Transparency International – Corruption Perception Index Report 2020
Recently Corruption Perception Index 2020 prepared by international non-governmental organization “Transparency International” has been released.
What is the Corruption Perception Index?
- It is a composite index based on 12 surveys to rank the countries of the world in the field of corruption.
- Since its founding in 1995, the Corruption Perception Index has become the leading global indicator of public sector corruption. This index provides an annual report relative to corruption based on rankings of countries and regions around the world.
- Currently 180 countries are ranked under it. A scale of 0 to 100 is used in this index for ranking, where zero indicates a highly corrupt state, while 100 indicate a corruption-free state.
- This index has become a benchmark measure of perceptions of corruption and is used by many analysts and investors.
- This index is also based on experts opinion on corruption in the public sector.This includes many factors, such as whether government leaders are held responsible for corruption, the prevalence of bribery and the response of public institutions to the needs of citizens.
India’s performance in the Corruption Perception Index -2020:
- India is ranked number 86 out of 180 countries in the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
- India’s score in the index is below the average score of the Asia-Pacific region (31 countries) and below the global average.
- China is ranked 78th in the index, which is two places above India.
- Pakistan is ranked 144 in the index.
Key point:
- New Zealand and Denmark (88) have jointly topped the Corruption Perceptions Index, followed by Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and Singapore (85 points each).
- South Sudan and Somalia both jointly ranked lowest in the global rankings with 12 points.
Corruption and COVID-19:
- The latest edition of the Corruption Perceptions Index has highlighted the impact of corruption on the government’s response to deal with COVID-19.
- The index also compares the investment in healthcare between countries and the strengthening of democratic norms and institutions during the epidemic.
Suggestion given by Transparency International to curb corruption:
- Strengthen checks and balances and promote separation of powers.
- Dealing with preferential practices to ensure budget and public services that should not be conducted by personal contact or not be biased towards special interests.
- Taking care of practices such as ‘revolving doors’ between government and private sector.
- Regulating lobbying activities, making the decision-making process transparent and promoting meaningful outreach to all.
- Strengthen electoral integrity and prevent misinformation campaigns from being approved.
- Empowering citizens and providing protection to workers, whistleblowers and journalists.
Source – The Hindu
