(a) whether India has been rated 66th most corrupt nation in
the list of 85 nations identified by Transparent International;
(b) if so, the reaction of the Government thereto;
(c) whether the Anti Corruption Bureau has reported a large
number of graft cases in the country;
(d) if so, the details thereof;
(e) whether the Government propose to strengthen the
Anti-corruption Bureau in the country; and
(f) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE OF DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL AND TRAINING AND
DEPARTMENT OF PENSIONS AND PENSIONERS WELFARE IN THE MINISTRY OF
PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS (SMT. VASUNDHARA RAJE)
(a),(b),(c),(d),(e)&(f):A Statement is placed on the Table of the
House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a),(b),(c),(d),(e)&(f) OF
LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3736 FOR ANSWER ON 21.3.2001.
(a)&(b):As per information furnished by the Central Vigilance
Commission, Transparency International, a Beriin based
non-Governmental organisation, has been releasing Corruption
Perception Index (CPI) for various countries. The CPI score
relates to perception of degree of corruption as seen by business
people, risk analysts and the general public and ranges between
10(highly clean) and 0(highly corrupt). The `1998 CPI score` was
released in respect of 85 countries in which India appeared at
S.No. 66-68 with 2.9 CPI scores which meant that 65 countries were
perceived to be less corrupt and 17 countries were perceived to be
more corrupt than India.
2. The Government is fully alive to the need to eradicate
corruption at all levels of public services. A three pronged
strategy of Surveillance, Prevention and Punitive/Deterrent action
is followed by the Government. Various
Ministries/Departments/Public Sector Undertakings are responsible
to ensure probity and integrity in their respective organisations.
Recognising that an important aspect of this strategy is Preventive
Vigilance, steps have been taken to ensure transparency in public
administration and initiate measures of administrative reforms such
as introduction of Citizens` Charters, setting up of Facilitation
Centres etc. The review and simplification of laws, rules and
procedures has also been taken up. The punitive actions being
taken under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 duly supported
by various rules governing the service conditions of public
servants, also acts as a deterrent against corruption. However,
the drive against corruption in public services to check
malpractices in administration is a continuing process. The
policies formulated in this regard are modified from time to time
in order to make them more effective and responsive to the changing
environment. Besides, some of the recent major initiatives taken
by the Government include introduction of Central Vigilance
Commission Bill, 1999 in Lok Sabha to confer statutory status upon
the Commission, Freedom of Information Bill, 2000 to bring greater
transparency and accountability in the functioning of the Govt.etc.
(c),(d),(e)&(f) : Respective State Governments have their
own Anti-Corruption Bureau to investigate the cases of corruption.
The details regarding graft cases reported by the Anti-Corruption
Bureau in various States in the country are not maintained
centrally.