Worthless Money Has Value

In India: Zero-rupee note tackles India's corruption culture.

An Indian lobby group has launched a novel anti-corruption tool: the zero-rupee note that can be handed over to any crooked bureaucrat who seeks a little extra payment.
The protest note -- literally worth only the paper it is printed on -- is being promoted by 5th Pillar, a group that campaigns on behalf of ordinary Indians who are forced to grease the palms of millions of civil servants.

Vijay Anand, head of 5th Pillar, said the bill, which looks similar to a real 50-rupee note, was first distributed to students in the southern state of Tamil Nadu to encourage them to reject India's "baksheesh" culture.
"The corruption prevailing in the common man's life is painful and it can be dealt with by the zero-rupee note," said Anand.
Anand said the zero-rupee note, which was conceived by an Indian professor living in the United States, gave people the chance to register a grassroots protest against low-level corruption.
"We are confident it will change the way people think and act in the coming years," he said.
The bill, which like all Indian notes is graced with a picture of independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, carries 5th Pillar's email address and phone number and the solemn vow "I promise to neither accept nor give a bribe."

More photos here.