Answer: 

The above quote by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam emphasizes corruption and considers never-ending greed as the reason behind corruption. He, thereby, suggests replacing this greed with an ‘What I can give?’ attitude.

How Greed Leads to Corruption? – “What will I get?” Attitude:

• Desire for More: The desire to have more of materialistic belongings or even pseudo-materialistic things like fame, power etc. directly or indirectly leads to moral malice.

• For instance, the desire to buy a new car, big house or even to get more power leads to corruption.

• Abuse of Office: In greed, a public servant or private sector employee abuses his or her office for personal gains. 

• For instance, a public official taking bribe to offer special treatment/bypass law

• False Perception: A false perception of success (in monetary terms) leads to people becoming greedy and vulnerable to corruption.

• For instance, in India, people tend to equate material success to moral uprightness of a person whereas in Japan, a person found corrupt faces societal ostracization.

• Selfishness: A greedy person would always crave personal interest in any activity. This results not only in monetary corruption but moral and spiritual corruption.

• For instance, instead of seeing public interest, a corrupt bureaucrat might always look for some personal gains (in terms of monetary/non-monetary rewards) to perform his duty.   

The possible solution to never-ending greed is selfless service or asking ourselves ‘what we can give?’ instead ‘what we will get?’

Replacing Greed with “What Can I Give?” Spirit

• Selfless: It is characterized by low levels of self-centeredness. A person who doesn't keep the thought (“what is there in it for me”) in mind while carrying out his/her duties is considered as selfless service.

• For instance, following the virtue of Nishkama Karma in public service is recommended.

• Morality: In society, humanity, respect, fraternity etc. have moral connotations and require a strong commitment from citizens. An individual abiding by these moral values would be immune from never-ending greed. 

• For instance, a morally upright person would look towards collective wellbeing instead of only personal wellbeing.

• Integrity: Integrity in an individual aligns his thoughts and action. It results in keeping up with one’s commitment and not compromising with one’s duties/service.

• For instance, a person with integrity would honour values of honesty, transparency and accountability, all of which are antidotes of corruption.

• Self-Sufficiency: Greed can be countered by knowing your needs and avoiding unnecessary desire for materialistic things. 

• For instance, a self-sufficient/morally satisfied individual would not fall into the trap of greed.

• Upbringing: A value-based upbringing detests greed. Children of today are citizens of tomorrow and thus to instill ‘what I can give attitude?’, value-based upbringing is necessary.

• For instance, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam rightly stressed upon the role of parents and teachers in shaping the character, caliber and future of an individual.

However, assuming that corruption is only due to greed would be wrong. There are other factors which could lead to corruption such as institutional flaws (corrupt institution penalizes honesty), weak social accountability (low awareness on how to keep officials to check), political inefficiencies (monopolization, low transparency) etc.

Corruption impacts a nation’s growth, results in societal degradation and makes people morally compromised. To counter corruption, the menace of greed needs to stop, and it can only be stopped by inculcating the above principles of ‘what I can give?’ attitude.