Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A recent survey report released by Transparency International has revealed India as the most corrupt country in Asia having the highest bribery rate of 39% and the highest rate of people (46%) who use personal connections to access public services.

The survey report titled ‘Global Corruption Barometer – Asia,’ accumulated experiences of 20,000 people with corruption cases during the past twelve months across 17 Asian countries – largely between June and September this year.

As per the findings, nearly 50% of those who paid bribes were asked to, whereas, 32% of those who used personal connections for public services mentioned that they would not receive the service otherwise, according to international media reports.

Previously, India was ranked 80th among 180 countries in the Corruption Perception Index as per the earlier report, issued by Transparency International in January at the World Economic Forum at Davos.

The report studies six major public services, including police, courts, public hospitals, procurement of identity documents, and utilities. Among the people surveyed in India, who came into contact with the police, 42% had paid bribes.

Moreover, the use of bribes was also rampant (41%) to acquire official documents such as identity papers.

Use of personal connections was also largely made in dealings with the police (39%), procurement of identity documents (42%), and in relation to courts (38%), the report disclosed.