By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, SEPT 08, 2017: THE Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh yesterday released the 7th edition of the Vigilance Manual of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Singh said that continuous efforts are required to update the mechanisms, as the society and the means always keep on changing. He said that the ultimate objective of any society should be to achieve the level of incorruptibility. This is important keeping in view the fact that India is a young and evolving democracy, he added. The Minister further said that the role of society is equally important in curbing corruption, and this task cannot alone be left to Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

Highlighting the steps taken by the Government, he said that the Government has been following a policy of 'zero tolerance' towards corruption. He said that the Government has always focused on checking corruption, and at the same time to ensure an environment to every officer to perform without feeling intimidated by anyone. The bureaucracy cannot succeed without providing good governance tools, he added. He said that this environment is important to ensure the policy of ‘minimum government, maximum governance' and fulfill the aim of citizen-centricity. Dr Jitendra Singh also said that the future of India will depend on the youth who are going to be the change-makers in the society.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that the concept of ‘preventive vigilance' is the step in right direction. He emphasized that awareness needs to be created in the society on a regular basis for various sections of society. He also complemented the Commission for putting the manual in the public domain.  The Minister emphasized that timeframe is very important in handling the cases related to corruption and the same is being streamlined in the amendments to be made in the Prevention of Corruption Act. Dr Jitendra Singh said that the steps such as online RTI, online Vigilance manual will bring in transparency and good governance in the system.

The Central Vigilance Commissioner Mr KV Chowdary said that this edition was released keeping in view the fact that guidance is required for the people working in this area with the changing times and laws. He said that the first edition was released in the year 1968 after the formation of the Commission in 1964 and the 6 th edition was released in the year 2005 after the Commission became a statutory body in 2003. He said that a lot of changes including automation have happened in the last twelve years, so the new edition of the manual was required. He said that the major iniitative and change is to put the manual in the public domain. The online version is the dynamic one and will be reviewed online. Any changes including changes in the guidelines and court judgments will be updated on a continuous basis, the CVC said. He said that it will act as a reference book for the vigilance practitioners and bring in transparency.  He also said that a new chapter on Preventive Vigilance and separate chapters on Banking and Insurance services have been added in the Manual. Mr KV Chowdary said that the Commission is developing an e-learning module for vigilance officers. The Commission is also shifting to e-office, he added.