Battling bribery with a banknote

In a country where corruption is embedded in everyday life, encouraging someone to hand over yet another banknote might not seem the best way to stop the problem.

But the notes that an NGO in the southern city of Chennai have been handing out to citizens in the tens of thousands are very different, for they are worth precisely "zero rupees".

Instead of the usual message, "I promise to pay the bearer ...", the notes being distributed read: "I promise to neither accept nor give a bribe".

The notes are the brainchild of the crusading charity Fifth Pillar, which works to improve civic life in India and beyond. Its founder, Vijay Anand, an Indian American, came across the idea among the South Asian community in the United States and brought it back to India. More than a million of the notes have been printed and distributed among ordinary people.

A spokesman for the charity, A. Subramani, said people in India were routinely asked for bribes by government officials or politicians. Yet they had found that when the zero rupee notes were given instead, the person demanding the bribe backed off.

"It seems that the person is afraid they are going to get caught," he said.

Those who have used the notes speak approvingly. "The train ticket examiner told me to wait an hour, even though berths were available," Ravi Sundar, told the Mail Today newspaper, recalling a journey between Chennai and Coimbatore.

When he handed over the note the berth was provided immediately. "He kept staring at me but said nothing," he added.

- INDEPENDENT