Speed money and honesty - good article on the prevalence of speed money in India. This aspect is rarely discussed in the media, most articles read like PR releases.
A lot depends on the way you choose to do business. When I worked in a professionally managed company (at a very junior level), one thing I often heard was “the government people know that L* (company name) does not pay money, the work gets done , but very slowly” . That is why L* has such a good reputation as a well managed company, every one has to follow the rules. In a short time, you will grow slowly, but then tomorrow no one can accuse you of doing wrong.
Corruption is there every where , as one Malaysian minister put it, ” In Western countries, it is called networking, in Asian countries corruption / nepotism” . Finally it depends on how big and financially strong you are.