India is most corrupt country in Asia: Forbes

New Delhi, September 1

If statistics given by Transparency International (TI), a Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog, are anything to go by, India is a long way from fulfilling one of the many objectives as told by the current Indian government — rooting out corruption.

Depicting how pervasive the problem is across Asia, a list released by Forbes quotes the study as saying that at 69 per cent bribery rate, India beats Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan and Myanmar — the most corrupt countries in Asia.

The Forbes article, which rates India the highest in the list with 69 per cent bribery rate, says about India: "In five of the six public services — schools, hospitals, ID documents, police, and utility services — more than half the respondents have had to pay a bribe." The article goes on to praise Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his 'fight against corruption', but says: "However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fight against corruption has made a mark: 53 per cent of the people think he is going it fairly or very well. And it has led to people feeling empowered, as 63 per cent believe ordinary people can make a difference".

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India is closely followed by Vietnam at 65 per cent bribery rate.

India's neighbour, Pakistan, stands fourth in the list with 40 per cent bribery rate. The article describes the nation as: "In Pakistan, about three-fourths of respondents perceive most or all of the police to be corrupt. Of the people who encountered either the police or the courts, nearly seven in ten had to pay a bribe. Sadly, people don't feel things can change — only a third think ordinary people can make a difference".

The 18-month long survey by Transparency International was concluded after talking to more than 20,000 people in 16 countries, regions and territories in the Asia Pacific.

The organisation had put India at rank 76 out of 168 countries in its Corruption Perception Index last year. The country's 2015 corruption perception score remained the same as 2014's — 38/100 — showing little improvement.

According to figures published in March, 2017, while citizens of Pakistan were the most likely of any country to be asked for bribes in law and order institutions, for India the police bribery rate was 54 per cent and for China a low 12 per cent.

India had the highest bribery rates of all the countries surveyed for access to public schools (58 per cent) and healthcare (59 per cent). — ANI