Hyderabad: India has slipped by two ranks as compared to the previous year and managed to secure 80th position in the global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2019, released by Transparency International on Thursday.
The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, placed India at the 80th place. In 2016 India was in the 79th place among 176 countries. Though, in the year 2018, the largest democratic country managed to improve it's ranking and positioned at 78th rank by CPI.
The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
Transparency International further said, "In some countries across the region (Asia Pacific), journalists, activists, opposition leaders and even staff of law enforcement or watchdog agencies are threatened, and in the worst cases, even murdered".
"Philippines, India and the Maldives are among the worst regional offenders in this respect. These countries score high for corruption and have fewer press freedoms and higher numbers of journalist deaths," it added.
In the last six years, 15 journalists working on corruption stories in these countries were murdered, as reported by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
In the latest ranking, Denmark and New Zealand were placed the highest, with scores of 87 and 87, respectively. On the other hand, Syria, South Sudan and Somalia were ranked lowest with scores of 13, 12 and 9, respectively.
Meanwhile, China with a score of 41 was ranked 80th on the list, while Brazil was placed at 106th with a score of 35 and Russia was at the 137th place with a score of 28.
“Despite the presence of high performers like New Zealand (87), Singapore (85), Australia (77), Hong Kong (76) and Japan (73), the Asia Pacific region hasn’t witnessed substantial progress in anti-corruption efforts or results. In addition, low performers like Afghanistan (16), North Korea (17) and Cambodia (20) continue to highlight serious challenges in the region,” the report said.
Further analysis of the results indicates that countries with the least protection for press and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also tend to have the worst rates of corruption.
The analysis, which incorporates data from CPJ, showed that in the last six years, 9 out of 10 journalists were killed in countries that score 45 or less on the index.
"To have any chance of ending corruption and improving peoples’ lives, we must tackle the relationship between politics and big money. All citizens must be represented in decision-making.," Transparency International Managing Director Patricia Moreira said.
To end corruption and restore trust in politics, it is imperative to prevent opportunities for political corruption and to foster the integrity of political systems. Transparency International recommends:
- Manage conflicts of interest
- Control political financing
- Strengthen electoral integrity
- Regulate lobbying activities
- Empower citizens
- Tackle preferential treatment
- Reinforce checks and balances
The Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 reveals a staggering number of countries are showing little to no improvement in tackling corruption. The analysis also suggests that reducing big money in politics and promoting inclusive political decision-making are essential to curb corruption.
Also Read: Kohinoor nahi, Fevicol lejana chahiye tha: Adhesive brand's satirical dig at 'Megxit'
