JOIN USIndia was ranked 76th on the latest international corruption index prepared by Transparency International, climbing nine notches from the previous 85th position.
Though there is an improvement in ranking, there is nothing much for delight as India scored only 38 points on a scale of 0-100, the same as in 2014. Also, the number of countries ranked in 2015 are 168 as against 174 in 2014.
India joins 113 other countries that scored less than 50. In 2013 and 2012, India was ranked at 94 with a score of 36, according to the report released on Wednesday.
As per the scoring system, the higher the score on a scale 0-100, lower is the corruption in the country.
The report noted that in India and Sri Lanka, a host of governments came to power on anti-corruption platforms last year. However, it claimed, “in India and Sri Lanka, leaders are falling short of their bold promises.”
It found fault with Bangladesh government for exacerbating corruption by clamping down on civil society. “In Afghanistan and Pakistan, a failure to tackle corruption is feeding ongoing vicious conflicts, while China’s prosecutorial approach isn’t bringing sustainable remedy,” it added.
Denmark, which scored 91, retained the top position as the least corrupt state in the world followed by Finland with a score of 90, Sweden 89, New Zealand 88 and the Netherlands and Norway at 87.
Ranked eighth, Singapore is the lone Asian country in the top 10 with a score of 85. North Korea and Somalia are the worst performers, scoring just 8 points each, while the United States stood at 16th position scoring 76. In the neighbourhood, Bhutan at rank 27 is the least corrupt and the only country ahead of India.