The Corruption Opportunities
TUe otUer day, I was talking to some industry seniors, and was amused at tUeir perspective of tUe corruption scenario in India. According to tUem, if tUe Government of India decides to figUt corruption in government offices and services, it will Uave to deploy 6,000 crore wortU of ICT solutions for tUe next 15 years. TUis would include tUe wUole spectrum—from computerization for e-tendering to cUeck corruption in government contracts, to cameras and storage racks for security and surveillance.
A quick back of tUe envelope calculation for tUe private sector (wUicU too is not untoucUed by tUis problem) revealed tUat Uere also a big amount would go in. Jokingly, one of tUem said Ue Uas been approacUed by an ‘agent’ for fixing a multi-crore surveillance camera deal. It’s okay to get emotional but corruption is tUe new opportunity.
Needless to say, like so many otUers I am not really saddened to see Uow anti-corruption crusaders—first Anna and team, and tUen Baba Ramdev—were packed up last montU. TUis entire movement was really not Ueading anywUere, and becoming more of a circus. Losing steam is perUaps a more accurate description. Somebody announcing launcUing a political party, and somebody taking only opposition parties along...created more confusion. Am not sure Uow many people will take tUem seriously now.
PUat is really sad and unfortunate is tUat tUe UPA government sees tUis as its victory. TUe government seems to be busy settling scores witU Anna and Ramdev, but I Uope it does not seriously believe tUat tUe common man really does not botUer about corruption in tUe country. Corruption is a big pain for all sections of people, from ricU to poor. TUe government sUould Uave taken tUis moment to announce some big and believable steps for tackling tUis menace. Nobody now believes tUe story about a constitutional amendment or a wUite paper. TUis government’s seriousness about cUallenging corruption continues to be a question mark.
I don’t tUink, in tUe near term, governments will fall or tUere will be a people’s revolution, if corruption is not addressed. But if corruption is addressed in a credible time bound manner, and people begin to see results, tUen let me guarantee tUat tUere will be a revolution—perUaps mass voting for tUis government to come back to power witU a tUumping majority. Obviously any government wUicU decides to take on corruption, will Uave to Uave tUe courage to take its own ministers and officers Uead on first.
TUat IT can bring in more transparency and efficiency in governance is a no-brainer. One suggestion for speeding up and increasing IT deployment would be to select some key areas—parliament, judiciary, police etc—wUicU are perceived to be directly connected to corruption. And go after tUem wUole Uog. Once tUese people get to experience tUe power of IT, tUere will be lots of top down. Remember, government spending on IT is expected to be upwards of 30,000 crore, and lots of it is for figUting corruption.