Summary

Ethics_JG Class 05

PRINCIPLES THAT SHOULD GUIDE THE FORMULATION OF CODE OF ETHICS FOR MINISTERS (05:21 PM)

Ministers should adhere to the principles of collective responsibility enshrined in Art 75 (3).
They must ensure that no conflict arises or appears to arise between their public duties and private and political interests.
They must uphold the political impartiality of the civil servants and not ask the civil servants to do what would clash with their official duties & responsibilities.
Ministers must comply with the requirements laid down by the Parliament from time to time.
Ministers must ensure that public money should be used only for public purposes with utmost care & economy.
Ministers must not use government resources for the Party or political purposes.
Ministers must function in a manner to serve as instruments of good governance & to provide services to the public at large.
They must act objectively, impartially, and in a fair and just manner.

CORRUPTION (05:34 PM)

As per the World Bank, Corruption refers to the abuse of public funds or public office for private gains.
According to the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988, no specific definition of corruption has been provided but some of the activities that are termed as corrupt are as follows-
Acceptance of illegal gratification as a motive for doing or not doing an official act.
Favoring or disfavouring a person
Obtaining a valuable thing without consideration.
Obtaining monetary advantage from a person without serving any public interest.
Obtaining resources or property disproportionate to the income.
According to this law, the focus is on gratification or other pecuniary advantage.
However, there is a range of activities that are detrimental to public interest which is not covered under this law as a corrupt act.
Thus there is a need to expand the definition of corruption under the act.
Use and abuse of confidential information for private purposes.
Favoring relatives & friends in awarding contracts.
Conflict of interest such as accepting outside employment during working in the Civil Services.
Wasting public money by spending exorbitantly on private luxuries.
Gross perversion of constitutional provisions and democratic values.
Interference in decision-making to secure positions and promotions for one's supporters.
Manipulation in the purchase of machinery, property, and equipment for government departments.
Protecting the incompetence of subordinates due to favoritism.
Factors leading to the rise of Corruption in India- (06:09 PM)
Historical factors-
Colonial legacy has played an important role in shaping our attitudes towards corruption.
During the colonial rule, it was considered acceptable to steal from the British as it drained India of its resources.
But despite independence, this attitude has not undergone any change.
The British administrative system was excessively corrupt & since the legacy of that system continues to operate in India, the problem of corruption has not been addressed effectively.
Institutional factors-
The concentration of vast discretionary powers in the hands of the state as a legacy of the License Raj era has ended up promoting a rent-seeking attitude in the bureaucracy.
In India, corruption is a low-risk and high-reward activity primarily due to an ineffective criminal justice system.
Civil servants often carry a low image of themselves, and in such situations, they make peace with corrupt behavior as it suits their self-image.
The system has collapsed to such an extent that even the young and honest officers are not able to retain idealism for a long time.
Honest civil servants are often served with adverse consequences, therefore demoralizing them significantly.
Government procedures are extremely complicated and cumbersome making it difficult to avail government services easily.
As a result, citizens try to find easy ways to get around the system.
Societal factors-
Lack of spirit of democracy where the civil servants often show the same arrogance and hubris shown by colonial rulers.
Prevalent economic inequality in the society is also cited as a justification for corruption.
Ethics have been severely compromised even in the field of education.
Eg: Copying in examinations has become a standard practice.
At times, even the question paper and marks are on sale.
Therefore, a new generation brought up under such influences does not inspire much conflict.
With increased materialism in society, there has been an overall decline in the morals and values of society and as a result, corruption has become a part & parcel of life.
Political factors-
The increased role of money and muscle power in the elections where politics has become a business and politicians try and recover the money spent after assuming power.
Since assuming power has become the most important factor in politics, political parties do not refrain from indulging in horse trading for which money needs to be earned through corrupt sources.
Collusive and Coercive Corruption- (07:05 PM)
In Coercive corruption, the victim is forced to be involved in a corrupt act to avail a government service.
The bribe giver is a victim of extortion because if he does not submit to the demand of the public officials then he would end up losing a lot more than the bribe itself.
Even though smaller in magnitude than Collusive corruption it results in the exploitation of the downtrodden and the marginalised.
A citizen is sucked into a vicious cycle of corruption to avoid harassment, loss of opportunity & loss of work due to non-compliance with the demand of a bribe.
This money or bribe is often termed speed money.
Such corruption occurs largely due to a lack of vigilance in public offices, absence of fear of the law & lack of awareness related to legal rights among the citizens.
An ineffective criminal justice system and the absence of fear of the law also contribute to it.
One may also attribute it to a supply-demand mismatch in the government services & due to excessive discretion that has been placed in the hands of the public servants.
In Collusive corruption, both the bribe-giver and the bribe-taker cheat the society.
At times, the bribe giver is more guilty than the bribe taker.
It is often referred to as top-down corruption.
It usually occurs at higher levels of government.
Because of the volume involved, it is often termed as big-ticket corruption.
Some scholars believe that centralization of power along with unprecedented growth in the private sector is a major cause for such type of corruption.
This is because of the increased competition private players try to outgrow each other at the cost of public resources.
Kickbacks received as a part of government procurement are one of the forms of such corruption.
Collusive corruption is more harmful than Coercive corruption? (07:33 PM)
It is easy to define Coercive corruption.
Eg: According to PoCA, 1988-> acceptance of illegal gratification by a public official is an offense.
The law offers protection to the bribe giver if he/she accepts that he offered a bribe & is willing to cooperate with the government agencies.
On the other hand, it is difficult to establish proof of Collusive corruption as both the bribe giver and the taker stand to gain from the transaction.
Also, the traps laid down by anti-corruption agencies are more effective in cases of Coercive corruption.
Collusive corruption is no doubt difficult to expose but at the same time, it is extremely difficult to monitor Coercive corruption considering the huge size of government machinery in India.
The amount of money and resources involved in Collusive corruption is huge & therefore implies a greater loss to the nation.
On the other hand, Coercive corruption affects the citizens directly & impacts the lowest strata of society the most.
Coercive corruption can be difficult to tackle as it becomes a way of life & gradually people develop tolerance towards it.
On the other hand, Collusive corruption affects public expenditure on various welfare programs and erodes the faith of the citizens in democratic institutions.
Effects of Corruption- (07:44 PM)
Economic-
Tax collection suffers as most of the money generated through corrupt means is smuggled out to safe havens.
It discourages foreign investment since the ease of doing business is directly affected as a result of corruption.
Crony capitalism and favor of specific entities distort the level playing field and adversely affect small businesses.
It stifles the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation in the economy.
It lowers compliance with regulations, therefore, reducing the quality of government services and infrastructure.
Even public health infrastructure suffers due to lower standards of health services & drug production.
Societal-
It drains the society of moral, ethical, and mental energy including the will of the honest which stands against the wrongs in the society.
It destroys social capital and people end up becoming more distrustful of each other.
The welfare schemes and programs suffer & as a result, the benefits are not able to reach the lowest strata of the society.

TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED IN THE NEXT CLASS- EFFECTS OF CORRUPTION, OTHER FORMS OF CORRUPTION