Skip to main content

Just 12% Gujarat households say Modi govt committed to fight corruption: Survey

By Rajiv Shah
A 13-state survey carried out a Delhi-based non-profit organization, CMS India, has found that in “model” Gujarat’s just about 12% households households feel that the Narendra Modi government is “committed” towards reducing corruption, which is the lowest of all states, with the sole exception of Andhra Pradesh, where just about 2% of feel that way.
The survey, involving a sample of 160 households from each of the 13 states, covering 10 to 12 rural and urban locations, finds that Gujarat’s 13% households feel that the state government is committed to reducing corruption. Only two states perform worse than Gujarat – Andhra Pradesh (1%) and Rajasthan (11%).
The survey report, titled “CMS-India Corruption Study 2018”, says, “Compared to previous year (2017), in 2018 round, the percentage who feel Union government is committed to rein duce corruption (31%), should be a matter of concern for the Modi-led government. In 2017, the percentage of such population was more than 40 percent.”
Perception about Modi govt
It adds, “Another 38% feel that the government is not much committed i.e. committed to some extent only, while a little more than 25% feel that Union government is not at all committed in reducing corruption. Vacant Lokayukta’s (Ombudsman) position at the national level after being in power for around 4 years, or recent cases of non-performing assets (NPAs) in banking sector (infamous cases of Mallaya and Nirav Modi), could be the factors contributing in building people’s perception that government at the national level is not committed to reduce corruption.”
By way of comparison, Biharis place the highest trust in the Modi government with 50% households feeling that it is committed in reducing corruption, followed by Delhi 44%, West Bengal 43%, Telangana 42%, and so on.
As for trust in state governments, 48% households of West Bengal feel that the Mamata government is committed to reducing corruption, followed by Bihar 44%, Telangana 39%, and so on.
Conducted during February-March 2018, the survey results further finds that 48% of Gujarat households feel corruption in public service has increased, which is higher than four of the 13 states surveyed – Andhra Pradesh 72%, followed by Punjab 56%, Tamil Nadu 53%, and Rajasthan 51%.
Perception about respective state governments 
The report says, “Compared to 2017 round, the perception about the respective state government’s commitment towards reducing corruption has further deteriorated in most of the surveyed states in 2018 round, except, Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra to some extent.”
With an average of 31% across 13 states, the report particularly notes, “No change in opinion about the state government in Gujarat is observed, as far as people perception about the respective state government’s commitment to reduce corruption in public services is concerned.”
The report states, “In CMS-ICS 2018, 75% households have the perception that the level of corruption in public services has either increased or remained same during the last 12 months”, adding, “27% households experienced corruption at least once while availing any one of the 11 public services covered in CMS-ICS 2018.”
It adds, “Among public services, where households experiencing corruption while availing its services was high during the last 12 months include, transport (21%), police (20%), housing/land records (16%) and health/hospital services (10%).” On the other hand, “less than 1% of the households experienced corruption in banking services.”
The survey found that “while 99% of the respondents had Aadhaar, 7% of them paid bribe to get it. In case of Voter ID, around 92% had one but 3% paid bribe to get the Voter ID made.” The report comments, “This is high and reflects continued malice.”

Comments

TRENDING

From Kerala to Bangladesh: Lynching highlights deep social faultlines

By A Representative   The recent incidents of mob lynching—one in Bangladesh involving a Hindu citizen and another in Kerala where a man was killed after being mistaken for a “Bangladeshi”—have sparked outrage and calls for accountability.  

What Sister Nivedita understood about India that we have forgotten

By Harasankar Adhikari   In the idea of a “Vikshit Bharat,” many real problems—hunger, poverty, ill health, unemployment, and joblessness—are increasingly overshadowed by the religious contest between Hindu and Muslim fundamentalisms. This contest is often sponsored and patronised by political parties across the spectrum, whether openly Hindutva-oriented, Islamist, partisan, or self-proclaimed secular.

When a city rebuilt forgets its builders: Migrant workers’ struggle for sanitation in Bhuj

Khasra Ground site By Aseem Mishra*  Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is not a privilege—it is a fundamental human right. This principle has been unequivocally recognised by the United Nations and repeatedly affirmed by the Supreme Court of India as intrinsic to the right to life and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution. Yet, for thousands of migrant workers living in Bhuj, this right remains elusive, exposing a troubling disconnect between constitutional guarantees, policy declarations, and lived reality.

Aravalli at the crossroads: Environment, democracy, and the crisis of justice

By  Rajendra Singh*  The functioning of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has undergone a troubling shift. Once mandated to safeguard forests and ecosystems, the Ministry now appears increasingly aligned with industrial interests. Its recent affidavit before the Supreme Court makes this drift unmistakably clear. An institution ostensibly created to protect the environment now seems to have strayed from that very purpose.

'Festive cheer fades': India’s housing market hits 17‑quarter slump, sales drop 16% in Q4 2025

By A Representative   Housing sales across India’s nine major real estate markets fell to a 17‑quarter low in the October–December period of 2025, with overall absorption dropping 16% year‑on‑year to 98,019 units, according to NSE‑listed analytics firm PropEquity. This marks the weakest quarter since Q3 2021, despite the festive season that usually drives demand. On a sequential basis, sales slipped 2%, while new launches contracted by 4%.  

Safety, pay and job security drive Urban Company gig workers’ protest in Gurugram

By A Representative   Gig and platform service workers associated with Urban Company have stepped up their protest against what they describe as exploitative and unsafe working conditions, submitting a detailed Memorandum of Demands at the company’s Udyog Vihar office in Gurugram. The action is being seen as part of a wider and growing wave of dissatisfaction among gig workers across India, many of whom have resorted to demonstrations, app log-outs and strikes in recent months to press for fair pay, job security and basic labour protections.

India’s universities lag global standards, pushing students overseas: NITI Aayog study

By Rajiv Shah   A new Government of India study, Internationalisation of Higher Education in India: Prospects, Potential, and Policy Recommendations , prepared by NITI Aayog , regrets that India’s lag in this sector is the direct result of “several systemic challenges such as inadequate infrastructure to provide quality education and deliver world-class research, weak industry–academia collaboration, and outdated curricula.”

The rise of the civilizational state: Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta warns of new authoritarianism

By A Representative   Noted political theorist and public intellectual Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta delivered a poignant reflection on the changing nature of the Indian state today, warning that the rise of a "civilizational state" poses a significant threat to the foundations of modern democracy and individual freedom. Delivering the Achyut Yagnik Memorial Lecture titled "The Idea of Civilization: Poison or Cure?" at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Mehta argued that India is currently witnessing a self-conscious political project that seeks to redefine the state not as a product of a modern constitution, but as an instrument of an ancient, authentic civilization.

Why experts say replacing MGNREGA could undo two decades of rural empowerment

By A Representative   A group of scientists, academics, civil society organisations and field practitioners from India and abroad has issued an open letter urging the Union government to reconsider the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and to withdraw the newly enacted Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. The letter, dated December 27, 2025, comes days after the VB–G RAM G Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 16 and subsequently approved by both Houses of Parliament, formally replacing the two-decade-old employment guarantee law.