Corruption in IndiaIntroduction"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."It is not easy to define corruption. But in a narrow sense, corruption is mostly concernedwith "bribery" and it takes several forms. Corruption is a global phenomenon and it is omnipresent. Corruption has progressively increased and is now rampant in our society.National scenario. Corruption in India is a conseuence of the ne!us between Bureaucracy, politics and criminals. India is now no longer considered a soft state. It hasnow become a consideration state where everything can be had for a consideration. "oday, the number of ministers with an honest image can be counted on fingers. #t one time, bribe was paid for getting wrong things done but now bribe is paid for getting right things done at right time.Effects of corruptionIndian administration is tainted with scandals. India is among $$ of the %&' countries where corruption is rampant, according to the Corruption Perception Inde! (&&) *eport released by "ransparency International India. Corruption in India leads to promotion not prison. It is very difficult to catch +,-big sharks+,.. Corruption in India has wings not wheels. #s nation grows, the corrupt also grow to invent new methods of cheating the government and public.Causes of corruption"he causes of corruption are many and comple!. /ollowing are some of the causes of corruption.0mergence of political elite who believe in interest1oriented rather than nation1oriented programmes and policies.#rtificial scarcity created by the people with malevolent intentions wrecks the fabric of the economy.Corruption is caused as well as increased because of the change in the value system and ethical ualities of men who administer. "he old ideals of morality, service and honesty are regarded as an achronistic."olerance of people towards corruption, complete lack of intense public outcry against corruption and the absence of strong public forum to oppose corruption allow corruption to reign over people.2ast si3e of population coupled with widespread illiteracy and the poor economic infrastructure lead to endemic corruption in public life.In a highly inflationary economy, low salaries of government officials compel them to resort to the road of corruption. 4raduates from II5s with no e!perience draw a far handsome salary than what government secretaries draw.Comple! laws and procedures alienate common people to ask for any help from government.0lection time is a time when corruption is at its peak level. Big industrialist fund politicians to meet high cost of election and ultimately to seek personal favour. Bribery to politicians buys influence, and bribery by politicians buys votes. In order to get elected, politicians bribe poor illiterate people, who are slogging for two times+,. meal.Measures to combat corruptionIs it possible to contain corruption in our society6 Corruption is a cancer, which every Indian must strive to cure. 5any new leaders when come into power declare their determination to eradicate corruption but soon they themselves become corrupt and start amassing huge wealth."here are many myths about corruption, which have to be e!ploded if we really want to combat it. 7ome of these myths are8 Corruption is a way of life and nothing can be doneabout it. 9nly people from underdeveloped or developing countries are prone to corruption. :e will have to guard against all these crude fallacies while planning measures to fight corruption./oolproof laws should be made so that there is no room for discretion for politicians andbureaucrats. "he role of the politician should be minimi3ed. #pplication of the evolved policies should be left in the hands of independent commission or authority in each areaof public interest. ;ecision of the commission or authority should be challengeable only in the courts.Cooperation of the people has to be obtained for successfully containing corruption. People should have a right to recall the elected representatives if they see them becoming indifferent to the electorate./unding of elections is at the core of political corruption. 0lectoral reforms are crucial in this regard. 7everal reforms like8 7tate funding of election e!penses for candidates< strict enforcement of statutory reuirements like holding in1party elections, making political parties get their accounts audited regularly and filing income1ta! returns< denying persons with criminal records a chance to contest elections, should be brought in.*esponsiveness, accountability and transparency are a must for a clean system. Bureaucracy, the backbone of good governance, should be made more citi3en friendly, accountable, ethical and transparent.5ore and more courts should be opened for speedy = ine!pensive >ustice so that casesdon+,.t linger in courts for years and >ustice is delivered on time.?ocal bodies, Independent of the government, like ?okpals, ?okadalats, C2Cs and 2igilance Commissions should be formed to provide speedy >ustice with low e!penses.# new /undamental *ight vi3. *ight to Information should be introduced, which will empower the citi3ens to ask for the information they want. Barring some confidential information, which concerns national and international security, other information shouldbe made available to general public as and when reuired. 7tringent actions against corrupt officials will certainly have a deterrent impact.ConclusionCorruption is an intractable problem. It is like diabetes, can only be controlled, but not totally eliminated. It may not be possible to root out corruption completely at all levels but it is possible to contain it within tolerable limits. @onest and dedicated persons in public life, control over electoral e!penses could be the most important prescriptions to combat corruption. Corruption has a corrosive impact on our economy. It worsens our image in international market and leads to loss of overseas opportunities. Corruption is a global problem that all countries of the world have to confront, solutions, however, canonly be home grown. :e have tolerated corruption for so long. "he time has now come to root it out from its roots.Tackling Hunger Globally@unger is one of the indicators of the magnitude of social in>ustices that e!ist in the world. Its e!istence can be traced back very many years back. "he /rench *evolution inthe %Ath Century was driven not only by demands for political freedom, but also by the lack of bread in Paris. /ood has been the cause and effect of many riots occurring whenever government policies caused severe economic hardship and clashed with the basic human right to food. "ea was a non1edible food item that was used as a protest tool by a group of Boston citi3ens, to protest the British ta! on tea imported to the colonies. "he food crises around the world prompted the establishment of the :orld /ood Programme. In addition, many other Bnited Nations agencies have included hunger or food security in their work programmes. "hese include8 "he Bnited Nations Children 0ducation /und, the Bnited Nations ;evelopment Programme, the :orld @ealth 9rganisation and the different Bnited Nations missions to war torn countries. "heterm ChungerC is loosely defined and the meaning is often adapted to serve the purposesof those who may be e!periencing it. /or many, especially in affluent countries, hunger is the gnawing pain in the stomach when a meal is missed. 9n the other e!treme, hunger is the physical depletion of those suffering from chronic under1nutrition. @unger is, however, multi1dimensional, encompassing the emotional and political aspects of the society. It includes the anguish of a farmer faced with the choice of selling the produce from his farm, to pay rent for the land or feeding his family with the food. It involves the grief of watching in helplessness as loved ones die for breaking the practices and policies set by a handful of elites. *estrictions and laws are put in place to ensure that the poor and hungry are forced to provide their labour in e!change for low wages or small portions of food. In order to maintain the status uo, regulations are in place to reduce the chances of self1sufficiency for the poor. 0ven the Indian governmentCs schemes of rice and wheat at e!tremely subsidi3ed rates is a no1go1either that grain finds its way to the black market or the uality is too poor to be consumed by any human being. Population growth has been believed to be the cause of hunger in some parts of the world, as there is pressure on the worldCs limited resources. "homas 5althus, an 0nglish economist, argued that population growth would inevitably outstrip the food and water supply at some point, since productive land and safe drinking water are finite resources. 5ass starvation and anarchy would, therefore, be a conseuence of a high rate of population growth. "his belief and the problem of addressing the needs of a growing population led to drastic measures to reduce the rate of population growth. @unger is a cause and effect of poverty. It is responsible for the debilitation of people physically, physiologically and psychologically. "he most abundant asset available to thepoor is labour, which could be used to earn a living. @owever, hunger means that this labour is ineffective, entrapping the poor in hunger and poverty. /or the ab>ectly poor, the daily struggle of finding food for the family pushes aside any consideration of long1term development. :hile modern technology and medical research have discovered many innovative ways of fighting many pests and diseases, famines has been a source of serious distress for many years. "he pressure to feed the worldCs population has resulted in the use of marginal, erosion1prone lands and deforestation. "his makes the environment more prone to famine situations and the fertility of the land is undermined. Natural disasters are indiscriminate and affect the poor and rich alike. #n option to the hunger in present day is to reconstruct agriculture to be more self1reliant and discourage speciali3ation. @elp from aid agencies has to be reduced by increasing self1reliance, for that is a long1term measure. "he development of farm cooperatives should be encouraged to facilitate and support farming activities among farm workers and urban migrants wishing to return to their rural homes. Increasing the amount of arable land under cultivation can also enhance food security.*eduction or cancellation of debtsowed by farmers would be an incentive for their increased contribution towards ensuringfood security. "he e!ploitation of farm workers and small farmers is mainly because of their inability to e!act a fair price for their labour and the goods they produce in a monopoly1controlled market. No wonder the suicides have become a regular feature in the rural districts. Bnless the work is taken up on a war footing across the world, we will be put to shame repeatedly by skeletal e!pressions of people in places like 7omalia, 0thiopia, and closer home in 5aharashtra, #ndhra Pradesh etc.ALL OF ! LEA"# F"OM O" FAIL"E! A! $ELL A! !CCE!!"here is no finality about failure, said Dawaharlal Nehru. Perhaps, that is why learningfrom failure is easier than learning from success, as success often appears to be thelast step of the ladder. Possibilities of life, however, are endless and there are worldsbeyond the stars1which is literally true. :hat appears as success in one moment mayturn out to be a failure or even worse in the ne!t moment.:e often do not know what isfailure and what is success ultimately. "herearee!amplesof peoplewhobecamewealthybut renouncedall theirwealthachievedafteralifetimeCseffort. "hekingslikeBharthrihari gaveuptheirkingdomsbecause of their failure in love. "he ;uke of :indsor abdicated the throne of 0nglandfor marrying an #merican divorcee 5iss 7impson.:hile we can see our failures clearly,success is prone to blind our vision. Eet, the time1world that we live in is a mi!ture ofpain and pleasure, sorrow and delight, light and darkness, success and failureF 7uccessas well as failure are parts of our life and e!perience. :e gain from both and also losefrom both. /ailure de>ects us, success delights us, but e!perience accretes them both.#fter a while, success also loses its shine >ust as failure loses its sting. #n aware personlearns from both successes and failures of life and begins to see life what it is. 5ostpeople try to achieve what they want. "hey either fail or succeed in getting what theywant.In a difficult world trialand error become our way of solving lifeCs problems. Eetthere are escapists who avoid undertaking the trial because they are scared of meetingfailure or committing the error. "hey, perhaps, consider making mistake as wrong and harmful butthe fact is that, formost of us, trial and error are both helpful and necessary.0rror provides the feedbackfor building the ladder to success. 0rror pushes one to put together a new and bettertrial, leading through more errors and trials, hopefully, finding ultimately a workable andcreative solution. "o meet with an error is only a temporary, and often necessary part ofthe process that leadstosuccess orwell1earned achievement.No errors orfailures,often, means no success either. "his is more true in business and while handling an on1going pro>ect.#ccording some business training programmes, an early partial success isnot commended. In fact, early success in a long1termpro>ect is regarded as apremature outcome of good efforts that is likely to cause complaisance and slackeningof effort to achieve the ultimate ob>ective of the pro>ect. 0arly success might tempt oneto get fi!ed on to what seemed to have worked so uickly and easily and stop fromlooking up any further. ?ater, maybe, a competitor will learn fromthe slackenedCachieverCto further e!plore for larger possibilities and push on to find a much bettersolution that will push the earlier achiever out of the competition. Eet, there are manyorganisations who believe in what they call Cculture of perfection8 a set of organisationalbeliefs that any failure is unacceptableC. 9nly a hundred per cent, untainted success willbe acceptable. ""o retain your reputation as an achiever, you must reach every goal andnever, ever make a mistake that you canCt hide or blame on someone else".But this is aflawed strategy because the stress and terror in such an organisation, at some point,become unbearable and lead to attrition. "he ceaseless covering up of small blemishes,finger1pointing and shifting the blame result into rapid turnover, as people rise high, thenfall abruptly from grace. 5eanwhile, lying, cheating, falsifyingof data, andhidingof problemsgoesonandswingsandshakestheorganisationfromcrisistocrisisand, ultimately,weakensitirreparably.7ome ego1driven, Ce!periencedC achieversforget that time and environmenthave changed and demand other kinds of inputs. # senior lecturer of ten yearsC standingwas re>ected and one with onlyone1yeare!perience was selected.:hen theseniorprotested, selectors told him8 "Eou too have only one year of e!perience1only repeatedten times. "he selected lecturer has fresher and more relevant e!perience." Balancecounts and a little failure may help preserve oneCs perspective on success. /inally, life ismore than a count of failures and successes, as a humorist said8 "try and try1only twice,the third time let some one else try" is yet another way of looking at lifeCs struggle%an Lokpal &ill"he Dan ?okpal Bill GCiti3enCs ombudsman BillH is a draft anti1corruption bill drawn up byprominent civil society activists seeking the appointment of a Dan ?okpal, anindependent body that would investigate corruption cases, complete the investigationwithin a year and envisages trial in the case getting over in the ne!t one year. ;raftedbyDustice7antosh@egdeGformer7upremeCourt Dudgeandpresent ?okayuktaofIarnatakaH, Prashant Bhushan G7upreme Court ?awyerH and #rvind Ie>riwal G*"IactivistH, the draft Bill envisages a system where a corrupt person found guilty would goto>ail withintwoyearsof thecomplaint beingmadeandhisill1gottenwealthbeingconfiscated. It also seeks power to the Dan ?okpal to prosecute politicians andbureaucrats without government permission. *etired IP7 officer Iiran Bediand otherknownpeoplelike7wami#gnivesh, 7ri 7ri *avi 7hankar, #nna@a3areand5allika7arabhaiare also partof the movement,called India #gainstCorruption.Itswebsitedescribes the movement as "an e!pression of collective anger of people of India againstcorruption. :e have all come together to forceJreuestJpersuadeJpressuri3e the4overnment to enact the Dan ?okpal Bill. :e feel that if this Bill were enacted it wouldcreate an effective deterrence against corruption."#nna @a3are, anti1corruptioncrusader, began a fast1unto1death today, demanding that this bill, drafted by the civilsociety, be adopted. "he website of the India #gainst Corruption movement calls the?okpal Bill of the government an "eyewash" and has on it a critiue of that governmentBill.Italsolists thedifferencebetween theBillsdrafted bythegovernmentand civilsociety.A look at t'e salient features of %an Lokpal &ill(%. #n institution called ?9IP#? at the centre and ?9I#EBI"# in each state will besetup (. ?ike 7upreme Court and 0lection Commission, they will be completelyindependent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.K. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore8 Investigations inany case will have to be completed in one year. "rial should be completed in ne!t one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or >udge issent to >ail within two years.). "he loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at thetime of conviction. $. @owwill it helpacommonciti3en8 If anyworkof anyciti3enisnot doneinprescribed time in any government office, ?okpal will impose financial penalty on guiltyofficers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.'. 7o, you could approach ?okpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is notbeing made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being doneinprescribedtime.?okpalwill havetoget it done in a monthCs time. Eou could alsoreport any case of corruption to ?okpal like ration being siphoned off, poor uality roadsbeen constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off. ?okpal will have to completeits investigations in a year, trial will be over in ne!t one year and the guilty will go to >ailwithin two years.L.But wonCt the government appoint corrupt and weak people as ?okpal members6"hat wonCt be possible because its members will be selected by >udges, citi3ens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, througha completely transparent and participatory process. A. :hat if some officer in ?okpal becomes corrupt6 "he entire functioning of ?okpalJ?okayukta willbe completely transparent. #ny complaint against any officer of ?okpalshall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.M. :hat will happen to e!isting anti1corruption agencies6 C2C, departmentalvigilance and anti1corruption branch of CBI will be merged into ?okpal. ?okpal will havecomplete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer,>udge or politician. %&. It will bethedutyof the?okpal toprovideprotectiontothosewhoarebeingvictimi3ed for raising their voice against corruption."ole of media in a democracy Introduction;emocracy means "# system of government in which all the people of a country canvote to elect their representatives". 5edia came into e!istence in %LA& with theintroductionof anewspaper namely""heBengal 4a3ette" andsincethenit hasmatured leaps and bounds. It has been playing a very important role in shaping humanminds."ole of media5ediaplaysacrucial roleinshapingahealthydemocracy.It isthebackboneof ademocracy. 5edia makes us aware of various social, political and economical activitieshappening around the world. It is like a mirror, which shows us or strives to show us thebare truth and harsh realities of life."he media has undoubtedly evolved and becomemoreactiveovertheyears. It isthemediaonlywhoremindspoliticiansabout theirunfulfilled promises at the time of elections. ".2 news channels+,. e!cessive coverageduring elections helps people, especially illiterates, in electing the right person to thepower. "his reminder compels politicians to be upto their promises in order to remain inpower."elevisionandradiohavemadeasignificant achievement ineducatingruralilliterate masses in making them aware of all the events in their language. Coverage ofe!ploitative malpractices of villageheads andmoneylenders has helpedintakingstringent actions against them by attracting government+,.s attention."he media alsoe!posesloopholesinthedemocraticsystem, whichultimatelyhelpsgovernment infilling the vacuums of loopholes and making a system more accountable, responsiveand citi3en1friendly. # democracy without media is like a vehicle without wheels.In theage of information technology we are bombarded with information. :e get the pulse ofthe world events with >ust a click of a mouse. "he flow of information has increasedmanifolds. "he perfect blend of technology and human resources G>ournalistH has not lefta single stone unturned in unearthing rampant corruption in politics and society. :e allare wellaware of what tehelka did. "hanks to technology that has brought a kind ofrevolution in >ournalism.Impact of media"he impact of media is really noteworthy. 0!cessive coverage or hype of sensitive newshas led to communal riots at times. "he illiterates are more prone to provocations thantheliterates. Constant repetitionof thenews, especiallysensational news, breedsapathyandinsensitivity./orinstance, In;hanan>oy Chatter>eecase, theoverloadedhype led to death of uite a few children who imitated the hanging procedure which wasrepeatedlyshowninmost of the".2.newschannels. "hereisaplethoraof suchnegative impacts. 5edia should take utmost care in airing or publishing suchsensational news. Commerciali3ation has created a stiff competition in media. In orderto outdo each other print media has often gone one step further in publishing articles,cover stories, etc. onse!.5ediae!pertssaythisisoneof themeansof attractingreaders who are glued to ".2. news channels, which have cropped up swiftly in a recentpast and they believe this is a cheap form of >ournalism.ConclusionNo one is perfect in this world and so is the media. @ere I am not degrading the media,rather I would say there is still a lot of scope for improvement by which media can raiseupto the aspirations of the people for which it is meant. I cannot think of a democracywithout active and neutral media. 5edia is like a watchdog in a democracy that keeps government active. /rom being >ustan informer it has become an integral part of our daily lives. :ith the passage of time it has become a more matured and a more responsible entity."he present media revolution has helped people in making an informed decisions andthis has led to beginning of a new era in a democracy.India created space history by becoming the first country in the world to enter5ars orbit in its maiden attempt, an event that Prime 5inister Narendra5odi described as achieving the Nnear impossibleO.IndiaPs5ars9rbiter5issionG595H glidedover '$&millionkmthroughdeepspace for over nine months to reach the red planetPs orbit.N"he spacecraft G9rbiterH successfully entered the 5artian orbit at L.$$ a.m. andis located at about $%$ km from its surface..,O a senior space official told I#N7 atthe mission control centre here.*adars at the earth stations of N#7# at 4oldstone in the B7, 5adrid in 7pain,Canberrain#ustraliaandIndiaPsowndeepspacenetwork at BaylalunearBangalore received the radio signals from the 9rbiter, confirming its insertion inthe 5ars orbit.Prime 5inister Narendra 5odi, who keenly witnessed the event, e!horted thatthesuccessful 5arsmissionNmust becomeabasefor challengingthene!tfrontierO. "hesuccess Nwill godownas landmark inhistoryO, saidavisibledelighted 5odi."he prime minister said that the 595 was built Nindigenously, in a pan1IndianeffortO and added that India is the only country to N. N9f the $% missions,attemptedacrosstheworldsofar, amere(%hadsucceeded. But wehaveprevailed,O he said."hefinal orbitinge!ercisebeganintheearlyhoursat ).%La.m. whenthespacecraft switched over to the medium gain antenna to emit and receive radiosignals.#fter rotating the 9rbiter towards 5ars at '.$L a.m., the main engine was ignitedat L.%L a.m. for enabling the spacecraft enter its orbit from the sun orbit, where itcruised for over nine months and () days during its voyage to the red planet fromthe 0arth.;uring the crucialoperation, when a solar eclipse occurred on 5ars from L.%(a.m., the ))& Newton liuid apogee motor G?#5H of the main engine started itsburn at L.K& a.m. and lasted for () minutes till L.$) a.m. to swing the spacecraftinto the 5artian orbit."he speed of the spacecraft was also reduced by (.%) metre per second from((.( km per second for entering the 5artian orbit from the sun orbit."he five scientific instruments onboard the )L$kg Gdry massH 9rbiter willstudytheredplanetPssurface, itsmineral compositionandscanitsatmosphereformethane gas in search of life1sustaining elements.Facts of Mars Orbiter Mission"he *s.)$&1crore GQL& millionH ambitious mission was launched on November $,(&%K on board a polar rocket from spaceport 7riharikota off Bay of Bengal, aboutA& km northeast of Chennai."he success of the 5ars mission has made India >oin the elite club of the B7,0urope and *ussia, which reached the red planet after initial failures."hestate1runIndian7pace*esearch9rganisationGI7*9Hbecamethefourthinternational space agency after National #eronautics and 7pace #dministrationGN#7#H of the B7, *ussian /ederal 7pace #gency G*/7#H and 0uropean 7pace#gency to have undertaken successful missions to 5ars.India also became the first #sian country to haveentered the5arssphere ofinfluence GgravityH "uesday, as a similar mission by China failed in (&%%.#s the fourth planet away from sun, 5ars is the second smallest celestial body inthe solar system. Named after *oman god of war, it is also known as red planetdue to the presence of iron o!ide in abundance, giving it a reddish appearance."hough both the planets have eual period of revolution around their a!is, 5arstakes () hours and KL minutes to complete a revolution. 0arth takes K'$ days toorbit sun while 5ars 'AL days to move around sun.N:e have demonstrated and proved our technological capabilities in undertakingouter spacemissionswithanindigenousrocket andour ownspacecraft,O abeaming I7*9 chairman I. *adhakrishnan said on the occasion.N595 is a ma>or step towards our future missions in the inter1planetary space,Ohe added.