Transparency International defines Corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Corruption destroys trust, weakens democracy and hampers economic development. It heightens inequalities, poverty, social division and environmental issues. There can be petty corruption which affects the fundamental rights and services of the public and grand corruption scandals. India is the 6th largest economy and is at 85th position in terms of corruption, which means half of the countries are less corrupt than India.

Transparency international is a German-based non-government organization that publishes an annual corruption perceptions index. India ranks 85th among 180 countries in transparency international’s corruption perception index.

As per the reports published by Trace International on nine states of India states that:

• Government officers demand 91% of the bribes.
• 77% of the bribes were demanded to avoid harm.
• 51% for timely delivery of services..

Corruption is a grave economic issue and affects a country’s achievement and development goals. It promotes inefficiencies and inadequate use of resources and is a threat to national security.

According to corruption economist Mauro- If corruption in India reduces to the level of Scandinavian countries, then investment in India would rise by 12% annually and additional GDP growth by 1.5%. The Indian Government loses around 2 lakh crores annually due to tax evasion.

India strives to become a 5 trillion dollar economy. To achieve this feat, it needs to eliminate the evil of bribery from society. The International Organization for Standardization has developed ISO 37001 Certification Anti Bribery Management Certification to fight with the evils of corruption and promote just and fair business practices.

An ISO 37001 Certification provides a framework for an Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS). It helps organizations to implement an anti-bribery management system and specifies a series of measures that an organization can implement to help, prevent, detect and address incidents of bribery. It aims to instill an anti-bribery culture and offers appropriate tools to detect bribery to implement effective controls.

ISO 37001 standards apply to any organization, public, private and not-for-profit organizations regardless of their size, nature and geographical location. It requires the appointment of an officer to oversee the compliance with bribery law, regulations and international standards and provides guidance and training to the employees to adopt anti-bribery practices.

ISO 37001 standards offer the following benefits to organizations:

• Advocates ethical business practices and establishes an anti-bribery management system.
• Non-compliance with laws and regulations can lead to penalties and fines.
• The ISO 37001 standard creates a better image of an organization and provides a competitive edge.
• Implementation of suitable anti-bribery procedures.
• Better protection of the organization’s assets and resources and increases revenue by adopting fair and just business processes.
• Reduces the malpractice and incidents of bribery and related hazards.
• It promotes transparency and accountability, which makes your brand reliable and credible and helps you win new businesses.
• Boosts morale of the employees increases productivity and lowers structural and miscellaneous costs.
• Embeds existing laws and regulations related to anti-bribery management in a single framework and provides a holistic approach.
• Reduces risk by following a risk-based approach. It focuses on identifying the potential threats to anti-bribery management and implements adequate controls to eliminate the risk of bribery.
• Your organization demonstrates the ability to meet customer’s needs and requirements and promotes equitable access to products.

ISO 37001 Certification is an internationally accredited standard developed by International Organization for standardization. ISO 37001 standards are generic and apply to all organizations, public, private or not-for-profit organizations, regardless of size, nature and location. It aligns with the organization’s objectives and integrates other laws, regulations, and standards into a single framework to establish an anti-bribery management system. ISO 37001 cannot guarantee that there will be zero corruption but aims to provide robust and appropriate measures that help in reducing the risk of bribery and address bribery incidents.