Once these laws are in place, the government should give a three-month window of opportunity to all holders of black money to come out into the open and pay a flat rate of 21%. The one percent extra tax is a token levy to show that the government would any day encourage honest tax payers who have paid 20% and not reward black money hoarders as was done in the VDIS. This is the second phase

In the third phase, once the amnesty period is over, government should systematically utilise all the laws that are available especially those mentioned above so that black money is seized and brought into the main stream of the economy.

If government were to take the initiative, it will be very difficult for people to oppose. What we have seen over the last five decades, especially in customs, excise and income tax is a whole culture built on the pressures, pulls and counter-pulls of vested interests seeking exemptions and special treatment. Once this culture of evasion of taxes is overcome, we would have entered a much better era. What better opportunity than the beginning of the real millennium to place India on the path away from the intersecting parallel economy?

So far as the NGOs and other sections of society are concerned, the following specific action plan can be considered.

Robert McNamara pointed out in the Global Forum-II held on 28th to 31st May 2001 at The Hague, Netherlands that if any problem has to be tackled, it has to be first measured and then studied. The Corruption Perception Index published annually by the Transparency International, the Berlin based NGO has significantly contributed in focussing attention on the issue of corruption from a pragmatic point of view.

All NGOs connected with fighting corruption can undertake to the extent of their resources publication of an annual, if not at least periodic reports about corruption perception index. The more such data are published throughout the country the more we would have built a tangible database which could be the basis for serious discussion and evolution of policy options.

The Corruption Perception Index can be published annually covering -

1. All the Government of India ministries / departments / organisations, public sector enterprises and banks to the departments

2. Organisations / public sector enterprises belonging to the State Governments and Union Territories.

3. Corruption Perception Index ranking State Governments / Union Territories

4. Corruption Perception Index of organisations located in a particular district or a city on the model of the report card brought out by the Public Affairs Centre at Bangalore by Dr. Samuel Paul.

While general sensitisation about the dangers of corruption is possible through nation wide observation of Vigilance Awareness Week from 31st October every year, which is the birthday of Sardar Patel, there could be special studies made to educate the public about the damaging impact of corruption. In practically every election, corrupt politicians get reelected because the voter considers every politician to be corrupt and this factor is discounted. Corruption may not figure as an issue in many elections. Issues like drinking water availability or employment or rise in prices may figure as prominent issues. If there could be continuous education through objective studies made showing how corruption is at the root of all other issues, which generally figure in elections, perhaps in course of time, the voters can be educated. This task may be undertaken by the NGOs. On the lines of the Corruption Perception Index a database on such lines can be also built up.

The simplification of rules and procedures can be recommended so that the scope for corruption is reduced. There are specific success cases, which can be replicated nation wide. For example, the Bangalore Municipal Corporation came up with the self-assessment of property tax when Shri K. Jayaraj, IAS was the Municipal Commissioner. Perhaps every other city can also follow the similar model so far as property assessment is concerned and thereby the scope for corruption could be reduced.

Ms. Madhu Kishwar has come up with a study of how the five lakh vendors and cycle rikshaw pullers pay a bribe between them of 40 to 50 crores per month to various authorities including the police and the municipal authorities because of the licensing regime. The CVC has taken up the matter with the Chief Minister of Delhi, Union Urban Development Minister as well as the Chief Secretary of Delhi, Municipal Commissioner, MCD and Chairman, NDMC. Studies like that by Ms. Madhu Kishwar can be undertaken and systematic campaigns can be launched in different states and especially cities to eliminate the permit licence raj. What is needed is to highlight how a licensing system leads to massive corruption in which the sufferers are the urban poor.

Transparency and accessibility of information is one of the best antidotes for corruption. It should be possible for the NGOs to organise information kiosks and on the lines of MKSS, take up the issue of publicising sensitive information to check corruption at different levels.

The CVC, so far as its jurisdiction is concerned, has issued an order on 1st December 1999 about trapping of corrupt public servants. The NGOs can help in trapping of corrupt public servants so far as the organisations under the jurisdiction of CVC are concerned. If the Vigilance Commissioners also follow a similar strategy, such practices can be adopted in the State Governments also.

All citizens can participate in the Benami Black Money Scheme of CVC dated 12th July 2000 which may be seen in.

TV, radio and the print media must be utilised extensively for the continuous debate about issues of corruption. Generally the media is quick to point out scams and this should be fully exploited. There is also a need for bringing in an imaginative touch and make the message more entertaining also. Smt. Pamela Bhandari, CVO, Engineers India Ltd. Has shown a particular talent for this. Perhaps EIL sources can be tapped to see how such innovative and informative educational programmes can be launched in the media.

Contracting out government functions can be another method of checking corruption. I had explored this possibility of outsourcing of government in an Economic Times article which may be seen in.

This strategy can also be tried in suitable places.Use of the Internet and continuous networking of anti-corruption agencies

The CVC network can be utilised for continuously networking with all agencies which would like to come into the Council for a Clean India. The minimum service that could be done is to exchange information about the various studies of Corruption Perception Index, successful case of trapping, innovative methods adopted for publicising the anti-corruption activities and so on.

Victor Hugo said that nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. Perhaps the idea that we should have better governance and corruption must be checked is an idea whose time has come. The World Bank has realised especially after the collapse of the South East Asian economies in mid-97 that if a country is perceived to be corrupt, it gets less foreign direct investment. After the end of the Cold War, the earlier approach of the developed countries that even if country which is receiving the international aid is corrupt, so long as it was in the right camp, it did not matter (He may be a SOB but he is however SOB) no longer applies. The Global Forum for Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity was launched in February 1999 in Washington by the United States through its then Vice-President, Al Gore. This was followed by the Global Forum-II at The Hague, Netherlands from 28th to 31st May 2001. Robert McNamara who addressed the forum on 31.5.2001 pointed out: once the quantitative assessment about the level of corruption could be made by an agency like the Transparency International, the issue got focussed. There is now a move towards the issue of corruption becoming a part of the United Nations declaration and part of the global agenda. In this context, the comments made by Shri Ninan, Editor of Business Standard who also participated in the Global Forum-II are worth recalling. The wisecrack goes that everyone complains about the weather but no one does anything about it. I suppose the same thing could be said about corruption, on which Indira Gandhi famously explained away her own inaction: it was a global phenomenon, she said. Well that turns out to be true. Except that something is in fact being done about it - on a global scale. Conferences are being held in quick succession to discuss the issue: one at the Hague earlier this week, which 1800 people attended; another soon in Prague, and then two more in South Korea before the end of the year. After working up remarkable steam on the environment and human rights, the global conferencing community has discovered corruption as an issue on which corrective action is urgently required. Don't laugh and turn the page. This is serious business. It may take a while before the conference leads to measurable action, but it seems pretty clear that we'll get there. Remember that that the first major international conference on environment was held in Stockholm in 1972. From there to Kyoto was just over a quarter century. The human rights movement has gone from agenda item to action item in a much shorter period, and I suspect that this will be true of corruption as well. Though what kind of action, and how effective it will be, remain unclear.

The CFCI provides a forum for brainstorming and coming up with concrete and specific steps which can be taken to achieve the goal of a cleaner India.

After all, as the Chandokya Upanishad says, if we are able to apply our knowledge with faith and also deep thinking, our actions become stronger and we can succeed.