China, India take graft bull by the horns

Each year, agencies such as Transparency International rank countries according to their levels of corporate and political corruption. Invariably, the countries where such agencies are located - Europe and North America - score highly while countries like China and India are shown to be high on corruption and low on honesty.

China has been ranked 100th in this year's Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, down from 80th in 2013. The 20-spot drop is in sharp contrast to the ongoing massive anti-corruption campaign in China. Over the weekend, Zhou Yongkang, one of the former top Chinese officials, was arrested and expected to face trial for corruption.

China's slide on the index doesn't mean it has become more corrupt. Since it is a perception index, the more corruption is exposed the more corrupt officials will be punished and the lower the index will fall.

True, the series of corruption cases exposed could affect the ruling Party's image. But the index only reflects how determined China's leadership is to end corruption. Only by resolutely fighting corruption can the Party and government improve governance. Top leader Xi Jinping has initiated an excellent cleansing drive in the bureaucracy and shown exemplary courage in taking action against so many corrupt powerful figures. And there is little doubt that China is changing as a result of his vigorous moves.

India is 85th in this year's Corruption Perception Index, up from 94th last year. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to end the culture of "black money", for which he seems prepared to lower taxes to "reasonable" levels and do away with laws that are unnecessarily restrictive in today's world.