Do we really need charity in india?

Till sometime back, I had this strong feeling for the need to donate regularly to institutions involved in charity work. But, looking at the corruption all around, I am increasingly starting to feel that it is the wrong problem to focus on for well-intentioned folks.

India has seen phenomenal growth over the past few years, and is expected to continue doing so for many more years. The growth brings huge amounts of money into govt coffers through various taxes. But, where is all that going? I'm pretty convinced that if this is properly routed into public welfare, we would have enough resources to provide basic education, health and nutrition to all, something which most of the charitable organizations are busy doing and raising money for.

But, this does not happen due to the rampant corruption. Starting from the ministers who approve these projects, all the way to the petty contractor/vendor who is supposed to seal the deal, everyone takes a cut, and hardly 10-15% of it goes into the real work (sometimes even not that much).

Won't it be a much better use of our time and resources to go after this corruption, and make sure the public resources are funnelled properly instead of donating here and there and feeling good about it. I personally feel strongly that this is how I need to contribute to the charitable cause in our country.

To put it simple, I pay 30% of my income in taxes. If I makes sure that is utilized properly by the government, that is more than enough charity that I need to do.