International Watchdog Says India Ranks High On List Of Corrupt Countries

November 18, 2009 7:22 a.m. EST

New Delhi, India (AHN) - In a corruption report by an international watchdog, India has ranked as one of the most corrupt countries two years in a row. The Corruption Perception Index, 2009, by Transparency International ranked India as 84th in the corruption index.

However, according to Transparency International India officials, what matters most were the integrity score and with 3.4, India scored quite dismally there too.

Anupama Jha, from Transparency International, India says, "India's integrity score is below average. Countries who have scored below 5 are highly corrupt. We only look at the public sector and the political sphere and the results just indicate how our public officials and politicians are perceived all over the world."

Jha points out that India has retained its score from last year. "Just goes to show that as a nation we have not improved. Despite last year's score, the government has done nothing on anti-corruption issues. The government didn't take cognizance of the report," Jha says.

"Our report is perceived as a benchmark for investing in a country and such a score will reflect adversely on the trade and investment scenario of our country. It will dissuade investors." Jha warns.

The report looked at 180 countries and recommended that tax havens like Switzerland and Liechtenstein should be more transparent with their banking laws.

"Corrupt money must not find safe haven. It is time to put an end to secrecy in banking laws," said the Berlin-based group's head Huguette Labelle.

India has shown a slight improvement from 2004 when it had returned an integrity score of 2.8.