Corruption: The Systemic Challenge to Governance

Corruption is defined as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. In the UPSC GS4 syllabus, the study of corruption covers its socio-economic causes, its corrosive impacts on the rule of law and resource allocation, the legislative and institutional architecture to combat it, and the structural reforms recommended by the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission (2nd ARC).

Definition of Corruption	- Abuse of entrusted power for private gain, impacting rule of law, resource allocation, and public trust
Causes of Corruption (Klitgaard)	- Analyzed via Klitgaard's Formula (Corruption = Monopoly + Discretion - Accountability) - Driven by high election costs, administrative discretion, secrecy, asymmetric info, and slow judicial trials
Effects of Corruption	- Regressive tax on the poor, resource misallocation, poor public works quality, and Gresham's Law in Bureaucracy
Legal Architecture (PCA & Lokpal)	- Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) 1988 & 2018 Amendments (Section 8 bribe-giving penalty, Section 17A prior sanction) - Lokpal & Lokayuktas Act 2013, PMLA 2002, and watchdog bodies (CVC, CBI, CAG)
Anti-Corruption Measures	- Structural reforms (Civil Services Boards), digital disinfection (JAM Trinity, DBT, GeM portal), and social audits
Mains Keywords	- Klitgaard's Formula, Section 17A PCA, Gresham's Law in Bureaucracy, Digital Disinfection, Social Audits
Conclusion	- Corruption is the **"Antithesis of Probity in Governance"** — moving from policing greed to transparency-saturated systemic design