Social Issues - II

Corruption

 Corruption is the misuse of public power and
resources for private gain.
 Examples of public resources: Money, goods, vehicles,
buildings, Pension funds and medical aid funds etc.
 Types of corruption
 1. Petty Corruption - Traffic rules
 2. Grand Corruption
 Petty Corruption means the corruption which is
done on the small scale or on the low-level.
 Grand Corruption means the corruption which is
done in the big scale or in the high level.
 Grand Corruption is further categorized as:
 Political Corruption: To win the election, some political
leaders try to lure the voters by offering them wine, wealth
and others types of direct or indirect benefits. Example:
kidnapping, murder (Mr. Shanmughan Manjunath’s
murder), violence, injustice etc.
 Administrative Corruption When officers like IAS and IPS,
clerks, peons, etc. are involved, its called administrative
corruption. Example: Officers and/or clerks of govt. offices
demand money from public even to do their legal tasks.
 Professional Corruption: It includes duplicating things,
mixture in eatables things and in petrol etc
Causes of corruption

 Lack of effective leadership
 Lack of public support
 Lack of proper system
 Donation in the educational institutions
 Lack of autonomy
 Lack of effective management
 Consequences of corruption

 Greed of money , desires etc
 Authority and power in wrong hands
 Social issues : Poverty
 Rise in terrorism and crimes
 Psychological and social disorders
 Corruption

 Impact
 Disciplinary action
 Criminal charges
 Loss of reputation
 Lack of confidence
 Lack of justice
 Unemployment
 Maintains poor standard of living
 Prevention

 Public interest
 Honest bureaucrats
 Honest media
 Autonomous investigating agencies
 Effective and regular vigilance
 Transparency in the system
 Dedicated, courageous, intelligent and honest leaders
 The Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI) is an Act of the Parliament
of India. Important provisions of RTI Act 2005:
 Ask any questions from the Government or seek any information
 Take copies of any government documents
 Inspect any government documents or works.
 Take samples of materials of any Government work.
 Laws

The Indian Penal Code (IPC):
Section 405 of IPC: Criminal Breach of Trust.
Section 409 of IPC: Criminal breach of trust by
public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent.
Section 161 to 165 of IPC: Repealed and replaced
by Sections 7 to 11
 Lokpal Bill
 Anti-corruption Movement initiated by
Anna Hazare

 Satyagraha (Fasting for a Nobel cause)
movement to pass anti-corruption Lokpal
bill in the Indian Parliament.
 He started hunger strike when the
demand was rejected by Indian
government.
 The movement attracted attention in the
media, millions of supporters inside and
outside of India.
 People showed support through social
media such as Twitter and Facebook.
Online Signature Campaigns like avaaz
got more than 10 lakh signatures in just 36
hours.
 This led Government to seriously consider
the introduction of Lokpal bill in
parliament
UN – Goal 16 – 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development –
calling on states to
‘substantially reduce corruption
and bribery in all their forms.’
 Electoral malpractices

 The future of democracy and the destiny of our
country lie in the way we elect our political leaders.
 If democracy is to be accepted as the form of
Government “of the people, for the people, by the
people”,
 it will only be possible when the electorates are given
freehand to exercise their voting rights without
coercion.
 Most Wanted

 Money
 Use of Money Power starts right from the distribution of tickets by the
political parties.
 Most political parties will ignore the personal qualities of prospective
candidates.
 Importance is given to candidates who can contribute maximum
(Money) to the party corpus and who has fat bank balance to purchase
votes.
 The impact of money on election is so great that one cannot dream of
becoming a political leader unless he has adequate funds to purchase
votes to win elections.
 Political parties in their struggle to capture power ignore public
morality
 Political parties encourage party candidates in using money power
and even allocate party funds to candidates.
 Most Wanted

 Power
 Use of muscle power in elections has become one of
the biggest challenges.
 Muscle power dictates selection of candidates and
party, forcing people against voting freely.
 Use of muscle power is rampant in the form of heavy
monetary demands to candidates, imposing ban on
filing nominations, ban on election campaigns, and
even forcing people whom to vote for or not to vote.
 Many candidates are capitalizing the deteriorating law
and order to their advantage to win elections
 Most Wanted

 Media
 Media is supposed to play neutral role in a democratic
society
 It is more so in democratic elections where media reporting,
publication of political views, projection of the party and
candidates images have direct impact on the voting pattern
in any election.
 Favoritism
 wrong projection of images of party/candidates partisan
views are tantamount to sabotaging democratic principles
 Misquoting, misreporting, publication of misleading news
and views are some of the malpractices committed by
media persons
 White Collar Crimes

 Crimes that are invisible
 Not easy to detect
 List some : Financial frauds , misuse of power and authority for
material gain, consumer exploitation of trade, corporate evasion
of trade, falsification of records etc
 The term “White Collar” implies that these crimes are
committed by Government officials or business executives who
are outward respectable.
 Not much attention from public when telecasted by Media
 Less emotional part from the public
 Those respectable person are part of the wide and invisible
social network.
 Tax evasions

 Tax evasion is the illegal evasion of taxes by individuals
 An illegal practice where a person, organization or corporation
intentionally avoids paying his/her/its true tax liability. Those
caught evading taxes are generally subject to criminal charges
and substantial penalties.
 Reasons for Tax Evasion
 Weak Surveillance System
 Rampant Corruption in Tax Department
 Complicated Tax Laws and Filing Mechanism
 Tax Deductions offering loopholes to Tax Evaders
 Absence of Social security system
 Tax rates are too high
 Lack of Transparency in Government Expenditure
 Tax Evasion - Reasons

 Reasons for Tax Evasion
 Weak Surveillance System
 Rampant Corruption in Tax Department
 Complicated Tax Laws and Filing Mechanism
 Tax Deductions offering loopholes to Tax Evaders
 Absence of Social security system
 Tax rates are too high
 Lack of Transparency in Government Expenditure
 Unfair trade practices

 Unfair trade practices are commonly seen in the purchase
of goods and services by consumers , insurance claim and
debt collection.
 Fraudulent
 False labelling
 Business Misrepresentation
 Unfair business practices
 Example
 Big Bazaar
 Unitech
 SpiceJet
 Law

 Consume Protection Act 1986 – social welfare
legislation
 To protect consumer rights
 To redress consumer complaints and resolve
consumer disputes
 Every individual is a consumer of goods and services
and expects a fair deal against unfair exploitation
 Principle of social justice
Bajaj
 Physical protection /safety vs
Pepsico
 Avoid

 Misleading the customers about price, quality and
value.
 Avoid making false claims about products or
services
 Avoid using unfair business tactics
 Illegal selling methods