Being from the sub-continent, low-level and bureaucratic corruption is a big pervasive problem. Corruption in general. From the lower office peons to the highest officers the rot runs deep. Bribing to even get basic paperwork done is common. How do countries like China and others in the “First World” handle it?
Is it a culture thing? or something else?
Lots of good answers, but to me it does boil down to force or “political power grows from the barrel of a gun”. That is to say, any reform or regulation you invent ultimately requires enforcement. Especially in the beginning, while you are really trying to reprogram an entrenched ‘culture’ of corruption, you will need a kind of anti-corruption vanguard to identify, investigate, prosecute and punish corruption. Certainly it should be accompanied by public education campaigns and economic initiatives.