India's Bribery Index "Most Improved" in the World

By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 03 November 2011, 00:12 IST   |    2 Comments
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India's Bribery Index
Bangalore: India showed an improved score with an increase of 0.7 in the Transparency International's 2011 Bribe Payers Index while U.K. and Canada dropped with a score of -0.3. Chinese and Russian firms are most expected to pay bribes abroad. Companies from the Netherlands and Switzerland are seen as least likely to bribe. According to the index, China and Russia rank bottom, in 27th and 28th place respectively whereas the Dutch, Swiss, Belgians, Germans and Japanese get the top scores. Britain and the United States rank 8th and 9th respectively.The Berlin-based anti-corruption campaigners said that not one of the 28 countries surveyed includes all of the G20, was alleged as "wholly clean of bribery" and hardly any had made progress since the last bribery index in 2008. All leading 20 economies (G20) have committed to tackle issues related to foreign bribery with an anti-corruption plan. The progress report on action plan is likely to be approved at G20 Cannes summit which will identify steps taken by its members like China, Russia and India in criminalizing foreign bribery. Huguette Labelle, Transparency International Chair said, "In their meeting in Cannes this week, G20 governments must tackle foreign bribery as a matter of urgency. New legislation in G20 countries is an opportunity to provide a fairer, more open global economy that creates the conditions for sustainable recovery and the stability of future growth. Governments can press home the advances made by putting resources behind investigations and prosecutions of foreign bribery, so that there is a very real deterrent to unethical and illegal behavior." China ranked 78th while Russia came 154th out of 178 nations in Transparency's 2010 index of public-sector corruption. Bribery index is divided into 19 business sectors where public works contracts and construction are said to be most prone to bribery and agriculture and light engineering are the least. Oil, gas, mining real estate and legal and business services are also very prone to bribery. The bribe paid from one private firm to another is almost as high as bribery of public officials across all sectors, and that's what surprised Transparency the most. The report says, "Bribery can also be disguised through offering clients gifts and corporate hospitality that are inappropriate in value."