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India Study Group briefing on Corruption and Cronyism

21 February 2015

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Corruption is one of the defining issues of Indian politics today. The Aam Aadmi Party, which was founded on an anti-corruption platform, has just won the Delhi elections with a landslide. Mega-scams are widely held to have led to the Congress party’s defeat in the 2014 national elections. And street corner discussions across the country begin and end with bitter denunciations of the venality, cronyism and mendacity of the Indian political elite.

But what are the institutional roots of corruption in India? Why is corruption so widespread and what are its basic forms? Most importantly, is the space for corruption in India increasing or decreasing?

The India Study Group’s latest Thematic Briefing explores these questions. We find that, while the forms of corruption are multiple, the roots are few.

We also find that today those root problems are not being addressed - instead, they are being made worse.

Coordinated by a group of eminent consulting editors and overseen by Dr. Subir Sinha at the School of Oriental and African Studies, the India Study Group is a collaboration of professionals from diverse fields: journalism, law, civil society, and the corporate world. We provide concise briefings based on detailed, on the ground, rooted analysis.

We were formed to explore questions that aren’t usually asked. We hope we can help you get past the cliches and shed light on the new India.

Follow us on twitter @indiastudygroup.

Thematic Briefing - February 2015: The Deepening Roots of Corruption and Cronyism