I disagree with Krishji's post above.
I agree that bribe and corruption greases the smooth running of business, because it was made that way. In earlier times animal fat was used as grease, but we found alternatives. Similarly we can find alternatives to corruption.
An incident in India gave me an unexpected glimpse into what it feels like to live in a country where government officials openly ask for bribes. In July 2013, I was asked to pay an additional, unofficial 'fee' to register a will for the benefit of my son. When asked if it was usual to pay this 'fee', the man told me, with no hint of hesitation, that 'senior Government officials and even Army Generals pay the unofficial fee here'. My lawyer present there shrugged her shoulders and said this is how it works.
This is just a tiny glimpse of the rampant corruption in the country. For the average Indian, it has become entirely routine.
Citizen groups have now sprung up to combat something that successive governments and its 'civil service' have been unable to do.
'
I Paid a Bribe' an innovative crowdsourced platform encourages citizens to report a bribe that they may have paid. It is an attempt to document everyday corruption and analyse its cost to the society. The analytics show that the 21,975 instances of reported corruption have cost Rs 57.3 crores (USD 9 million).
It is worth considering what this decay in the very foundation of the country's economy is costing India.
A Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI) and Ernst & Young study '
Bribery and Corruption: Ground Reality in India' revealed in 2013 that between October 2011 and September 2012, corruption in India, including major scams (like the Commonwealth Games scandal) added up to a financial cost of Rs. 36,400 crores (USD 5.92 billion).
To put that in perspective, India's healthcare budget for the year
2012-2013 was 24,890 crores (USD 4.05 billion) or 68 percent of the amount lost to corruption.
Corruption is also costing India in numerous ways that are not immediately quantifiable. India's goal to transform itself into a market for foreign companies and attract investment is increasingly being challenged by corruption and red-tape.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/siddharth-chatterjee/corruptionan-epidemic-of-_b_5083293.html
I agree that this articles is from 2013. Things might have improved. I will not contest that point.
I was in India in November 2015, i was still asked for bribe openly in post office, train station, Airport etc.