Corruption can exist, as the Committee for Prevention of Corruption has observed, if there is someone willing to corrupt and capable of corrupting. Both this willingness and capacity, it adds, is found in a large measure in the industrial and commercial classes. The following is an extract from Santhanam Committee's (1964) Report:

"Corruption can exist only if there is some one willing to corrupt and capable of corrupting. We regret to say that both this willingness and capacity to corrupt is found in a large measure in the industrial and commercial classes. The ranks of these classes have been swelled by the speculators and adventurers of the war period. To these corruption is not only an easy method to secure large unearned profits, but also the necessary means to enable them to be in a position to pursue their vocations or retain their position among their own competitors. It is these persons who indulge in evasion and avoidance of taxes, accumulate large amounts of unaccounted money by various methods such as obtaining licences in the names of bogus firms and individual's, trafficking in licences, suppressing profits by manipulation of accounts to avoid taxes and other legitimate claims on profits, accepting money for transactions put through without accounting for it in bills and accounts (on-money) and under-valuation of transactions in immoveable property. It is they who have control over large funds and are in a position to spend considerable sums of money in entertainment. It is they who maintain an army of liaison men and contract men, some of whom live, spend and entertain ostentatiously"

Public Service invests officers with enormous powers for due exercise for public welfare, but which is abused or misused tempted by the operations of these corrupt bureaucrats and politicians. We therefore find the Public Services entrenched in corruption. In turn the atmosphere is vitiated by spread of the virus amongst the enforcement authorities, who themselves indulge in corruption. In the net result there prevails all types and varieties of indiscipline and lack of integrity in different levels. Today this is a global phenomenon. Erosion of religious values and advent of consumerism fueling a multiplicity of wants and desires of mankind, results in falling standards everywhere and a motive not to earn money through hard toil but to hunt for money by all crooked means. The experience of people in the richest country, the United States of America, will be of particular interest to study here.

Where corruption and lack of integrity are global phenomenon, there is equal rectitude and a powerful vigilant awareness effectively tackles these menace in the western countries. This checks the evil effects of corruption and the common citizen is capable of getting benefits from a near-honest bureaucracy. This social consciousness is lacking so far in India. But with the assuming of office by the present Chief Commissioner for Central Vigilance, the issue is put to public debate and a serious though still insufficient attempt is being made by a single soldier to wage a war against the giant in proportion. Recently with the advent of the Internet bringing about great social changes, a number of virtual agencies are springing up. The objects and functions of some of these virtual agencies on the web are described later. One significant example of India Policy Institute, Hyderabad based web site is worth mentioning here

One interested in plant protection should invariably study pest control. He should get well versed with information about pests that devour the crops and the pesticides that protect the plants by annihilating the pests. The duty of establishing discipline in life and at work centers, should similarly concentrate on knowing the perverse deeds, called misconduct, in the work centers and the crimes committed on innocent public by anti-social elements violating the established law of the country. This is needed to enforce strict preventive action on these violators and to restore cleanliness and order in work centers and at the society at large.

We have earlier seen the prophetic words of Santhanam Committee four decades ago giving an insight into growth of corruption in our society and the causes that had contributed to it. It is also very significant to learn the remedies suggested by Santhanam Committee for the eradication of the evil made at that time. The extract hereunder is from the Manual ofg CVC in Chapter-18.

The Santhanam Committee, while outlining the preventive measures that should be taken to significantly reduce corruption, emphasised four major causes of corruption and how, in respect of each of these causes, preventive measures could be planned and implemented in a sustained and effective manner. These causes are:-

1. Administrative delays

2. Government taking upon themselves more than what they can manage by way of regulatory functions.

3. Scope for personal discretion in the exercise of powers vested in different categories of government servants.

4. Cumbersome procedures of dealing with various matters which are of importance of citizens in their day to dayaffairs.

With regard to administrative delays, the Committee recommendedthe following steps:-

1. Undertake a review of existing procedures and practices to find out the case of delay, the points at which delay occurs and device suitable steps to minimise delay at differentstages;

2. Prescribe definite time-limits for dealing with receipts, files etc., which should be strictly enforced;

3. Notings at levels lower than that of Under Secretary should be avoided, particularly in Ministries/Departments whichdeal with grant of licence or permits of various kinds; and>

4. Levels at which substantive decisions could be taken should be prescribed and any attempt to involve as many as possible should be discouraged and dealt with severely, if found to be persisted in.

With regard to the second cause, the Committee recommended that each Ministry/Department should undertake a review of the regulatory functions which are its responsibility, with a view to see whether all of them are strictly necessary and whether the manner of discharge of these functions and of the exercise of powers of control are capable of improvement.

With regard to the third cause, the Committee recommended that adequate methods of control should be devised over exercise of discretion. The right to act according to discretion does not mean right to act arbitrarily. The fairness of the method by which the discretionary decision was arrived at may certainly be looked into.

With regard to the fourth cause, the Committee recommended that citizens should be educated properly with regard to the procedures of dealing with various matters and they should also be provided with an easy access to administration at various level without the need for the intervention of touts and intermediaries.

Some of the other important preventive measures recommended by the Committee are:-

1. Only those whose integrity is above board should be appointed to high administrative positions;

2. In making selections from non-gazetted to gazetted rank for the first time, all those whose integrity is doubtful should be eliminated;

3. Every officer who sponsors a name for promotion should be required to record a certificate that he is satisfied that the government servant recommended by him is a man of integrity;

4. An essential condition for grant of extension/re-employment should be that the person concerned has a good reputation for integrity;

5. In every Ministry/Department, there should be a proper agency which a person with a genuine complaint can approach for redress. Bonafide complainants should be protected from harassment or victimisation;

6. All visitors to offices dealing with licences/permits should enter their names and purpose of their visits in a register to be kept at the Reception Office; and

7. Steps should be taken to prevent sale of information. Information not treated as secret should be made freely available to the public.

Organizations define conduct rules to secure good conduct by its employees. Misdeeds and misbehaviour by individuals are curbed at the organizational level, by identifying specific acts as misconduct and taking disciplinary action and awarding punishments including dismissal from service.

What is misconduct and how action is taken against the same at the work center? What are crimes and how crime prevention work is conducted in the country and by whom? These we will study in the coming chapters.