From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Zero rupee note
Zero rupee note
tributing.[3] The survey focused on petty corruption ex-
perienced by common citizens in daily life, rather than
upon the large-scale corruption of the rich and power-
ful.[3]
The 2005 study exposed chronic graft problems, with
substantial numbers of survey respondents reporting di-
rect experience in being forced to pay bribes to the police
(80%), land administration (48%), and judiciary (47%).[4]
Majorities of survey respondents characterized the po-
Zero Rupee note — obverse. lice, judiciary, land administration, municipal govern-
ment, electricity supply system, government hospital
system, ration card system, water supply system, and
system of assessing individual income taxes as corrupt.[4]
Fully 45% of survey respondents believed that there was
corruption as well in the primary school system.[4]
Origin of zero rupee notes
The regular 50 rupee banknote of India.
A zero rupee note is a type of fantasy money issued in In-
dia as a means of helping to fight systemic political cor-
ruption. The notes are paid in protest by angry citizens
to government functionaries who solicit bribes in return
for services which are supposed to be free. Zero rupee Zero Rupee note — Hindi language reverse.
notes, which are made to resemble the regular 50 rupee
banknote of India, are the creation of a non-governmen- In 2007 a non-profit organization called 5th Pillar un-
tal organization known as 5th Pillar, which has distribut- veiled a new means for Indians to register their refusal
ed over 1.3 million pieces since their inception in 2007. to participate in bribery — the "zero rupee note." Closely
The notes remain in current use in 2011. patterned after the nation’s fifty rupee notes, these doc-
uments instead included anti-corruption slogans "Elim-
History inate corruption at all levels" and "I promise to neither
accept not give bribe."[5]
These zero rupee notes were designed for use by Indi-
Corruption in India
an citizens who have been requested to pay bribes in or-
Bribery — the offering or solicitation of items of value to der to obtain services that are legally free or who are hit
influence the actions of a government official — is rec- with illicit surcharges on such routine government trans-
ognized as a pervasive problem in India, with the 2010 actions as obtaining a driver’s license.[6] Such currency
report by anti-corruption watchdog organization Trans- devices enable the citizen to register their opposition to
parency International ranking India in 87th place on its the illegal request in a tangible form, "paying" the offi-
Corruption Perceptions Index.[1] A 2005 study published cial with these valueless alternative notes.
by Transparency International India indicated that as "The note is a way for any human being to say no to
many of 62% of Indian citizens had first-hand experience corruption without the fear of facing an encounter with
of having paid a bribe or used an illicit "contact" to get a persons in authority," 5th Pillar has declared in an offi-
government job done.[2] cial statement.[7]
The 2005 Transparency International India study was President of 5th Pillar, Vijay Anand, expressed satis-
the largest study of the Indian bribery problem ever un- faction with the program’s efficacy: “People have already
dertaken, with 14,405 respondents from 20 states con-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Zero rupee note
started using them and it is working. One autorick-shaw The concept of privately-issued and valueless fantasy
driver was pulled over by a policeman in the middle of currency for use in the fight against corruption has re-
the night who said he could go if he was ‘taken care of’. cently been extended from India to two other nations
The driver gave him the note instead. The policeman was suffering from endemic government bribery problems,
shocked but smiled and let him go. The purpose of this is Mexico and Nepal.[6]
to instil confidence in people to say no to bribery." [5]
In addition to registering the individual’s protest, ze-
ro rupee notes provide corrupt officials with a sign that
Footnotes
efforts are ongoing to fight systemic government corrup- [1] "Corruption Perceptions Index 2010 Results,
tion. Use of the notes is intended to shame or scare bu- Transparency International,
reaucrats into honest behavior by reminding these offi- www.transparency.org/ Entry of India in the
cials that laws against bribery exist.[6] Search function of the Results by Country list
While the zero rupee notes appear similar to a gen- generates the rank of 87th, with a score of 3.3.
uine Indian fifty rupee note, they are not issued by the [2] Centre for Media Studies, India Corruption Study
Indian government and are thus not legal tender. Only 2005: To Improve Governance: Volume I — Key
one side of the note is printed to resemble currency so as Highlights, New Delhi: Transparency International
not to run afoul of counterfeiting laws.[5] India, June 30, 2005.
According to 5th Pillar, Indian citizens pay approxi- [3] ^ Centre for Media Studies, India Corruption Study
mately £3 billion (about $4.9 billion) in bribes each year 2005, pg. 5.
— a figure considered to be substantially understated by [4] ^ Centre for Media Studies, India Corruption Study
many government insiders.[7] 2005, pg. 8.
[5] ^ Ashling O’Connor, "Can this note stamp out
Circulation and legacy corruption in a land where it’s the norm?" The
Satindar Mohan Bhagat, an Indian expatriate who is cur- Times, April 9, 2007.
rently a physics professor at the University of Maryland [6] ^ National Geographic staff, "In India, a Bribe-
and also The Director of Association for India’s Develop- busting Bill," The Bangladesh Chronicle, April 8, 2011.
ment, Inc. USA, is credited with originating the concept [7] ^ Dean Nelson, "India ’issues’ zero rupee
of the zero rupee note in 2001.[8] Upon returning to India banknotes," The Telegraph, February 2, 2010.
for a visit, Bhagat was frustrated by the petty extortion [8] ^ "A Zero Contribution: An Unconventional Way to
demands of government officials that were part of daily Combat Petty Corruption," The Economist [London],
life there and conceived of the idea of a zero rupee note January 28, 2010.
as a polite way of declining participation.[8] The charity [9] "Zero Rupee Notes," 5th Pillar, india.5thpillar.org/
5th Pillar smiled upon Bhagat’s idea and put it into prac- Retrieved May 12, 2011.
tice.[8]
Fifth Pillar began the campaign in the spring of 2007 External links
with a first printing of 25,000 notes that were distributed
• 5th Pillar Zero Rupee Note official web page,
in the Indian state of Chennai.[5] Buoyed by the success
India.5thpillar.org/
of the campaign, additional printings followed and use of
the zero rupee note spread across the nation. From their
inception through early 2011, 5th Pillar distributed a to- See also
tal of over 1.3 million zero rupee notes.[6]
• Jan Lokpal Bill
Zero rupee notes have been issued in five of the 22
scheduled languages of India, including Tamil, Hindi,
Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu.[9]
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_rupee_note"
Categories: 2007 introductions, Activism, Protests in India, Corruption in India, Numismatics, Currency
This page was last modified on 26 July 2011 at 19:30. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Mobile view
2