Union Minister Jitendra Singh : Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, and Minister of State for PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, Union Minister Jitendra Singh reaffirmed the government’s commitment to “Zero Tolerance Against Corruption” and highlighted several measures taken to combat corruption while responding to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha today.
The Minister of State for DoPT, Union Minister Jitendra Singh, outlined the steps undertaken by the government as follows:
- Systemic reforms to ensure transparent, citizen-friendly services and reduce corruption. These include:
- Direct Benefit Transfer for welfare benefits to citizens in a transparent manner.
- E-tendering in public procurements.
- Implementation of e-Governance and simplified procedures.
- Government procurement through the Government eMarketplace (GeM).
- Discontinuation of interviews for the recruitment of Group ‘B’ (Non-Gazetted) and Group ‘C’ posts in the Government of India.
- Invocation of FR-56(j) and AIS(DCRB) Rules, 1958 to retire officials in the public interest based on unsatisfactory performance.
- Amendments to the All India Services (Disciplinary and Appeal) Rules and Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules to introduce specific timelines for disciplinary proceedings.
- Amendment of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 on 26.07.2018, criminalizing the act of giving bribes and introducing vicarious liability for senior management in commercial organizations.
- The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) recommended the adoption of the Integrity Pact in major procurement activities and emphasized effective and swift investigations of misconduct.
- The Lokpal institution has been operationalized with the appointment of its Chairperson and Members, directly processing complaints related to offences against public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Additionally, the CVC has adopted a multi-faceted approach to combat corruption through punitive, preventive, and participatory vigilance.
(c) The Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014, was notified on 12th May 2014. However, it has not yet come into force because amendments are needed to safeguard disclosures that affect India’s sovereignty, integrity, and security. The Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015, introduced in the Lok Sabha, was passed but lapsed after the dissolution of the Sixteenth Lok Sabha.