Corruption Perception Index (2021)

28th January, 2022 Polity

Figure 4: No Copyright Infringement Intended

Context:

Transparency International has ranked India at 85 among 180 countries in its Corruption Perception Index report released recently.

On a scale of 0 (most corrupt) to 100 (least corrupt), two-thirds of the 168 countries on the 2015 index scored below 50. (Perceived to be very clean).
For the second year in a row, Denmark has taken the top rank.
North Korea and Somalia were the poorest achievers, with each receiving only 8 points.
Some of the world's most populous countries are among those with low scores, including:

For the third year in a row, the common rating in Asia Pacific remains at 45. Over 70% of the countries in the region are ranked in the bottom 50.
The pandemic provided a reason for the governments of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Singapore to "tighten control and weaken accountability."

India placed 86th in 2021, with the same CPI score of 40. It has moved up one position to 85th this year.
While the country's score has stayed relatively stable over the last decade, several of the processes that could assist combat corruption are deteriorating.

Democracy: As fundamental freedoms and institutional checks and balances deteriorate, there are questions about the country's democratic character.
Journalists are at risk: The research raised concerns about the dangers facing journalists and activists who have been targeted by police, political militants, criminal gangs, and corrupt local officials.
The Freedom to Speak: Security, defamation, sedition, hate speech, and contempt-of-court charges have been levelled against civil society organisations that speak out against the government.

Transparency International is the organisation that created it.
The measure looked at public sector corruption perceptions in 168 countries.
It evaluates 180 nations and territories based on experts' and business people’s perceptions of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 being severely corrupt and 100 being very clean.
It is a composite index that ranks countries around the world based on 12 surveys.

Transparency International is a global movement fighting corruption in over 100 countries.
It is a Berlin-based international non-governmental organisation that was created in 1993.
Focus: Issues with the greatest influence on people's lives are prioritised, and the powerful are held accountable for the greater good.

Work is done to expose the institutions and networks that enable corruption to exist, demanding greater openness and integrity in all aspects of public life through advocacy, campaigning, and research.
Stopping corruption and promoting openness, accountability, and integrity at all levels and in all areas of society is our mission.

Corruption is defined as the misuse of entrusted authority for personal gain.
Corruption undermines confidence, undermines democracy, stifles economic development, and exacerbates inequality, poverty, social division, and the environmental disaster.
We can only expose corruption and hold corrupt people accountable if we understand how corruption works and the mechanisms that support it.

Protect the rights that allow people to hold power accountable.
re-establish and enhance institutional checks and balances on power
Combat corruption on a global scale.
Maintain the right to know about government spending.
Economic recovery strategies should address the fundamental flaws that have contributed too many countries' corrupt institutions in order to move forward jointly in long-term anti-corruption initiatives.
Participation of informed people who are free to assemble, talk openly, and blow the whistle on corruption without fear of retaliation.
Adherence to the 2012 Jakarta Statement on Principles for Anti-Corruption Agencies, its Colombo Commentary, and regional commitments like the Teieniwa Vision, as well as all other UN Convention against Corruption requirements.
The only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument is the United Nations Convention against Corruption.