Govt. employee speaks: Bribes are acceptable in government jobs

The bribes taken by Indian bureaucrats is so acceptable that most of the times these bribes are already written into cost estimates for different projects such as road construction titled 'commission'.

The bureaucrats don't even have to ask for it.

Bribes change hands at almost every stage of projects- from "public tender to completion" from the highest ministers to their rank and file.

UP Government suspended a 1999-batch IAS officer- Ashok Kumar for making a startling assertion against the government that only "those who have the capacity to pay a bribe of Rs.70 lakh are posted as the district magistrate."

Ashok Kumar also claimed that he was not applicable for the post of a district magistrate as he didn't have the money to bribe.

In his 8 November address, Modi declared the demonetization of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes that make up 86% of the country's currency.

He said this would clean out the rampant corruption.

Modi critiqued the attackers of the demonetization drive claiming that public values had eroded in India and bureaucrats and corrupt politicians "want the graft to continue."

While the country stands in lines, the politicians have found ways to circumvent rules to save black money.

Gold was bought at soaring prices or money converted to US dollars or euros.

New apartments were bought where the real estate firms back-dated the invoices to before the demonetization move.

Yet others bought pricey first-class train tickets which will be canceled later for cash.

An anonymous engineer, working in UP's public works department speaking on the illicit bribes taken during his tenure said that "a bribe is not a taboo in a government job".

He said that taking a bribe was a custom so prevalent in India that it is acceptable and viewed "as part of the price of doing business in India. "