Investigating Corruption in India

CORRUPTION IN INDIA
Akshata, Liora, Meghan, Pragya, Renzo, Xintong

BACKGROUND
In 2012, Transparency International's
Corruption Perceptions Index ranked
India 94th out of 176 countries, and
gave it a score of 36 out of 100 (0
indicating highly corrupt and 100
indicating very clean).

Corruption in India is rampant and systemic.
According to India Today, in 2012-13, bribes
paid by adult urban Indians amounted to a loss
of 6.3% of India’s total GDP. The amount of
money invested in bribes outnumbered income
tax revenues by 320%, the defense budget by
353%, health expenditure by 2,151%, education
expenditure by 942% and food subsidy by
741%. Instead of going into corrupt pockets, this
money could have been invested in developing
welfare and facilitating growth.

The average Indian citizen will most likely
encounter bribery in a basic routine setting,
such as public services. The process of getting
a driving license is a common example. It is
both heavy in bureaucracy and low in auditing,
thereby creating opportunities for shortcuts
through bribery and middlemen. The option of
bypassing the standard qualification procedures
with bribery can lead to unsafe drivers obtaining
licenses and taking to the roads. In a 2006 study
on driving licensing in India, 69% of participants
that successfully obtained licenses failed an
independent driving test shortly after becoming
certified.
Incidentally, in 2010 the World Health
Organization’s Global Status Report on Road
Safety revealed that India has the highest rate of
road traffic accidents in the world.

Origins of Corruption
British Raj
While India gained its independence in 1947,
the origins of corruption can be “traced back to
the country’s colonial past,” reports the Council
on Foreign Affairs. During this period, called the
British Raj, Indians were excluded from political
participation and the British colonizers organized
the political system.
License Raj
From independence onward until 1991, strict
economic regulations were put into place to
help India develop domestically. However,
these regulations made it difficult to conduct
business. According to the Council on Foreign
Relations, “the 1951 Industries Act, required all
new industrial operations to apply for business
licenses from the central government. The
policy limited foreign investment and stifled
competition, and bribery became part and parcel
to doing business.”
Today
After the License Raj economic policies were
loosened, but government control over
administrative functions has not been limited.

The amount of government control over services
and functions has, in part, led to the level of
corruption in modern India.
Impact
According to a survey by Transparency
International, political parties are seen as most
corrupt, followed by the police, parliament and
legislature and public servants who were tied for
third place.
“Interestingly, a large number of the respondents
believe that corruption is a two-way street and
people who pay bribes are as much to blame for
the current environment as those accepting such
payments,” found a KPMG 2011 survey.
Opinions
“The basic cause is that the government is
not designed for accountability and delivering
services to its citizens. This is a larger problem,
which can be resolved if adequate effort is
made to streamline administrative processes.” –
Shailesh Ghandi, Indian Express
“Our fundamental rules in governance, Police,
Co-operative and other welfare societies, etc.
are still based on 1860 Act as amended but not
implemented.” - Prem Sabhlok’s blog
“Harassment bribery is widespread in India and
it plays a large role in breeding inefficiency and
has a corrosive effect on civil society. The central
message…is that we should declare the act of
giving a bribe in all such cases as legitimate
activity. In other words the giver of a harassment
bribe should have full immunity from any
punitive action by the state. It is argued that
this will cause a sharp decline in the incidence
of bribery. The reasoning is that once the law is
altered in this manner, after the act of bribery
is committed, the interests of the bribe giver
and the bribe taker will be at divergence. The
bribe giver will be willing to cooperate in getting
the bribe taker caught. Knowing that this will
happen, the bribe taker will be deterred from
taking a bribe.” Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic
Adviser, Ministry of Finance

LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS
Many attempts have been made to adress the
problem of corruption in India, from legislation
to government institutions responsible for
implementing anti-corruption policies to civil
society initiatives. However, they have not
created enough deterrants from the route of
bribery, enough incentives towards the route
of honesty and enough awareness about
unintended consequences on the every day life
of the average Indian citizen.

Landscape Analysis and Status Quo
The Legal Framework
1. 1860 Indian Penal Code
2. 1961 Prosecution section of Income Tax Act
3. 1988 Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act to
prohibit Benami transactions.
4. 1988 Prevention of Corruption
5. 2002 Prevention of Money Laundering Act
(amended in2005)
6. 2005 Right to Information (RTI) Act
7. Public Interest Disclosure Resolution (PIDR)
authorized the Central Vigilance Commission
(CVC) to be the ‘Designated Agency’ to receive
written complaints for disclosure on any
allegation of corruption or misuse of office and
to recommend appropriate action.
8. Corrupt Public Servants Bill, the Lok Pal Bill
(2011), the Whistle blowers Protection Bill (2011)
and the Judge Inquiry Bill, and the Election
Commission’s recommendation to debar
candidates with a criminal background from
parliamentary or State Assembly elections have
been held up for years, according to The Global
Integrity Report.
The Institutional Framework
There are various bodies in place for
implementing anticorruption policies and raising
awareness on corruption issues. At the federal
level, key institutions include: the Supreme
Court, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC),
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the
Office of the Controller & Auditor General
(C&AG), and the Chief Information Commission
(CIC), and E-governce. At the State level, local
anti-corruption bureaus have been set up,
for example, the Anti-corruption Bureau of
Maharashtra.
Civil Society Initiatives
• Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)
MKSS is a small NGO formed in the 1990s that
seeks place citizens and their associations
directly into oversight of government functions.
The organization pioneered a method for the
participatory audit of local spending in rural
Rajasthan.

• Transparency International India is the Indian
Chapter of Transparency International. TI India
promotes transparent practices in government,
raises awareness among citizens and partners
with civil society groups working towards similar
goals.
• The Centre for Media Studies (CMS) is a nonprofit, multi-disciplinary development research
agency which has undertaken corruption
tracking surveys since 2000. Its transparency
studies unit publishes a quarterly magazine that
compiles research on selected issues relevant
for public accountability and transparency. It has
published in collaboration with TI India the 2005
and 2007 India Corruption Studies.
• Parivartan was established in 2000 as an
attempt to expose corruption within the Income
Tax Department in New Delhi. The movement
now focuses on using the RIA Act to promote
transparency and accountability in public
services.
• The Bharat Swabhiman Trust, established by
well-known figure, Yog Guru Swami Ramdev, has
run a large campaign against black money and
corruption over the last ten years.
• 5th Pillar is most known for the creation of the
zero rupee note, a valueless note designed to
be given to corrupt officials when they request
bribes.
• India Against Corruption (IAC) is a collective
People’s Movement whose aim is “to ensure
a corruption free India” by enacting the Jan
Lokpal Bill. The movement is apolitical, but has
resulted in the evolution of a political party, the
Aam Aadmi Party, which is currently headed by
Arvind Kejriwal, a prominent supporter of the
IAC campaign.
• Jaago Re! One Billion Votes is an organization
originally founded by Tata Tea and Janaagraha
to increase youth voter registration. They have
since expanded their work to include other
social issues, including corruption.
• Association for Social Transparency, Rights and
Action (ASTRA) is an NGO focused on grass-roots
work to fight corruption in Karnataka.

• The Lok Satta Movement has transformed itself
from a civil organization to a full-fledged political
party, the Lok Satta Party. The party has fielded
candidates in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
and Bangalore. In 2009, the party obtained its
first elected post, when Jayaprakash Narayan
won the election for the Kukatpally Assembly
Constituency in Andhra Pradesh.
• Ipaidabribe.com provides a public platform,
through a website and a mobile application, that
allows Indians to post their experiences with
bribery. The types of bribery on the site fall four
distinct categories: I Paid a Bribe (which captures
incidences of bribery), I Am a Bribe Fighter
(which gives examples of experiences where
people resisted bribery), I Met an Honest Officer
(which recognizes honest officers) and I Do Not
Want to Pay a Bribe (which educates Indians how
to avoid paying bribes).

Landscape Analysis and Status Quo:
Road Safety
The Legal Framework
• Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
• The National Road Safety and Traffic
Management Board Bill, 2010. Currently pending
• Amendment to the Motor Vehicle Act, 2012, to
increase penalties for traffic violations. Approved
by the Rajya Sabha but still pending before the
Lok Sabha
The Institutional Framework
The Department of Road Transport and
Highways is the apex body for formulation and
administration of the rules, regulations and laws
relating to road transport, national highways
and transport research. In 2005 the Department
constituted a Committee on Road Safety and
Traffic Management to conduct research
towards identifying policies and interventions
that are necessary for promoting road safety.
The committee published a report in 2007
recommending the establishment of a National
Road Safety Agency. However, according to
the WHO there is still no national road safety
strategy that is formally endorsed by the Indian
government. In 2013 the Transport Ministry
announced it is considering creating a National
Road Safety and Traffic Management Board.

Civil Society Initiatives
• ArriveSafe is an NGO working on developing
road safety programs with an aim to standardize
learning and testing procedures for prospective
drivers.
• Road Safe India is an initiative to create
collaboration between individuals, corporations,
public health bodies, motoring organizations,
government agencies and NGOs in spreading
awareness and creating training programs
towards increasing road safety in India.
• The Institute for Road Traffic Education is an
NGO involved in research initiatives into driver
training and assessment, crash investigation,
traffic management, public health for road
safety, traffic engineering, road safety education
and innovation. It is a member of the United
Nations Road Safety Collaboration and the
Commission for Global Road Safety, and is
promoting the implementation of a five pillar
action plan to improve road safety in India.
• Community Against Drunk Driving is an NGO
focusing on drunk driving prevention.

HOW MONEY & POWER REINFORCE
CORRUPTION
BEHAVIORAL
FEEDBACK LOOP

Refusal
to pay bribe
Bureaucrats
take advantage
of their position
Unequal
power

Bribes are
exchanged

Culture
of
Money = Power

Take the
legal route

Task gets
accomplished
Reinforces belief
that bribing is
increases

Underdevelopment
continues

Bribes are
cheaper & more
convenient
Taxes are paid

High
&
Complicated
taxes

Government

Infrastructure

Less taxes paid,
more black money
Reduction in
public welfare funds

RELATIONSHIP MAP
Key
Corruption
Causes
Consequences
Power
Taxes
Transparency

Government

PSEs, Civil Services

Judicial System
Police, Courts

Civil Society

People & Institutions
*lar
larg ge sca
e po le du
pul
atio e to
n

to
ue
ed
cal ation
s
ul
rge
*la e pop
arg
l

POWER

Media

Print, Digital, Broadcast

Business Corporations

Civil Society

People & Institutions

TAXES

to
due
ale tion
sc la
u
rge
*la e pop
g
lar

Government
Public Sector, IAS

Judicial System
Police, Courts

Media

Print, Digital, Broadcast

Business Corporations

RELATIVE TRANSPARENCY IN CORRUPTION
OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS

CIVIL
SOCIETY

MEDIA

BUSINESS
JUDICIAL SYSTEM
GOVERNMENT

KEY
LEAST TRANSPARENT

MORE TRANSPARENT

WHAT WE LEARNED
By mapping the system of corruption we

to interview anyone involved in this process

learned that the epidemic is incredibly

due to the highly confidential nature of how

widespread and corruption occurs in many

business and government operate in India.

forms, whether it be bribery, fraud or

We narrowed the scope of our problem to

cronyism, on a daily basis in India. Because

a specific instance of corruption that occurs

the scope of the problem is so large, we

daily and the average Indian citizen could

decided to look at a specific transaction

talk about – the process of getting a drivers

where corruption occurs.

license.

To start, we researched how government

To glean insights, it was important to map

and private corporations interact. Some of

the actions, insights and motivations of

the largest corruption scandals occur when

three key players in the system: the license

government gives contracts to unqualified

applicant, the government bureaucrat

businesses. The tendering process

and the tout. By mapping this instance of

appeared to be a huge leverage point,

corruption, we were able to understand

but the more we researched the problem,

where money flows, how time is impacted

we were unable to map the interactions

and what various options there are at each

because transparent information about the

stage of the process.

system does not exist. We were also unable

USER JOURNEY MAP
STUDENT

KEY

NEEDS & MOTIVATIONS:

TOUT
STUDENT

-

Wants freedom and independence
Would rather choose an easier and
faster route
Will likely have to pay a bribe in the
process
Everyone else pays bribes

RTA OFFICIAL

+

LESS TIME IS TAKEN
QUICKENING THE PROCESS
CAUSING MORE TIME
DELAYING PROCESS

Wants a Driving License

GOES TO DRIVING
SCHOOL

+

FINDS OUT A RESOURCE
FOR GETTING LICENSE
WITHOUT GOING
THROUGH RTA

LEARNS TO DRIVE

CONTACTS THIS PERSON

GETS INFO- DOCS.
NEEEDED

APPLIES FOR
LICENSE

PAYS BRIBE
WAITS FOR
APPOINTMENT
AT RTA (QUEUE)

PAYS BRIBE
(TO DRIVING SCHOOL/RTA)

DOES NOT GET
APPOINTMENT
GETS LICENSE
Frustration

GOES TO RTA AND
GETS A LICENSE

GETS
APPOINTMENT
TAKES
TEST

FAILS

PASSES

PAYS RTA & GETS
LICENSE (FEE)

+

+MONEY TO

PAYS BRIBE

RECIEVE LICENSE
RS500+RS1200
(BRIBE+FEE)

GETS
LICENSE

TOUT
Make a low salary
Must support family
Wouldn't mind quick extra money
Uses time to gain money
Time = money
Works hard

FACILITATES THE LICENSE PROCESS

CUSTOMER INQUIRES

CUSTOMER TAKES
LEGAL ROUTE

-

CUSTOMER TAKES
ILLEGAL ROUTE

THROUGH
DRIVING
SCHOOL

GIVES CLASSES

FASCILITATES
APPLICATION
FOR LICENSE

THROUGH
RTA

MAKES CONTACT
WITH RTA CLERK

PAYS BRIBE

GIVES LICENSE
RECIEVES
BRIBE

HELPS LEARNER
OR LICENSE WITH
FAKE TEST

KEY
TOUT
STUDENT

-

RTA OFFICIAL

+

LESS TIME IS TAKEN
QUICKENING THE PROCESS
CAUSING MORE TIME
DELAYING PROCESS

RTA OFFICIAL

CLERKS

INSPECTORS

Has job security
Makes a low salary
Bribes help to support family
Job gives a sense of power and status
Facilitates government functions
Job security leads to a lack of motivation
Must keep superiors happy

ISSUES DRIVING LICENSE

A LARGE NUMBER OF
APPLICATIONS
RECEIVED

+

APPLICATIONS
THAT HAVE BEEN
PAID FOR

PROCESSED
FASTER

-

GETS CONTACTED BY
TOUTS

RECEIVES
BRIBE
APPLICATIONS THAT
ARE NOT PAID FOR

LOW CLEARANCE
PRIORITY

+

RECEIVES PAID
APPLICATION

CLEARS APPLICATIONS
& ISSUES LICENSES

HANDS IT TO THE TOUT

PROBLEM
Although most of Indians know the

Since the quality of the potential driver is

importance of getting a driving license, it is

not guaranteed due to bribery and dodging

a common practice to pay bribes to obtain

of standard testing, road safety cannot be

a driving license. Why? Because obtaining

ensured. As a group, we realized that the

a license is time consuming, and the process

bribes are small and petty, and of course

nearly guarantees that a bribe will be paid

corrosive in their own way, but the real

to an RTA officer or a tout during the

problem is that unskilled drivers are getting

process. As a result, many Indians choose

on the road and their reckless driving has

to pay a bribe early on during the licensing

caused India to become the country with the

process to save time and money.

most automobile accidents.

THEORY OF CHANGE

System for
Qualifying Drivers

Applying standards

Harsh
Punishments
for disobeying

Updated
curriculum

Transparency

Convenience
for user

Accountability

E-governance

Responsibility of
license holder
Redesigning
the license

Responsibility of
inspector

Responsibility of
driving school

Person who approves license held accountable
in instances where lives are lost

Creating campaigns for
awareness -consequences

Strong
Legal System

Maintaining
standards

Check
skills & knowledge
every few years

Expiration of license

No other route

Transparency

Accountability

OUR LEVERAGE POINT
There are lots of stakeholders in this driving
license corruption process. We’ve identified
the main stakeholders: ordinary citizens, RTA
officials, touts, driving schools and the police.
To have an impactful leverage point, we wanted
to identify a place where all of the stakeholders
had interest or ownership. We realized that the
small details and basic deliverables could have
an extraordinary affect on people’s normal daily
life. We decided to redesign the driving license
in India as a vehicle to impact accountability and
unintended consequences.
To create accountability and link unintended
consequences to hazardous outcomes, certain
features are required of our license redesign.
To enforce accountability for the driving school
or driving teacher, whether a friend or relative,
the driving teacher or school’s name and their
ID number will be included on the license.
The license will also include a public service
announcement element to remind people that
driving without the proper skills can result in
fatal accidents.

INSIGHTS & MOTIVATIONS
As seen in our Theory of Change map, our
ultimate goal is to reduce the number of
unqualified drivers on the road. To create a
better system for drivers, we needed to take into
consideration the motivations for why people
choose to pay a bribe when acquiring their
license, as it relates back to our ultimate goal of
reducing deaths caused by unqualified drivers.
We found two motivations for drivers who pay
bribes. One type of driver is truly unqualified.
He doesn’t know how to drive and would not be
able to pass the test. He is motivated to get a
license and get on the road, but doesn’t want the
embarrassment or hassle of going through the
proper channels.
The other type of driver realizes that bribery is
likely to occur during the process of obtaining a
license. Because of the system, there are many
points where bribes may need to be paid. Due
to the bureaucratic system, this driver knows
that the earlier in the process she pays a bribe,
the less time and money she will lose by trying
to acquire a license in an honest way.

TOWARDS OUR SOLUTION
As we narrowed the scope of the problem, we
identified a clear leverage point – reducing the
number of unqualified drivers on the road.
In order to design a solution, our approach
needed to include a system for accountability.
We also wanted to include an awareness
campaign to link behaviors to consequences.
Issuing people licenses without having
appropriate driving skills becomes far removed
from the serious accidents that occur down
the line, so we wanted to make a connection
between the initial action and the potential
consequence.
After assessing various ideas, we decided
to redesign the drivers’ license for both
accountability and as a reminder of the
consequences of driving without proper skills.

Accountability
Currently, the Indian drivers’ license lists
various personal information, (and for women,
their fathers’ name) but we have found that
critical information needed to create a system
of accountability is missing. Our redesign
will require information about how the driver
learned to drive and will also list the government
bureaucrat who issues the driving test and
passes the driver. Our design intends to hold
people accountable for issuing licenses without
properly testing drivers.
There are various ways this redesign element
could change the system. For example, just
knowing that there is a system of accountability
should theoretically reduce the number of
people who are able to pass the driving test
without the proper skills. However, this system

Title

License N.O.

Name
Photo

Son of/ Wife of/
Daughter of
Date of Birth

Holder’s Signature
Issuing Authority

Address

Date of Issue
Date of Expiration

EXISTING INDIAN DRIVER’S LICENSE

could be adopted by police, who could take note
of the driving school and government driving
test issuer while writing a ticket and report after
a serious accident. If a bureaucrat or driving
school is found to have an excessive number of
crashes with fatalities, they could lose their job
or license to operate a driving school.

IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

Reminder of Consequences
Currently, the back of the Indian drivers’ license
is blank. We plan to use the back of the license
as a public service reminder to remind people
that driving without the proper skills can lead to
serious accidents and death. This is simple and
straightforward idea that will reinforce the idea
of personal responsibility.
Documents Are a Source of Identity
& Accountability
Since we identified accountability in our theory
of change map, we needed a way to help enforce
accountability with tools that already exist.
Government documents are tools of identity.
When you receive a passport, a marriage license
or a birth certificate, it’s a rite of passage. The
same feeling of pride is also felt when you
receive your license for the first time. It’s a
means of identity.
These documents from the government also
serve as a form of accountability. A driver’s
license lists personal information, and in theory,
ensures you know how to drive. It’s a form of
trust and credibility.
Because a license represents identity and
accountability, it’s a vehicle that can drive
change. In our project, the license is our

EXISTING INDIAN DRIVER’S LICENSES

SURVEY & RESULTS
1. Gender
2. Age:
3. How did you learn to drive?
- Learned by yourself
- Learned from friends
- Learned from parents
- Learned from a driving school
- Other
4. How old were you when you first received
your first license?
5. How did you obtain your driving license?
- Driving school
- RTA
- Other (if other, please explain)
6. Did you take a driving test in oder to receive
your license?
7. Did you pay a bribe for obtaining your license?
- Yes
- No
8. If yes, how much did you pay in bribes?
9. Where do you keep your driving license? (i.e.
in the car, at home, etc.)
10. When do you carry your license?
- All the time
- Only when I’m driving
- When I remember
- Never
11. Do you carry your driving license with your
other I.D’s?
- Yes
- No
- Sometimes
12. Do you have a strong opinion about your
driving license being encrypted with GPS tracking
technology? If so, please share your thoughts:

We conducted a web based survey composed of
10 questions about the process of acquiring a
driving license, attitudes about new technology
and privacy. We used our group’s connections
to reach an audience in India. Out of 62
respondants. 64.52% were male, 35.48% were
female. 64.52% of respondents were aged 2129. 42.62% learned to drive at a driving school,
26.33% learned from parents, 13.11% taught
themselves and 9.84% learned from friends.
75% obtained their driving licenses through an
RTA official, while 18.33% received their license
directly through a driving school. 75.81% claimed
say they had not paid a bribe when obtaining
their license. Those who did pay a bribe paid
between 200 – 3000 Rupees. 93.22% carried
their licenses with them at all times. 75.81%
also carried other IDs with it. Many respondants
expressed concern over the use of digital
tracking and violation of privacy.
Insights:
Comparing the experiences of our Indian group
members with the survey respondants, we
see that many people are involved in bribery
while obtaining a driver’s license - however
many may not realize the money they are
paying constitutes as bribery. This enforced our
assumption about how common and accepted
everyday bribery in driving qualification in India
is. The ability to ‘learn’ driving through personal
sources combined with the ability to obtain the
document through simple bribery, suggests that
corruption culture has a consequence of legally
permitting unqualified drivers to take to the
roads.
We did see that people treat their licenses
as important documents and this presents
an opportunity to add more information and
increase accountability. Also, we took note of
people’s issues with technological tracking and
privacy.

A LICENSE CAN DRIVE CHANGE

OUR PROCESS
What do we need to create accountability?
1. Information for the driving school, the guarantor and the RTA officer
2. A link to show the consequences of issuing license to those who don’t know
how to drive and bribery.
What other information is important in a license?
1. Vehicle type
2. Blood type
3. Emergency contact
4. Driving restrictions
5. Information that can be used as personal identification
6. Whether or not a driver has learned driving from a driving school or through
personal channels
What kind of techniques can we use to communicate?
1. We can change the orientation of the license to communicate where the
driver has learned to drive, which can been seen at first glance. This also
creates two different hierarchies for the license, which will encourage people
to use driving schools.
2. We can also use modern technology, like the QR code, for easy access to
relevant information.

IMPORTANT IDEAS
Important excerpts from explorations:
1. ORIENTATION:
The orientation of the license indicates where
the person has learned to drive. A vertical
license indicates a person has not learned at
a driving school, whereas a horizontal license
indicates a person learned to drive through a
licensed driving school.
2. ACCOUNTABILITY:
• To create accountability, we are incorporating
various information for driving guarantors
and business schools. For driving guarantors,
an ID number and signature will be required.
For driving schools, the business ID number
and official stamp of the driving school will be
required.
• As government officials are also held
accountable, the employee that administers
the driving test will have his or her name, office
location and stamp displayed on the license.
3. QR Code:
• When scanned, the QR Code will display further
information about the license holder and people
responsible for administering the license.
• The record of the driving school and its
students will be displayed. As a next step, we
will create a grading or point system for driving
schools that ranks the success of their drivers,
and driving school will need to have a particular
grade or points in order to keep their business
license.
• The RTA office location where the license was
granted will also be displayed. The information
from this office will include the frequency of
traffic violations of license holders who have use
their license from that specific office.

4. TRANSPARENCY:
• The record of the driving school will be
transparent so that potential drivers’ decisions
about choosing a qualified school can be based
on quantitative data.
5. AWARENESS:
• Linking unintended consequences to the
process of paying bribes when receiving a
driving license is a challenge. To create a sense
of personal responsibility for knowing how
to drive properly, we are creating a campaign
on the back of the license, which will be a
personalized newspaper headline and photo
that describes the consequence of an auto
accident. By personalizing the scenario and
requiring a signature below the campaign, the
goal is to create personal responsibility.
6. OTHER INFORMATION:
• Emergency Contact Number
• Date of Expiry

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when their car rammed ��
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The driver, who was
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critically injured and are
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Three people
2 other passengers were

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critically injured and are
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when their car rammed ��
undergoing��
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The accident took place at
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HORIZONTAL LICENSE FOR PEOPLE WHO LEARN DRIVING FROM A DRIVING ��
�� SCHOOL
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VERTICAL LICENSE FOR �� WHO DO ��
PEOPLE �� TO��
NOT GO �� A DRIVING SCHOOL
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THE SOLUTION MAP

SOLUTION MAP

CORRUPTION IN DRIVING LICENSES IN INDIA

Accountability
Government

IDENTITY

Driving school

Form of personal ID

Other citizens who take resposibility

Driving records accessible &
comparable

further info of driving
teacher/driving school

Horizontal and vertical layout quickly
identiÞed people who went to
driving school and those who didn't

Akshata, Liora, Meghan, Pragya, Renzo, Xintong

The accident took
9.30 am. Probe re
that it was raining

2 other passenger
critically injured
undergoing treatm
hospital.

Linking unintended consequences
to the process of bribery
Personalizing the scenario
as [DRIVER'S NAM E]

[DRIVER'S NAME]

Transparency

Awareness

Three people were killed
on Saturday morning
when their car rammed
into a bus.
The driver, who was

Killed in Accident

Medical records (QR code
is password protected)

SCENARIO MAP

KAVITA SIGNS THE LICENSE ID & IS
AWARE OF THE CONSEQUENCES

Refusal
to pay bribe

Bureaucrats

KAVITA
HAS ACCIDENT. TWO PEOPLE IN THE
OTHER CAR GET INJURED
POLICEMAN SCANS THE INJURED
PEOPLEÕS LICENSE + SCANS KAVITAÕS
LICENSE
HER DRIVING
RECORD IS
ACCESSED

HER DRIVING
SCHOOLS RECORD IS
ACCESSED

HER RTA OFFICES
RECORD IS
ACCESSED
INNOCENT

NOTES ARE MADE ON HER
DRIVING RECORD

GUILTY
KAVITA

THE POLICE OFFICER TAKES HER
LICENSE & ISSUES HER COURT DATE

KAVITA GOES TO COURT AND A
JUDGE DETERMINES HER GUILT
OR INNOCENCE

HAS POINTS PUT ON
HER LICENSE
(IF NOT FIRST
OFFENSE THERE
MAY BE OTHER
CONSEQUENCES)

DRIVING SCHOOL

RTA

POINTS GETS ADDED

IF THE DRIVING SCHOOL'S
OVERALL RECORD IS
GOOD, POINTS ARE
ADDED TO THEIR RECORD
AND THEIR REPUTATION
Infrastructure
IS IMPACTED

IF RECORD IS
BAD SCHOOL IS
SHUT DOWN

IF THE DRIVING SCHOOL'S
OVERALL RECORD IS BAD,
THEY ARE LIKELY TO BE
SHUT DOWN IF A CERTAINReduction in
public welfare funds
NUMBER OF POINTS ARE
ACCUMULATED

ACCIDENT IS RECORDED
IF THERE ARE A
STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT
NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS
FROM DRIVERS APPROVED
AT THIS LOCATION, THE
Less taxes paid,
GOVERNMENT INTERVENES
more black money

OUR NEXT STEPS
GAPS IN THE CURRENT DESIGN:
Security and privacy:
Sensitive personal information could be compromised by digital security issues.
Opportunities for corruption in the new system:
In order for this plan to achieve its goals, it needs to be supported by corruption blocking
measures in other parts of the system, such as law enforcement and the judicial system.

NEXT STEPS:
• Build the technological platform
• Connect the process to an e-governance system
• Roll out the licensing points system
• Install relevant anti-corruption measures in the new system
• Create a publicly accessible platform for driving schools
• Develop a model from this approach that can be applied to other fields

Sources
• Basu, Kaushik. “Why, for a Class of Bribes,
the Act of Giving a Bribe Should Be
Treated as Legal.”
• Datta, Damayanti. “The Bribe Republic.”
India Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 July 2013.
<http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/
bribery-in-india-bribe-republic-anticorruption-bureau/1/291074.html>
• (n.d.): n. pag. Web. <http://finmin.nic.in/
WorkingPaper/Act_Giving_Bribe_Legal.
pdf>.
• “India.” Global Corruption Barometer 2013.
Transparency International, n.d. Web. 13
Nov. 2013. <http://www.transparency.org/
gcb2013/country/?country=india>.
• http://www.kpmg.com/Global/en/
IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/
Documents/bribery-corruption.pdf
• http://www.u4.no/publications/overviewof-corruption-and-anti-corruption-effortsin-india/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_
in_India#Anti-corruption_efforts
• Sabhlok, Prem. “The Main Causes of
Corruption in India.” Vedic Metaphysics
Selfgovernance and Other Matters RSS.
N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. <http://
prem.sabhlokcity.com/2011/06/the-maincauses-of-corruption-in-india/>.

• *M. Bertrand, S. Djankov, R. Hanna, S.
Mullainathan, “Does Corruption Produce
Unsafe Drivers?”, National Bureau of
Economic Research, Cambridge MA,
May 2006 <http://www.nber.org/papers/
w12274>
• *Rajat Arora, “Getting driver’s licence: A
tout story”, Hindustan Times, New Delhi,
July 10 2012 <http://www.hindustantimes.
com/india-news/newdelhi/getting-drivers-licence-a-tout-story/article1-886029.
aspx>
• *Murali Krishnan, “India has the highest
number of road accidents in the world”,
DW, New Delhi, April 29 2010 <http://
www.dw.de/india-has-the-highestnumber-of-road-accidents-in-theworld/a-5519345-1>
• *”Report of the Committee on Road
Safety and Traffic Management”,
Secretariat for the Committee on
Infrastructure, New Delhi, February 2007
<http://www.infrastructure.gov.in/pdf/
Road_Safety.pdf>
• *”Govt to set up a road safety and traffic
management body”, The Hindu, New
Delhi, October 7 2013
• <http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/
govt-to-set-up-a-road-safety-and-trafficmanagement-body/article5210515.ece>

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