ET :2 DEC, 2012, 05.55AM IST, MALINI GOYAL,ET BUREAU
Something interesting happened in Mumbai last month. For the first time ever, Harvard Business Schoolstepped out of its Boston campus to bring its leadership and corporate accountability programme for senior corporate executives to India. The programme focuses on promoting socially and financially responsible corporate conduct. In an environment where scams and business scandals are making headlines every day, the turnout for the four-day programme was expectedly impressive.
"Corruption is pervasive and also corrosive," saysKarthik Ramanna, one of the Harvard professors who teaches the course. This isn't just about India.
"Corruption is pervasive and also corrosive," saysKarthik Ramanna, one of the Harvard professors who teaches the course. This isn't just about India.
According to a recent study, corruption is the biggest issue of concern for corporate executives in Russia. It is ranked No. 2 by Indians and No. 5 by the Chinese. "Businesses have to learn to deal with corruption as a phenomenon," he says.
For inspiration, Ramanna is nudging these corporate executives to look at some unusual places. Among the case studies taught, one is on ipaidabribe.com, a website that focuses on petty retail corruption in India. It helps the average Indian post his or her bribery experience and it also uncovers the "market price" of corruption in various cities, departments and services.
According to the website, Delhiites, for example, have paid Rs 500-1,000 for police verification for passports. Mumbaikars have paid a petty Rs 20 to as high as Rs 21 lakh as bribes to the police. "Paying a bribe is a very lonely experience. We want to change that," says Swati Ramanathan, co-founder of Janaagraha, a Bangalore-based NGO that is also steering the ipaidabribe.com initiative.
What have these cases of petty bribery got to do with the large cases of corruption — 2G scam and coalgate are pegged at close to Rs 2 lakh crore — that executives encounter in their businesses? Prevalence and acceptability of corruption in India at every level seems cultural. "We wanted to change the compass of conversation. India needs a firestarter," says Ramanna.
Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant
Ipaidabribe.com provides that platform. The website allows Indians to post their bribe experiences under four distinct categories — I Paid a Bribe (captures incidences of bribery), I Am a Bribe Fighter (experiences where people resisted bribery), I Met an Honest Officer (recognising honest officers) and I Do Not Want to Pay a Bribe (educating Indians how to avoid paying a bribe).
While the website does not allow the mention of names, the naming and shaming of government departments has had some success. For example, the transport commissioner in Bangalore used the website's feedback to reform its procedures and minimise bribery cases with a thrust on automation. For example, licences can now be applied online. In a global first, Bangalore now gives automated driving test tracks to applicants to bring down the discretionary powers of its officials.
The largest number of bribe cases (in value) was being reported from the land registration department. Interestingly, the bribe for the same work varied from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2 lakh in Bangalore city, with higher bribes being asked for in new sought-after areas where transactions were larger. Typically, land can only be registered in the area where it is. Four months back, the chief secretary of Karnataka government took a step to curb it by increasing the number of government offices where the registration could be done.
The website's journey has been impressive. It gets 3,000-5,000 hits every day with 1.4 million hits so far. It has 20,000-plus bribe reports filed from 500 Indian cities. Next year it will boost its reach by focusing on the Hindi heartland. It is also launching a mobile application where people can use their phones to file their bribe reports.
The site is getting some global attention — NGOs from 26 countries showed interest in replicating the model. It is doing very well in Greece. A similar site has been created in Pakistan. Inspired, Bhutan's anti-corruption division has created an online form to allow anonymous reporting of corruption.
In 2014, they are also planning to organise a global meet in India on how to use crowdsourcing to stem corruption. Says Santosh N Hegde, former Lokayukta in Karnataka: "This greed over need is going viral. Everybody wants to get rich as quickly as possible. Public acceptance of corruption is very high. Ipaidabribe.com is pushing to change that."
Cultural Connotation
Corruption has strong cultural linkages. In India, relationship-based transactions are common. Political parties compete in doling out favours to certain castes and groups, thus encouraging corruption. They often use public office for private gain without any qualms. Access to all kinds of services, big or small, public or private — from hospitals to police stations, from schools to sporting events — is determined by personal relationships. "This is my friend and he has to be given special treatment is something Indians are used to," says Ramanna.
For inspiration, Ramanna is nudging these corporate executives to look at some unusual places. Among the case studies taught, one is on ipaidabribe.com, a website that focuses on petty retail corruption in India. It helps the average Indian post his or her bribery experience and it also uncovers the "market price" of corruption in various cities, departments and services.
According to the website, Delhiites, for example, have paid Rs 500-1,000 for police verification for passports. Mumbaikars have paid a petty Rs 20 to as high as Rs 21 lakh as bribes to the police. "Paying a bribe is a very lonely experience. We want to change that," says Swati Ramanathan, co-founder of Janaagraha, a Bangalore-based NGO that is also steering the ipaidabribe.com initiative.
What have these cases of petty bribery got to do with the large cases of corruption — 2G scam and coalgate are pegged at close to Rs 2 lakh crore — that executives encounter in their businesses? Prevalence and acceptability of corruption in India at every level seems cultural. "We wanted to change the compass of conversation. India needs a firestarter," says Ramanna.
Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant
Ipaidabribe.com provides that platform. The website allows Indians to post their bribe experiences under four distinct categories — I Paid a Bribe (captures incidences of bribery), I Am a Bribe Fighter (experiences where people resisted bribery), I Met an Honest Officer (recognising honest officers) and I Do Not Want to Pay a Bribe (educating Indians how to avoid paying a bribe).
While the website does not allow the mention of names, the naming and shaming of government departments has had some success. For example, the transport commissioner in Bangalore used the website's feedback to reform its procedures and minimise bribery cases with a thrust on automation. For example, licences can now be applied online. In a global first, Bangalore now gives automated driving test tracks to applicants to bring down the discretionary powers of its officials.
The largest number of bribe cases (in value) was being reported from the land registration department. Interestingly, the bribe for the same work varied from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2 lakh in Bangalore city, with higher bribes being asked for in new sought-after areas where transactions were larger. Typically, land can only be registered in the area where it is. Four months back, the chief secretary of Karnataka government took a step to curb it by increasing the number of government offices where the registration could be done.
The website's journey has been impressive. It gets 3,000-5,000 hits every day with 1.4 million hits so far. It has 20,000-plus bribe reports filed from 500 Indian cities. Next year it will boost its reach by focusing on the Hindi heartland. It is also launching a mobile application where people can use their phones to file their bribe reports.
The site is getting some global attention — NGOs from 26 countries showed interest in replicating the model. It is doing very well in Greece. A similar site has been created in Pakistan. Inspired, Bhutan's anti-corruption division has created an online form to allow anonymous reporting of corruption.
In 2014, they are also planning to organise a global meet in India on how to use crowdsourcing to stem corruption. Says Santosh N Hegde, former Lokayukta in Karnataka: "This greed over need is going viral. Everybody wants to get rich as quickly as possible. Public acceptance of corruption is very high. Ipaidabribe.com is pushing to change that."
Cultural Connotation
Corruption has strong cultural linkages. In India, relationship-based transactions are common. Political parties compete in doling out favours to certain castes and groups, thus encouraging corruption. They often use public office for private gain without any qualms. Access to all kinds of services, big or small, public or private — from hospitals to police stations, from schools to sporting events — is determined by personal relationships. "This is my friend and he has to be given special treatment is something Indians are used to," says Ramanna.
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