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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Jillian Woodward.

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<v Speaker 2>And I'm Roger Bassic. Spotlight Advanced uses a special English

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<v Speaker 2>method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand

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<v Speaker 2>no matter where in the world they live.

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<v Speaker 1>Corruption it is a problem all over the world. Corrupt

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<v Speaker 1>government officials or dishonest people take money that they have

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<v Speaker 1>no right to take. One common form of corruption is bribery.

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<v Speaker 1>A bribe is an unofficial and often illegal payment of money.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, a company may receive a big business deal

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<v Speaker 1>from the government by secretly paying a bribe to a

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<v Speaker 1>dishonest government official.

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<v Speaker 2>India is one country where the bribery is a major problem.

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<v Speaker 2>Indian citizens often have to pay small bribes for even

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<v Speaker 2>the most basic services, services which are supposed to be free.

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<v Speaker 2>Corrupt officials will ask Indian citizens for money for tea. However,

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<v Speaker 2>tea is never served and people understand that when an

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<v Speaker 2>official asks for t money, he is really asking for

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<v Speaker 2>a bribe. A citizen who does not pay the bribe

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<v Speaker 2>may have to wait an extra long time for important documents,

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<v Speaker 2>building permits, and other requests.

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<v Speaker 1>Many Indian citizens accept bribery as a normal part of life. However,

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<v Speaker 1>fifth pillar is one organization that does not agree. It

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<v Speaker 1>believes that individual Indians have the power to end India's

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<v Speaker 1>culture of bribery. Today's spotlight is on Fifth Pillar and

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<v Speaker 1>n and it's zero rupee banknote movement.

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<v Speaker 2>Indian banknotes are printed in seven values. The smallest is

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<v Speaker 2>five rupees, the largest is one thousand rupees. But the

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<v Speaker 2>Fifth Pillar organization has also started to print another kind

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<v Speaker 2>of rupee note. This note looks like the fifty rupee banknote.

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<v Speaker 2>It is the same size, the same color, and it

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<v Speaker 2>has the same picture of Mahatma Gandhi on the front. However,

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<v Speaker 2>Fifth Pillar's note is very different. In place of the

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<v Speaker 2>number fifty on the banknote, Fifth Pillar's note as a zero, yes,

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<v Speaker 2>a zero, and Fifth Pillar's zero rupee banknote is worth

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<v Speaker 2>just that zero rupees.

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<v Speaker 1>It does not seem to make sense that anyone would

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<v Speaker 1>print a zero rupee note. The note is not real money,

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<v Speaker 1>it cannot be used to purchase anything, and it does

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<v Speaker 1>not appear to have any real value. However, Fifth Pillar

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<v Speaker 1>is not printing these notes for profit. Instead, it prints

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<v Speaker 1>the notes as part of an effort to fight bribery

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<v Speaker 1>in India. The zero rupee note contains the words end

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<v Speaker 1>corruption at all levels, where the words Reserve Bank of

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<v Speaker 1>India would usually be found. It also contains the statement

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<v Speaker 1>I promised to neither accept nor give a bribe.

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<v Speaker 2>In nineteen ninety seven, Satindar Mohan Bergat created the zero

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<v Speaker 2>rupee idea. Bagat was an Indian citizen, but he lived

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<v Speaker 2>and worked in the United States. On a trip home

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<v Speaker 2>to India, Bagot was angered by the amount of bribery

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<v Speaker 2>and corruption that he saw, so he decided to design

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<v Speaker 2>and print a zero ruby note. His idea was to

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<v Speaker 2>give the note to any person that asked him for

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<v Speaker 2>a bribe.

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<v Speaker 1>Ten years later, the Fifth Pillar organization learned about Bagat's idea.

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<v Speaker 1>Fifth Pillar decided to use the zero rupee in their

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<v Speaker 1>fight against corruption. Since two thousand and seven, Fifth Pillar

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<v Speaker 1>has printed and given out millions of zero rupee notes.

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<v Speaker 1>The organization prints these notes in five of India's languages, Tamil, Hindi, Canada, Malayalam,

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<v Speaker 1>and Telugu. Fifth Pillar's president is vej anand he told

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<v Speaker 1>CNN our.

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<v Speaker 3>Only goal is to encourage zero acceptance of corruption in

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<v Speaker 3>the future. Corruption is one of the greatest barriers to

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<v Speaker 3>developing as a country. It has become a poisonous custom

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<v Speaker 3>in our culture, and we need to defeat it.

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<v Speaker 2>Many experts agree that bribery has a negative effect on

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<v Speaker 2>a country's national economy, and with a smaller national economy,

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<v Speaker 2>a country is less able to compete with larger economies. However,

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<v Speaker 2>bribery has negative effects at a personal level. Two, the

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<v Speaker 2>worst result of bribery is its damaging effects on poor people.

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<v Speaker 2>Shashi Tharor is a member of the Indian government. He

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<v Speaker 2>has a popular website on it, he wrote.

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<v Speaker 4>Really, the biggest victims of corruption in our country are

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<v Speaker 4>the poor. For the rich, corruption is just a minor problem.

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<v Speaker 4>For the middle class, it can be troublesome, but for

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<v Speaker 4>the poor it is often a tragedy.

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<v Speaker 1>Without money to pay bribes, India's poor have little chance

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<v Speaker 1>to get the goods and services they need to survive.

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<v Speaker 1>This is why Fifth Pillar thinks the zero rupee note

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<v Speaker 1>is so important. It is a simple tool that individuals

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<v Speaker 1>poor or rich can use to fight back.

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<v Speaker 2>Bribes are common in India, but they are illegal. In fact,

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<v Speaker 2>officials caught accepting bribes can go to jail. The problem

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<v Speaker 2>is that people are often afraid not to pay bribes

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<v Speaker 2>and they feel it is useless to report bribery because

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<v Speaker 2>bribery is also common among the police. Without support from

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<v Speaker 2>the police, people feel alone in their struggle. However, the

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<v Speaker 2>zero rupee note is a way people can refuse to

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<v Speaker 2>give bribes without reporting the corrupt official. It is a

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<v Speaker 2>way for one person to remind a corrupt official of

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<v Speaker 2>the illegal nature of their request. The hope is that

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<v Speaker 2>officials will change, that they will stop asking for bribes.

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<v Speaker 1>But how is giving someone a zero rupee note different

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<v Speaker 1>from simply refusing to pay them anything. Bribe takers are

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<v Speaker 1>not fooled. They do not think the money is real.

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<v Speaker 1>The zero rupee note works because bribery is a crime

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<v Speaker 1>in India, even though it is so common, and most

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<v Speaker 1>officials only ask for bribes because they think they will

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<v Speaker 1>not get caught. When they are given a zero rupee note,

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<v Speaker 1>they are ashamed and worried that they will be caught.

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<v Speaker 1>The zero rupee notes weaken the crime by bringing it

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<v Speaker 1>into the open. A Nand told Public Radio International.

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<v Speaker 3>When the zero rupee is handed to an official, that

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<v Speaker 3>makes a strong statement that the citizen is not alone

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<v Speaker 3>in a fight against corruption.

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<v Speaker 2>But does the zero rupee note really work? An end

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<v Speaker 2>would say yes, Fifth Pillar has recorded many many examples

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<v Speaker 2>of its success. One small example concerns an Indian man

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<v Speaker 2>named Rajesh Chadlan. He told the national newspaper about a

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<v Speaker 2>train trip from Madurai to Chennai.

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<v Speaker 5>There were several beds in the train, but the worker

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<v Speaker 5>did not want to give one to me. He said

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<v Speaker 5>that he would get me a bed only if I

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<v Speaker 5>paid a bribe. I gave him a zero rupee note.

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<v Speaker 5>I looked at him in his eyes, letting him know

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<v Speaker 5>that I would not pay the bribe. He looked worried

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<v Speaker 5>and shamed, and within a few seconds he gave me

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<v Speaker 5>a bed.

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<v Speaker 1>The zero rupee note is working for many individual people

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<v Speaker 1>in India like Chandran. Now the idea is spreading. Organizations

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<v Speaker 1>in other countries are considering trying their own zero money note. Today,

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<v Speaker 1>Fifth Pillar is starting a campaign called zero Currency to

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<v Speaker 1>spread this idea to the rest of the world.

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<v Speaker 2>Can such a movement of individuals change a culture? Does

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<v Speaker 2>the zero rupee have value far beyond money or will

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<v Speaker 2>corruption always be part of society?

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<v Speaker 1>You can leave a comment on our website at www

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<v Speaker 1>dot Spotlight English dot com. You can also find us

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<v Speaker 1>on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Blue Sky, and X. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also get our programs delivered directly to your Android or

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<v Speaker 1>Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.

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<v Speaker 2>The writer of this program was from the Spotlight team.

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<v Speaker 2>The producer was Dan Christman. The voices you heard were

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<v Speaker 2>from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes

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<v Speaker 2>were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. This

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<v Speaker 2>program is called zero for Tea Money.

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<v Speaker 1>We hope you can join us again for the next

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<v Speaker 1>Spotlight program. Goodbye,