Introduction

Corruption is a complex socio-economic problem which universally affects all societies. The government being a large-scale organisation is also not immune to it. It erodes the foundation of the nation's democracy. Moreover, corruption discourages investment, promotes hunger and poverty and stunts economic growth. Due to various political, administrative, fiscal compulsions and shortcomings, corruption has been deeply rooted in the Indian machinery since times immemorial. Corruption has also been mentioned in the ancient text Arthshastra, where the author Kautilya remarks, "Just as it is hard not to taste the honey that finds itself on the tip of the tongue, so it is impossible for a government helper not to gobble up, at least a little of King's revenue". Corrupt behaviour is defined by Rose-Ackerman as "the exploitation of public office for private benefit." According to this notion, corruption is understood in a bureaucratic setting. It is also referred to as "petty corruption," in other words. Other types of corruption include moral corruption (when ethics are violated), political corruption (which involves kidnapping, murder, and injustice), and professional corruption (which includes making duplicates of medications, goods that were stolen or imported, unhygienic goods, and foods). 

The various Causes of Corruption are politicialisation of the public service, lower salaries relative to the private sector, administrative delays, colonial legacy of unchallenged power, and weak law enforcement. Research shows that countries that are geographically large and have a low population density can be more prone to corruption because of the increased difficulties in monitoring public officials. Similarly, countries that have recently transitioned from authoritarian regimes to democracies may face more corruption because of underdeveloped governance systems. The citizens face negative consequences of corruption in a variety of ways. The political consequences include restrictions on citizen freedom and the rule of law. The social costs are related with the citizens losing faith in the governmental and administrative machinery. The environmental costs relate to a reduction in the likelihood of a sustainable future while economic costs include missing out on opportunities to benefit from policies and budget.

Nodal Agencies dealing with corruption

Some of the nodal agencies for dealing with corruption in India are:

1. Central Vigilance Commission- A statutory body created in the year 1964 to monitor governmental corruption.

2. Central Bureau of Investigation-An investigating agency which not only investigates bribery and governmental corruption but also breaches of central laws.

3. Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayukta in the states-The Statutory bodies to deal with the allegations of corruption and related matters at the central and state levels respectively.

4. Department level Grievance Cells and Local Police Stations.

Legal Mechanisms

Apart from the nodal agencies, there are many Legal mechanisms to prevent the corruption and punish the perpetrators. The following are the details of some of the anti-corruption measures:

1. Right to Information Act 2005 provides the information to the citizens from a public authority within thirty days. The Act also ensures that the records are computerized for wider publicity.

2. Right to Public Services Legislation has been enacted in 19 states of India to provide timely delivery of services for various public services rendered by the government to the citizen.

3. The Prevention of Corruption Amendment Act 1988 prescribes several punishments for taking bribe. Moreover, the Act identifies four types of corruption offenses. The Act was recently amended in the year 2018.

4. Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 not only investigates alleged corruption but also protects the ‘whistle blowers’ who expose any corrupt practice in the government bodies, projects and offices. The Act also prescribes punishments for making false complaints.

5. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 confiscates the properties of the corrupt officials derived from money laundering forms such as Hawala, Fictional loans, Round-tipping, fake invoicing, etc.

6. Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 curb and impose penalties on black money hoarded abroad.

7. Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 provides for the establishment of Lokpal and Lokayukta to inquire into allegations of corruption.

Objectives

• To provide an overview of corruption.

• To examine the use of technology in curbing corruption.

• To map various Government of India initiatives to tackle corruption.

• To examine various challenges of technology in preventing corruption.

• To analyse and provide concluding remarks.

Methodology 

The present paper is based on the analysis of secondary data sources on the use of technology in curbing corruption. An effort was made to study online research articles and various websites for an in-depth analysis. The paper describes various sections according to the above-mentioned objectives.

Tackling Corruption through breakthrough Technologies

Modern era is an era of technology. The technology is omnipresent and has become the single-most important instrument of human progress. It has affected all aspects of modern life including government. The so-called "data revolution," which refers to both the volume of data that is now available and technical innovation, has the potential to address important societal problems like corruption.

• Social media based on Information and Communication Technology has given the battle against corruption a new angle. At the click of a mouse, citizen journalists can create viral images and films that can be used as proof of corruption or other wrongdoing in a matter of minutes. 

• Civic Technologies such as crowdfunding platforms, crowdsourced data collection and open data and publishing platforms is being utilised for the exchange of knowledge about corrupt practises. 

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the replication of human intelligence by machines that are taught to think and behave like people. AI can do its best to eradicate corruption in business, politics and everyday life for the average person. For instance, drug firms have been known to pay doctors to prescribe their products. This can be decreased by using AI to make it easier for patients to access information about the efficacy of medications. Another industry where AI might be used to detect instances of abrupt and extreme increases in home prices, tax fraud, etc. is the real estate business. A key to detecting fraud, suspicious transactions, and financial crimes is the application of AI across banks and financial organisations. Another enormous area where AI might be used to stop leaks and spot suspect activity is the public distribution system.

• Blockchain which refers to a decentralised ledger of all technologies across a peer-to-peer network can enable a new mechanism of trust in the governance by diminishing the role of intermediaries and ensures traceability of financial transactions.

Government of India’s Technological Initiatives to fight corruption

Digital Governance promotes ethical use of new technologies to enhance anti-corruption efforts promoting Integrity, Transparency and Accountability which in turn enables Digital Governance. The Government of India is committed to pursue “Zero Tolerance Against Corruption.” Despite enacting various laws and acts such as Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2018, Right to Information Act 2005, The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013, Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014, etc., the Government of India has taken several measures on the technological front to combat corruption viz:

• MyGov Citizen Engagement Platform which collaborates with multiple Government bodies/ Ministries to engage with citizens for policy formulation and seeks the opinion of people on issues/ topics of public interest and welfare.

• Disbursement of welfare benefits directly to the citizens under various schemes through the Direct Benefit Transfer initiative.

• Implementation of E-tendering in public procurements.

• Introduction of e-Governance and simplification of procedure and systems.

• Introduction of Government procurement through the Government e- Marketplace (GeM) which is a user-friendly portal for the procurement by government officers.

• Government e-auction system which has done away with nepotism and under-the-table deals when the state’s assets are sold off. 

• Faceless tax assessment scheme of Central Board of Direct Taxes.

• Geo-tagging being used in schemes like MGNREGA, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Grameen), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, etc.

• An online “Probity Portal” under which various Ministries and Department can enter information for prematurely retiring inefficient and underperformer officials from service.

• Jan Bhagidari where citizens actively involve in policy making and providing timely feedback through digital avenues created by the Government.

• Performance dashboards of different government schemes and programmes.

Challenges of Technology to Curb Corruption

Many efforts and resources are being exhausted into technology-based programmes with the primary goal of eradicating corruption. Also, technology is assumed to identify and deter the defaulters. However, the question remains whether corruption can actually be reduced through the employment of technology? 

• No effect on petty corruption: Technology is not effective in curbing petty corruption where low-level officials indulge in blackmailing and extortion for extracting payment, favours or services. For instance, a corruption scandal in Afghanistan involved an officer registering SIM cards in subordinates’ names in order to collect their direct money transfers. 

• Facilitation of illicit financial transactions: Technology like blockchain can facilitate illicit financial transactions. For example, it is easy to use cryptocurrencies to send money anonymously and remotely from one account to other surpassing national boundaries. 

• Misuse of online gambling and online games: They provide a smooth passage for criminal acts like money laundering, popularly known as Hawala transactions in the Indian context. 

• Corruption through End-to-end encryptions: End-to-end encryptions through WhatsApp and Instagram provide a platform for fearlessly indulging in corrupt practices. 

• No effect at higher levels of corruption: Technology has no effect in reducing corruption at the highest levels of the government. For example, Artificial Intelligence machines which simulate human intelligence are quite vulnerable to data manipulation malpractice, which if happens, will influence their result-delivering mechanism. Similarly, vested interests can both bend state laws and find loopholes to set themselves free. 

• Dark Web: The dark web which refers to sites that are accessible via specialized web browsers possess another challenge to curb the ill effects of corruption. They are a source of organised crimes such as drugs, humans and arms trafficking which pose a challenge to many countries.

• Digital gap: There is a huge digital gap between rich-poor, male-female, urban-rural users and non-users of the e-govt. services. Apart from this, India suffers from caste based and religion based digital divide. 

Suggestions and Concluding Remarks

Corruption is a multi-dimensional problem which requires a multi-pronged approach that targets the entire corruption triangle (motivation, justification and opportunity). On the one hand, the attitude of the ones demanding the bribe has to be broken. On the other hand, there is a need to promote accountable and transparent governance and service delivery mechanism. Enhancing interoperability between e-governance systems requires the adoption of a hybrid strategy, which will include a centralised strategy for document management, knowledge management, file management, grievance management, etc.

With effective E-governance technologies, the menace of corruption can be contained. Moreover, some of the technological interventions such as digitising service deliveries, faceless interaction with the citizenry, promoting less cash economy, having in place supporting technologies like Big Data, machine learning, data analytics, etc. can go a long way in further eradicating corruption. For example, court matters can be listed through a process with no human interference i.e. people do not pick/choose a judge they want to appear before. Another way where the technology can help is to protect whistle blowers through secure online portals where they can report corruption incidents without the fear of retaliation. Data Analytics can be used to detect patterns of corruption such as to identify suspicious large cash withdrawals and transfer to accounts.

Technology, though, is hardly a magical cure. In order to utilize the full benefits of harnessing technology in reducing corruption, the governments and organisations must be quick to adapt and take action. In some instances, all levels of government must make financial and technical investments in innovation in order for these changes to take place along with cooperation between the public and private sectors to assist officials and agencies in making the transition to new technology. 

India has witnessed a great leap in digital revolution, emerging technologies could be explored to reduce corruption at various layers and departments of government. 

“Corruption will go when the large number of persons given unworthily to it realize that the nation does not exist for them to exploit but that they exist to serve the nation. This requires morals, and extreme vigilance on the part of those who are free of the taint.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

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