How long ago was this (especially the passport)?

Not sure this is true for many parts of India.

As a foreigner living in India I wish I could throw money at someone to make the process of securing documents like police clearance easier. That's simply not the case though.

I have no doubt that corruption is rampant but your examples don't square with my experience.

Getting a passport/driver's license is different from companies (Apple) asking to operate in a certain way. They deal with the highest levels in the government (Prime Minister, Finance Minister) and it is absurd to suggest that the government would ask Apple to bribe them. India has a set of rules on how foreign companies should operate and while it might be unpopular, it is still a rule.

I don't know what time period you are talking about, because I got all of those (except police clearance, I didn't need that) in the last 5 years and none of them required any bribes. There were inefficiencies and frustrating bureaucracy, but no bribing was necessary.