Anti Bribery and Corruption (ABC), Laws and Reforms-An Indian Perspective

Bribery and corruption continue to pose a significant challenge in India. Corruption in India is a major issue that adversely affects its economy. Bribery and corruption have a significant adverse effect on the social and economic development of the communities in large democracies such as India. Currently there are no legal provisions to check graft in Indian private sector. Meanwhile Government has proposed many amendments in existing acts and certain new bills for checking corruption in private sector but only big-ticket corruption is mainly witnessed in the operations of large commercial or corporate entities. In order to prevent bribery on supply side, it is proposed that key managerial personnel of companies ’and also the company shall be held liable for offering bribes to gain undue benefits. Moreover, there is strong public antipathy to Bribery and Corruption and this provides a window for the Government authority, Civil Society and the media to create an environment and engage ordinary citizens to fight against growing threat of corruption. Therefore, in this paper, we outlinethe current Anti-Bribery and Corruption (“ABC”) legal framework in India and, highlight where more action is needed by the Government, especially to understand threat of corruption in key sectors.