India must ratify international conventions to banish corruption

New Delhi, Oct 6 (UNI) Judged as the most corrupt countries, India, China and Russia should take early action to sign the international anti-corruption conventions, like the OECD Convention against Bribery, to make corruption history, says Transparency International India (TI).

A survey, conducted by TI on this year's Bribe Payers Index (BPI), says India consistently scores worst across most regions and sub-groupings.

On a score of 10, indicating a perception of no corruption, where zero indicates corruption as rampant, India has scored least (4.62), followed by China with 4.94 and Russia with 5.16.

Further, the respondents from Europe and Africa have termed Indian companies most corrupt.

''India being judged as the country which bribes the most among exporting countries is a sad reflection on the way the country runs its affairs. The government should take early action to sign the international anti-corruption conventions, ratify the UN Convention against Corruption and pass laws like the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, 1977,'' says Admiral (retd) R H Tahiliani, Chairman of TI.

India must also conduct education campaigns to ensure that the corporate sector is aware that bribery is illegal, both at home and abroad, while the business community needs to take its anti-corruption commitment and ethical conduct more seriously, suggests the TI survey.

''Corruption is eating away the vitals of India, which has earned the dubious and unsavoury reputation of being one of the most corrupt societies in the world at the cost of its poor and marginalised people who are deprived of good governnace and public resources that should otherwise utilised for their development and welfare,'' says the survey.

Leading the ranking is Switzerland, but even its score of 7.81 is far from perfect. It is followed by Sweden (7.62), Australia (7.59), Austria (7.50) and Canada (7.46).

The US, which blazed new trails with its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, 1977, shares the No. 9 position with Belgium, but ranks behind many OECD countries. Britain, ranked at No. 6, has demonstrated minimal enforcement of the Convention, says the survey.

Even high scores are in major need of improvement. The study pinpoints the unethical behaviour of the Australian Wheat Board for its involvement in the UN Oil-for-Food Programme. In the past, India had also imported wheat from it, says the survey.

''It is felt that the OECD-based companies continue to bribe, while their governments pay lip service to clamp down on overseas bribery...In Asia, strong domestic anti-corruption measures are not consistently translating into responsible business practices abroad, especially for Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.'' The TI has also recommended a slew of measures to stamp out corruption. Developing countries should vigorously prosecute foreign companies found to have bribed on their soil while multilateral development banks must debar companies found guilty of foreign bribery.

Companies must conduct due diligence when engaging in partnerships or acquisitions, and adopt and enforce strict internal 'no-bribes' policies that include their agents, subsidiaries and branches.

The OECD countries must step up enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention's prohibition on foreign bribery and commit necessary resources to monitor its enforcement.

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