- I Paid A Bribe
- 13 years ago
- 3103 views
MEDICAL COUNCIL OF INDIA (MCI)
- Health and Family Welfare
- Medical Professional
- Paid INR 3,000
I live out side India and work as a doctor. For a job application to Australia, I needed a Letter of Good Standing from Medical Council of India which is situated in NOIDA. Required documents and demand draft was sent to MCI from Orissa via speed post. I went to India to get this thing done and I had 2 weeks to return back to my place of work abroad. The MCI clerk kept telling me that they did not receive the documents. This went on for a week. Every time I would call or go there, they would tell me the same story. They were not willing to give me in writing that they did not receive my documents. I had only a few days left to go and I did not have time or patience to fool around or fight the good fight against bribery and corruption in India. I spoke to a few friends and they told me that nothing gets done in MCI without bribery, especially if it requires sending Letter of Good standing to foreign medical councils (Australia in my case). So the next day I went there and paid a bribe for the first time in my life. The job was done promptly, but not without haggling over the bribe money. I had to pay 3000Rs. It hurt, but things could have been worse. I appreciate what this website is trying to achieve. But given the fact that corruption is endemic in all low income(GDP percapita) countries, I believe that there are strong structural reasons for bribery and corruption. Am bit of a skeptic when it comes to big aspirations to rid India of corruption.