System diverted Total
  Food-grain subsidy Rs.150 billion. Therefore
  Rs.50 billion lost to corruption.
• Survey of ten sectors including medical services,
  judiciary, police and revenue adm Citizens paid
  over 28000 crores/year ( 50 of Defence Budget) (
  Source CVC of India)

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Corruption in Service Delivery Corruption
Ranking of Services (2005)
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Corruption in Service Delivery

• Need Based Services are seen as more corrupt
  Corruption is greater where there are no
  alternative service providers ( e.g schools) and
  where the repercussions of not paying a bribe are
  high.
• Total monetary value of petty corruption is over
  Rs.21000 crore.
• The largest number of bribes reportedly paid are
  for medical services in rural and semi urban
  areas( 3 crore households).

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Why does Corruption Exist

• Just as it is impossible not to taste honey or
  poison that one may find at the tip of ones
  tongue, so it is impossible for one dealing with
  government funds not to taste at least a little
  bit of the Kings wealth.
• Kautilya, The Arthashastra

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But structural incentives can expand the space
for human greed

• The Incentives for Corruption abound
• Poor Enforcement Systems
• Complex and non-transparent administrative
  systems of command and control
• Monopolistic Service Providers
• Underdeveloped Legal Frameworks
• Weak notion of citizens rights

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So what would constitute a practical strategy?

• Strengthening the Policy Framework
• Electoral Reforms
• Expanding and Reforming Enforcement
• Focusing on Prevention
• Investing in Public Awareness

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Strengthening the Policy Framework

• India needs to fundamentally reform its Legal
  Framework
• CrPC Act needs to be overhauled
• New Laws need to be instituted
• Lok Pal Act
• Whistleblowers Act
• Forfeiture of Corrupt Civil Servants Property Act

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• Vigilance and Enforcement

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Enforcement Scale vs Response Registration of
cases in Selected States
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Issues in Enforcement

• Vigilance Departments are under-funded,
  under-equipped and open to political and
  administrative interference.
• It is extremely difficult to proceed against All
  India Services Officers due to prosecution
  hurdles.
• Vigilance is seen as a specialized function not
  as a cross cutting issue that every business unit
  is responsible for.

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OrissaPending Departmental Proceedings
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The Judicial System does not serve as an adequate
deterrent

• The criminal conviction rate in India is about
  6.
• Enormous delays in the disposal of cases. The CBI
  has filed over 6000 cases 50 are pending for
  over 5 years.
• At the state government, pending cases are even
  higher.
• In Orissa, the study shows that 12 of the
  defendants die before there case comes to trial
  The evidence base collapses and memories blur.

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Trial CourtPending Cases in Orissa Courts
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Enforcement So what can be done

• Creating a more independent Vigilance system at
  the State level ( e.g A.Ps Vigilance
  Commissioner, Karnatakas Lok Ayukta and to some
  extent Orissa Vigilance Department)
• Making Vigilance wider than the Police Bringing
  in more technical specialists
• Expanding Internal Vigilance in the Departments
  and Districts
• Setting up Special Courts and Review Committees
  for Departmental Enquiries

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But Enforcement can never be enough Prevention
and Public Awareness is key

• Corruption Proofing the System
• Administrative reforms and simplification of
  systems and procedures are critical Examples
• Computerization of railway tickets E- Sewa in
  AP
• Computerization of land records ( Karnataka)
• Decentralization can lead to greater transparency
  but also expand the players in the corruption
  game
• Reducing the layers of approvals and levels of
  interface between clients and service providers
  is vital.

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The Anatomy of Corruption Accessing Death
Compensation in Jagatsinghpur District
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And it doesnt stop there
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Corruption proofing the system

• Transfers of civil servants is a fertile ground
  for Corruption need to have a transparent
  transfer and tenure policy Performance based
  incentives Need to protect honest civil servants
• Procurement Reforms at the central level have
  considerably squeezed space for malpractice. Only
  few states in India have passed Procurement Laws.
  Critical need.
• Separate Regulatory and Service Functions.
• Outsource services where possible e.g Urban
  hospitals
• Monitoring and Evaluation Systems at the state
  level are weak and at the district level are
  almost non-existent. Need to institute a system
  of periodic Satisfaction surveys and link budgets
  with outcomes.

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Corruption proofing the system

• The Right to Information Act provides a strong
  National Framework within which Administrative
  reforms and Public awareness can take place.
• Provides framework for many critical reforms in
  basic administrative systems - File Management,
  government rules and procedures, audit.
• Need to build awareness amongst citizens about
  the Act.

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Public Awareness is critical

• Public awareness campaigns are still not seen as
  a core area of government investment and continue
  to be an add-on.
• Asymmetric Information flows where the
  supplier controls knowledge leads to weak
  accountability norms.
• Need to invest and resource Government
  institutions with the capabilities to create and
  disseminate knowledge.
• Civil Society organizations are critical and need
  to be partnered ( e.g. Parivartan in Delhi, Lok
  Satta in AP).

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Karnatakas Lok Ayukta Focus on Service Delivery

• Combining deterrence with public awareness
• Most powerful of 16 Lok Ayuktas in India.
• Investigations
• Drug adulteration
• Public hospitals (absenteeism, exploitation)
• Transport and registration departments.
• Corruption in municipal government
• Wide publicity may be the best way to check
  corruption when vigilance systems are weak and
  courts dont work...

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Lok Ayukta In Action
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So what are the lessons

• While better enforcement is essential
• Investments in enforcement need to be combined
  with investments in Prevention and Public
  Awareness.
• Work incrementally Corruption needs to be
  tackled at the level of the business unit
• Analysis matters Process re-engineering needs
  to be seen through the filter of anti-corruption
  
• Creating competition helps but replacing public
  monopolies with private monopolies is dangerous