25-Oct-2020: Vigilance Awareness Week, 2020

The Central Vigilance Commission observes the Vigilance Awareness Week from 27th October to 2nd November, 2020. This is observed every year during the week in which the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (31st October) falls. This awareness week campaign affirms our commitment to promotion of integrity and probity in public life through citizen participation.

In 2020, the Vigilance Awareness Week is being observed from 27th October to 2nd November, 2020 with the theme, “सतर्क भारत, समृद्ध भारत - Satark Bharat, Samriddh Bharat (Vigilant India, Prosperous India)”. This theme was finalized after putting the suggestive themes on the website and obtaining the opinion of Chief Vigilance Officers on the proposed theme for the year.

Central Bureau of Investigation is hosting a National Conference on Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (27th - 29th October, 2020) which will be addressed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 27.10.2020 at 5 p.m. during the Vigilance Awareness Week which will be webcast live and all organizations / departments of Central Government may watch the live webcast.

All Organizations have been advised to strictly adhere to extant Covid-19 prevention guidelines such as wearing masks, ‘Do Gaj ki Doori’ and washing one’s hands at all locations and events. In addition, all Organisations have been directed to strictly adhere to the economy measures issued by the Ministry of Finance vide the Department of Expenditure OM No. 7(2)E. Coord/2020 dated 4.9.2020.

The Commission believes that corruption is a major hindrance to the progress of the nation.  All sections of society need to be vigilant in order to uphold integrity in all aspects of our national life. The Commission desires that all organisations focus on internal (housekeeping) activities which are to be taken up in campaign mode as part of the Vigilance Awareness Week this year. This includes improvement of internal processes, time bound disposal of work and systemic improvements leveraging technology.  Commission emphasises making all processes transparent including payment to outsourced workers, house allotments, updation and digitization of assets including land records, condemnation of old furniture and weeding out old records following prescribed procedures/ extant rules .  

Organisations have been advised to identify and implement systemic improvements within their organisations. They may then upload them on their organisation’s website in the public domain. This may be sent to the CVC in order to ensure wider dissemination of the systemic improvements and good governance measures.

Preventive Vigilance module has been included in the training curriculum for foundation training course of probationary officers of Banks and some other cadres such as scientists. The Mid- Career Training Programme for middle level officers of the organised Group A services under various Ministries of the Government of India also includes a module on Preventive Vigilance.  Visit to Institutes of Excellence, village visit etc. have been added to modulate the behaviour of government officials towards integrity and transparency and to bring about attitudinal change.

All employees are requested to take the Integrity Pledge circulated by the Commission. All persons with whom the organization deals with such as vendors, suppliers, contractors, etc. are also requested to take the pledge. 

The Commission has requested all Central Government Ministries / Organizations to conduct activities relevant to the theme both within their organization, and outreach activities for public/citizens:

1. Use organizational website for dissemination of employees/ customer   oriented information and to make available avenues for redressal of grievances.
2. Organisations to conduct various outreach activities for dissemination of anti-corruption message and stressing the necessity of vigilant India as essential for a prosperous India. Online modes to be extensively used.
3. Extensive use of social media platforms, bulk SMS/E-mail, WhatsApp, electronic and print media etc. for spreading awareness.

25-Oct-2019: Vigilance Awareness Week to be observed from 28th October to 2nd November

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) observes the Vigilance Awareness Week from 28th October to 2nd November, 2019. This is observed every year during the week in which the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (31st October) falls. This awareness week campaign affirms our commitment to promotion of integrity and probity in public life through citizen participation.

 “Integrity- A way of life” has been chosen as the theme for the Vigilance Awareness Week this year by the Commission.  Integrity and Ethics form the foundational pillars of a nation and national development takes place when individuals and organizations are committed to integrity as a core value. Combating corruption is not just a matter of making laws and creating institutions, but is deeply rooted in human values and morals of individuals. Cultivating ethical values is essential for building a New India.

The Commission believes that this theme would help draw the attention of all sections of society especially the youth to the significance of ethical conduct in the building of an honest, nondiscriminatory and corruption free society.

The Commission has requested all Central Government Ministries/Organizations to conduct activities relevant to the theme both within their organization, and outreach activities for public/citizens as follows:

1. Activities to be conducted within the organization include taking of the Integrity Pledge by all employees, distribution of pamphlets/handouts on preventive vigilance activities, whistle blower mechanism and other anti-corruption measures, conducting workshops and sensitization programmes for employees and other stake holders on policies/procedures of the organization and preventive vigilance measures. Other activities include publication of  journals / newsletters on vigilance issues, systemic improvements and good practices adopted for wider dissemination and awareness, conducting various competitions such as debates, quiz etc. for the employees and their families on issues relating to anti-corruption and the use of organizational websites for dissemination of employees/customer oriented information.
2. Outreach activities for public/citizens include the 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 , organization of grievance redressal camps for citizens/customers by organizations having customer oriented services/activities and the taking of the online “Integrity Pledge” developed by the Commission.
3. Laying stress for creation of awareness on the ill-effects of corruption amongst school and college students, various activities such as lectures, panel discussions, debates, quiz, essay writing, slogans/elocution/cartoon/poster competitions on moral values, ethics, good governance practices etc. are to be organized in schools and colleges across the country. In 2018, such activities were organized in over 19,333 schools and over 5120 colleges with the participation of more than 22  lakh children across the country.

The establishment of ‘Integrity Clubs’ in schools and colleges is an initiative to cultivate ethical values in the leaders of tomorrow.

“Awareness Gram Sabhas” are organized for dissemination of awareness in Gram Panchayats (in rural and semi-urban areas) to sensitize the rural citizens about the ill-effects of corruption. In 2018 year, 73,655  such Gram Sabhas were organized during the Vigilance Awareness Week.

Seminars, discussions and other outreach events are being organized involving the private sector, professional associations, trade unions and associations for wide participation of all sections of civil society.

Organizations conduct activities with high visibility and public appeal such as walkathons, marathons, cycle rallies, human chains, street plays and other public functions in various cities and towns across the country.

Many organizations extensively use social media platforms , bulk SMS/E-mail, WhatsApp, electronic and print media etc. for spreading awareness.

29-Oct-2018: Vigilance Awareness Week to be observed by the Health Ministry

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will observe the Vigilance Awareness Week from 29th October to 3rd November, 2018 as per the directions of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Government of India.

The theme of the vigilance awareness this year is “Eradicate Corruption- Make a New India.” Smt. Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare administered the ‘Integrity Pledge’ to the officers and staff of the Ministry to fight against corruption and commit to highest standards of honesty and integrity.

The Central Vigilance Commission aims to promote integrity, transparency and accountability in public life. As part of its efforts to promote probity in public life and to achieve a corruption free society, CVC observes Vigilance Awareness Week every year. The observation of Vigilance Awareness Week creates greater awareness among public and encourages all the stakeholders to collectively participate in prevention of and fight against Corruption.

During the week-long Vigilance Awareness campaign, various activities like seminars, debates and essay competitions will be organized in the Ministry to sensitize and motivate its officers and staff to remain vigilant and transparent in their work in order to eradicate corruption in all spheres of life.

25-Oct-2017: CVC to develop Integrity Index of 25 Organizations

In line with the broader strategy and emphasis on preventive vigilance, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) believes that the next level of systemic change can be through the tool of Integrity Index. The CVC has therefore decided to go in for development of the Integrity Index-based on bench-marking of internal processes and controls within an organisation as well as management of relationships and expectations of outside stakeholders.

The Integrity Index will bring out annual scores/rankings of Public Sector Undertakings/Public Sector Banks and Financial Institutions/Departments/Ministries of Government of India by linking the essential drivers of vigilance with long term efficiency, profitability and sustainability of public organizations and create an internal and external ecosystem that promotes working with Integrity in public organizations.

CVC has adopted a research-based approach for creating an integrity index that various organizations can use to measure themselves and which will evolve with changing needs and with this view IIM-Ahmedabad has been engaged to develop the Integrity Index. Being a new initiative, initially 25 organizations have been selected for development of the Integrity Index (as per list attached). Subsequently, it is proposed to extend the Integrity Index concept to all other CPSUs and organizations of Government of India. The management of all 25 organizations have been involved in the development of Integrity Index.

The main objectives for which the Integrity Index is to be established are:

1. Define what constitutes Integrity of Public Organizations.
2. Identify the different factors of Integrity and their inter-linkages.
3. Create an objective and reliable tool that can measure the performance of organizations along these above factors.
4. Validate the findings over a period of time to improve upon the robustness of the tool that measures Integrity.
5. Create an internal and external ecosystem that promotes working with Integrity where public organizations lead the way.

26-Jun-2017: CVC can now probe corruption cases in private sector banks

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) can now probe allegations of corruption in private sector banks and against their employees. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given the necessary approval to the CVC on this.

The move comes after the Supreme Court last year ruled that the chairman, managing directors and other officers of a private bank could be seen as public servants when it came to the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988. CVC is the statutory body which probes cases of graft involving central government departments, public sector organisations (including banks and insurance companies) and their employees.

The CVC can now also look into cases of corruption involving private sector banks and their managements like CMDs and MDs. He said the RBI and the Department of Financial Services had recently approved the provisions in this regard. The necessary mechanism has been put in place and cases of corruption in the private sector banks are now being looked into.

The apex court had said all officials working in banks operating under an RBI licence would be defined as public servants under the PC Act. It had said bank employees, private or public, were on public duty and therefore came under the law.

The Supreme Court had also referred to Section 46A of the Banking Regulation Act and said that such bank officials were considered public officials. The CVC has also started sharing cases of criminal conspiracy and corruption with agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for probes.