The Shudhify Initiative collects data from citizens on the quality of public services in Bangalore, India through surveys on sites like transport offices and police stations. It publishes the results online at www.shudhify.org to create a map of how efficiently and corruptly different government offices operate. The goal is to change perceptions that corruption is needed and to pressure offices to improve. It implements outreach strategies and "dares" with theatre groups and colleges to further engage citizens and apply public pressure.

1. 8/26/2016 Shudhify Initiative Assesses Bangalore Public Services | ERCAS – European Research Centre for Anti­Corruption and State­Building
http://www.againstcorruption.eu/articles/shudhify­initiative­assesses­bangalore­public­services/ 1/2
Shudhify Initiative Assesses Bangalore Public Services
Posted on 27/07/2012 in Collective Action
A new citizen­led initiative from Bangalore, India, called
‘Shudhify’, offers local citizens a valuable map of selected government services and their respective ratings in
different districts of the city. The data collected by the project tracks the quality of service provision, as well as
the level of efficiency and corruption in the offices covered. The primary goal of the project is to contribute to
change the common perception that corruption gets business done quicker. The project is supported by the
World Bank Institute and Colgate University.
The local datamap developed by the project originates mainly from a nine­question survey conducted on site
with users of government services in Bangalore. So far, the project has focused on collecting data on transport
offices and police stations, and other branches of service shall be explored later. The project’s team has also
collected documents on corruption cases archived at government investigation agencies and cases of bribery
reported by another pioneering Indian initiative called ‘I paid a bribe’, all of which are used to compose the
assessment of each selected office. The resulting information is available on the project’s internet portal
(www.shudhify.org), where citizens can also rate public services themselves.
The project has been implementing a broad dissemination strategy through the press, academic journals, and
other online platforms. Moreover, it organizes weekly ‘dares’ in partnership with theatre groups and colleges, in
order to engage citizens, give additional visibility to the project’s results and increase public pressure on
government officials to improve their performance. One of such dares, for instance, asked people to go to the
most corrupt/least efficient unit of the Regional Transport Office (RTO), sing the national anthem and place in
the middle of the building copies of the ratings produced by the project.
More detailed information about the project is available in a case study produced by the Global Youth Anti­
corruption Network (GYAC). An interview with Srikar Gullapalli, one of the project’s initiators, is also available
on the GYAC website. The article “Should I or Shudhify?“, available on the Colgate University’s Connect
platform, also provides more information on the background story of the project. The illustration above, by
Andrew Baker, is featured in the article.

2. 8/26/2016 Shudhify Initiative Assesses Bangalore Public Services | ERCAS – European Research Centre for Anti­Corruption and State­Building
http://www.againstcorruption.eu/articles/shudhify­initiative­assesses­bangalore­public­services/ 2/2
Posted in Collective Action, India,
This website uses HTTP cookies to improve your experience. Read about our Privacy Policy Accept