India, Sept. 28 -- When corruption becomes systemic, the cost is no longer measured in bribes paid, but in opportunities lost.

"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorizes it." - Frederic Bastiat

India's corruption problem can no longer be understood merely through the familiar image of an individual official accepting a bribe. The more serious challenge is the emergence of what may be described as syndicated corruption: a network in which political interests, sections of the bureaucracy, business intermediaries, compromised processes, and, in some cases, influential interests in the media or legal system can interact ...