History Zero rupee note

1 history

1.1 corruption in india
1.2 origin of 0 rupee notes
1.3 circulation , legacy

history
corruption in india

bribery—the offering or solicitation of items of value influence actions of government official—is recognized pervasive problem in india, 2010 report anti-corruption watchdog organization transparency international ranking india in 87th place on corruption perceptions index. 2005 study published transparency international india indicated many of 62% of indian citizens had first-hand experience of having paid bribe or used illicit contact government job done.

the 2005 transparency international india study largest study of indian bribery problem ever undertaken, 14,405 respondents 20 states contributing. survey focused on petty corruption experienced common citizens in daily life, rather upon large-scale corruption of rich , powerful.

the 2005 study exposed chronic graft problems, substantial numbers of survey respondents reporting direct experience in being forced pay bribes police (80%), land administration (48%), , judiciary (47%). majorities of survey respondents characterized police, judiciary, land administration, municipal government, electricity supply system, government hospital system, ration card system, water supply system, , system of assessing individual income taxes corrupt. 45% of survey respondents believed there corruption in primary school system.

origin of 0 rupee notes

zero rupee note — hindi language reverse.

in 2007 non-profit organization created 0 rupee note means indians register refusal participate in bribery. closely patterned after nation s fifty rupee notes, these documents instead included anti-corruption slogans eliminate corruption @ levels , promise neither accept nor give bribe.

these 0 rupee notes designed use indian citizens have been requested pay bribes in order obtain services legally free or hit illicit surcharges on such routine government transactions obtaining driver s license. such currency devices enable citizen register opposition illegal request in tangible form, paying official these valueless alternative notes.

the note way human being no corruption without fear of facing encounter persons in authority, 5th pillar said in official statement.

president of 5th pillar, vijay anand, expressed satisfaction program s efficacy: people have started using them , working. 1 autorick-shaw driver pulled on policeman in middle of night said go if taken care of. driver gave him note instead. policeman shocked smiled , let him go. purpose of instill confidence in people no bribery.

in addition registering individual s protest, 0 rupee notes provide corrupt officials sign efforts ongoing fight systemic government corruption. use of notes intended shame or scare bureaucrats honest behavior reminding these officials laws against bribery exist.

while 0 rupee notes appear similar genuine indian fifty rupee note, not issued indian government , not legal tender. 1 side of note printed resemble currency not run afoul of counterfeiting laws.

according 5th pillar, indian citizens pay approximately £3 billion (about $4.9 billion) in bribes each year—a figure considered substantially understated many government insiders.

circulation , legacy

satindar mohan bhagat, indian expatriate physics professor @ university of maryland , director of association india s development, inc. usa, credited originating concept of 0 rupee note in 2001. upon returning india visit, bhagat frustrated petty extortion demands of government officials part of daily life , conceived of idea of 0 rupee note polite way of declining participation. charity 5th pillar put bhagat s idea practice.

5th pillar began campaign in spring of 2007 first printing of 25,000 notes distributed in indian city of chennai. buoyed success of campaign, additional printings followed , use of 0 rupee note spread across nation. inception through august 2014, 5th pillar distributed on 2.5 million 0 rupee notes.

zero rupee notes have been issued in 5 of 22 scheduled languages of india: tamil, hindi, kannada, malayalam, , telugu.

this concept use in fight against corruption has been adopted 5th pillar few other nations suffering endemic government bribery problems including yemen, ghana, benin, mexico , nepal.