While big scams have been making headlines, shining the light on the corporate-government nexus, corruption in the availing of public services by citizens is falling, says a survey by a city-based think tank, Centre for Media Studies (CMS).

“The decline has been significant in the case of certain public services like phone, passport, electricity, rail reservations, but only marginal in the case of a few services and hardly any change in the case of some other services,” says the study titled ‘2010 India Corruption Survey.’

It takes into consideration the perception and experience of graft. According to survey, “There is a big gap between perception and the actual experience in the practice of corruption taking account into corruption perceived in PDS, education, water, hospital services, electricity, NREGS, banking services, forest, police, housing."

The survey says, “In 2010, there was a perception among 45 percent of respondents that corruption has increased while 28 percent actually experienced paying bribes.” It is a decline from the figure of 2005 data where 72 percent felt corruption has increased while 61 percent actually experienced paying bribes.

The study, however, also highlights that corruption is widespread in corporate-government dealings.

“This is obvious as in the case of telecom, electricity, and irrigation where while the “industry” continue to be riddled with corruption, the services involving citizen are getting more accessible and efficient,” it says.

“Corruption has moved up or has been ‘kicked upstairs’,” said N Bhaskara Rao, chairman of the CMS. He says, “kicking upstairs” phenomenon implies that in short term, the common man has access to better services and lesser corruption.

“Can we aim at bringing down the corruption in these public services, say to less than 10 percent by 2015 and less than 5 percent in some states and some public services by then?” Rao posed.  

The report reasons that corruption in the public services have been contained by the opening up of such sectors for private sector participation, the end of monopolies, competition and increased concern for markets and the consumers while better communication technologies for public interface, use of research indeveloping responsive systems, and dynamic news media have also pulled graft down.

This is the third such survey by the CMS - the first came out in 2005 and was followed by another in 2007.