For the first time in 18 years, India has ranked lower than China in the annual corruption index, by global watchdog, Transparency International. In the annual survey of 175 countries, India ranks at a disappointing 85, however, it has jumped 10 spaces since the last ranking.
China on the other hand has fallen 20 places. This is despite the massive anti corruption movement unleashed by president Xi Jinping, even arresting high profile politicians and military officials. While India and China were somewhat the same in 2006-07, this is the first time since the survey started in 1996 that India is perceived to be less corrupt than China.
The Corruption Perception Index is compiled by experts like banking institutions, big companies and other organizations about their views of corruption in the public sector. Transparency International’s annual report measure perceptions of corruption using a scale where 100 is cleanest and 0 most corrupt.
India’s score moved from 36 to 38. Despite the increase, India is still ranked along with countries like Burkina Faso and Zambia.
The report released on May 20, showed Turkey and China with the most significant drop in the index.
India’s perception improvement is attributed to greater public awareness and antipathy towards corruption. It has been fuelled by the Anna Hazare agitation in 2012 and the passing of the first ever Jan Lokpal Bill in the Parliament. Corruption was a major plank in the election campaign in the recently concluded general elections, a central part of the BJP plank.
The list was topped by Denmark, which had a score of 92. At last spot was Somalia with a score of 8.