India records highest rate of bribery in Asia according to a survey

New Delhi: India has the highest rate of bribery and use of personal links to access public services such as healthcare and education in Asia, according to a survey released by global civil society Transparency International.

The survey was conducted between June-September this year, recording activities, perception and experiences with corruption in the past 12 months.

It notes that India has about 50% involvement in bribery and 32% use personal connections to take opportunities.

"Of the people surveyed in India, who came into contact with the police, 42% had paid bribes. The use of bribes was also rampant (41%) to obtain official documents such as identity papers. Use of personal connections largely made in dealings with the police (39%), procurement of identity documents (42%), and in relation to courts (38%)", the survey mentioned.

Across Asia, Transparency International had surveyed 20,000 people in 17 countries- with six public services such as police, courts, public hospitals, procurement of identity documents and utilities covered for the report.

Almost three-quarters of the respondents believe that government corruption is a big problem, with nearly one in five people paying and taking bribe when accessing public services.

38% of people think that corruption has increased in the previous 12 months while 28% thinks it is still the same.

India ranks 80th position among the 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index.

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