Vigilance Week Celebrated

In Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, India ranks 86th among 180 countries. Corruption can be defined as a dishonest or unethical conduct by a person entrusted with a position of authority, either to obtain benefits to oneself or to some other person. It is believed and assumed that no work can be done without greasing the palms of the concerned controlling person. Every other day, we read news related to politicians being put in jail or called for questioning in dubious deals, or raids at government officials' places. It is a sad commentary on our part though the government introduced several stringent laws to curb the menace, India still lags in integrity. Corruption undermines political development, democracy. Economic development, the environment, people's health and much more.

It is. therefore. imperative that the public must be sensitised and motivated towards efforts at weeding out corruption. Though punishment and penal actions delivered quickly are effective deterrents to corruption, a lot more may be achieved by inspiring the young generation to lead a life that combines righteousness and honesty. To watch and control such nefarious activities, not only government department, but many companies have a separate vigilance and audit section, which oversees compliance of processes and systems and controls and plug the gaps. However, it is also true that many times, people themselves are not aware of rules and regulations, and commit mistakes which often come under corruption gambit. Bringing transparency and accountability in governance remains one of the primary means to achieve all round development of the country. The Central Vigilance Commission has the mandate under the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003 to fight corruption and to ensure integrity in public administration. It is charged with monitoring all vigilance activities under the Central Government and advising various authorities in Central Government and organizations under it, in planning, executing and reviewing their vigilance work in order to bring out systemic improvement in governance. The Central Vigilance Commission is observing Vigilance Awareness Week 2023 from October 30 to November 5, 2023 with a purpose to raise awareness about the importance of integrity and ethics in public life. The theme for this year’s vigilance week is ‘Say no to corruption; Commit to the Nation’. The week commenced with the administration of the integrity pledge by the Central Vigilance Commissioner to officials at Satarkata Bhawan in New Delhi. The purpose of commemorating the week is to create awareness building about identification and implementation of systemic improvement measures and leveraging of information technology for complaint disposal among others Apart from administering oaths, various activities like conducting workshops and sensitization programmes for employees and other stakeholders on policies/procedures of the organization and on preventive vigilance measures are adopted by the organisation. They also conduct various competitions such as debates, quizzes etc. for the employees and their families on issues relating to anti-corruption. The use of organizational websites for dissemination of employees/customer oriented information and to make available avenues for redressal of grievances is another positive step being undertaken. Display of hoardings, banners, posters and distribution of handouts etc. at prominent locations/places in offices/ field units and also at places with public interface like branches of Banks, Petrol Pumps, Railway Stations, Airports etc.