India 4th most corrupt nation
India fourth-most corrupt nation in Asia-Pacific: Survey
Singapore: India finds itself bracketed with countries like Philippines and Cambodia, rated as the fourth most corrupt nation among 16 countries of the Asia Pacific region surveyed by leading Hong Kong-based business consultancy firm PERC.
The Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd (PERC) rated India at 8.67 on a scale of zero to 10 with the high end being the worst case of corruption scenario and ahead of the Philippines (8.9 points), Indonesia (9.25 points) and Cambodia (9.27 points).
Among the 16 countries reviewed in its latest report, Thailand was rated at 11 with a scale of 7.55, followed by China (7.93) and Vietnam (8.3).
Comparatively, Singapore was given a clean sheet with a score of 0.37, followed by Hong Kong (1.10), Australia (1.39), Japan (1.90) and USA (2.39), putting them in the top five.
In India, according to the report, civil and other local-level political leaders were found more corrupt than the national-level political leaders, with the former given a score of 9.25 and the latter slightly better at 8.97.
Indian civil servants at the city level too were rated at 8.18, worst than the civil servants at the national level (7.76).
"The issue of corruption has grown and overshadowed the second term in office of the Congress-led coalition headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ," said PERC in its Asian Intelligence report on Asian business and politics.
29/03/2011
India fourth-most corrupt nation in Asia-Pacific: Survey
(Continued)< Prev12The government has been wracked by a series of scandals involving the sale of telecom licenses, preparations for the Commonwealth Games , a land scam involving high level military officers, and improper property loans made by state-owned financial institutions, it pointed out.
Though investigations were underway to be followed by court trials, Indians were still questioning whether or not the prime minister has the political muscle to fight graft and whether the actions now being taken were more for show than proof that the government was really cracking down on business practices that were common but corrupt, it said.
Prime Minister Singh has been put in such a defensive position that most of his recent statements have been to stress how he has not personally been involved with corruption, even though it appears that almost everyone around him was, observed PERC.
"This point is underscored by a recent WikiLeaks report that the ruling Congress Party paid off parliamentarians back in 2008 to pass the US-India civil nuclear deal," it said.
http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5089297
Its bound to be there in every nation its something that if evils are not there then whats the point of existence of good :)
not number One?
The Indian bureaucrats and politicians made more money on the 2G scam in India than Haliburton did in Iraq!
The proposal for a citizen watchdog 'ombudsman' pending since 1965/67 has been regularily sabotaged by the politicians till Now (>35years).
Corruption is relative, and the main measurement is perception in these studies.
India scores high because the people perceive high corruption, which in turn means they hold their politicians to a high standard and aspire to a better society and nation.
We (each single citizen) are a part of it too.
.. and this consultancy groups will never tell you that you have to think twice before you open your mouth and criticize the local authorities in some of this places where the outlook is always rosy and perfect. Its just that some of this countries like China, Singapore and HK are not as rosy as they appear to be as they are not open and free countries open to outside scrutiny and this are not free places like the Philippines or India
Corruption cannot be sorted out in a month / year. And not all politicians are corrupt. All Indians have a tremendous respect for Mr. Manmohan Singh. There are many many good ones. I believe what we lack are good leaders. The likes of Nehru, Gandhi, SC Bose and Patel. Good leaders can guide the people towards virtuous ways.
It will be No 1 under weak prime minister - Manmohan Singh.
In India, honest man is one who do not have oppertunity.
Yes our politicans are corrupt but still we vote them ,,,
Thats the biggest issue...
We do have the likes of Anna Hazare fighting for the cause. Red tapism in India breeds corruption. Thankfully, India being a democratic country, a lot of awareness is being generated on this issue through press. Let's hope for the best.
PM and politicians are bloody bhen*****. i would not hesitate to shoot them if they come in front of me and i have a gun in my hand.
Aim for number one lol