Indians are second largest bribe payers in South Asia: survey

New Delhi: Fifty-four per cent of Indians who dealt with the police ended up paying a bribe in the past 12 months, according to a new survey of the six South Asian countries published on Tuesday by anti-corruption organisation Transparency International. The survey found that more than one in three people who deal with public services said they pay bribes. South Asians regularly have to pay bribes when dealing with their public institutions, be it to speed up paperwork, avoid problems with authorities such as the police, or simply access basic services. Two-thirds of Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis who dealt with the police paid bribe. In Nepal, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, bribes were mostly paid to speed things up, highlighting how corruption can also be a barrier to business expansion, a press release from the organisation said. In Sri Lanka significantly more people paid bribes to tax authorities than other services, while in Nepal and the Maldives, customs services reportedly receive the most bribes.

The Transparency International report, Daily Lives and Corruption, Public Opinion in South Asia, surveyed 7500 people between 2010 and 2011 in Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The results help explain why the region is perceived to have some of the worlds highest levels of corruption, with none of the surveyed countries in the top half of Transparency Internationals Corruption Perceptions Index, in which they all score less than 3.5 out of 10. Political parties and the police are the most corrupt institutions in all six countries according to the survey, followed closely by the parliament and public officials. Officials entrusted to oversee deals related to buying, selling, inheriting and renting land were the next likely to demand a bribe. While people across the region say the problem is getting worse, they are also likely to do something about it. Sixtytwo per cent of those interviewed believe corruption has become worse in the past three years. People from India and Pakistan are most pessimistic about worsening corruption. In India tens of thousands demonstrated for strong anti-corruption laws in August. Less than a quarter of Indians surveyed thought their governments efforts to fight corruption were effective.

According to the survey, the country most plagued by bribery is Bangladesh where 66 per cent report paying bribes to public institutions, mostly just to gain access to services that people should already be entitled to. The survey asked questions concerning the following nine pubic services: police, judiciary, customs, registry and permit services, land services, medical services, tax revenues, utilities and education.

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