By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, OCT 28, 2020: THE Prime Minister inaugurated the National Conference on Vigilance and Anti Corruption on the theme (Vigilant India, Prosperous India) yesterday through video conferencing. The event was organized by the Central Bureau of Investigation focusing on Vigilance issues aimed at raising awareness and reaffirming India's commitment to promotion of integrity and probity in public life through citizen participation.

Addressing the Conference, the Prime Minister said Sardar Patel is the architect of United India as well the country's administrative systems. As the first home minister of the country, he made efforts to build such a system which is meant for the common man of the country and where the policies are based on integrity. Mr Narendra Modi lamented that the following decades witnessed a different situation which lead to scams worth thousands of crores of rupees, establishment of shell companies, tax harassment and tax evasion.

The Prime Minister said in 2014, when the country decided to make a major change and to move in a new direction, there was a big challenge in changing this environment. He added the constitution of the committee against black money was in limbo despite the Supreme Court's directions. The committee was formed immediately after formation of this Government. This shows the commitment of the government against corruption. He said since 2014 the country witnessed reforms in many sectors including banking sector, health sector, education sector, Labour, Agriculture, etc. He said based on these reforms, the nation is now moving ahead with its  full strength to make the AtmaNirbhar Bharat campaign successful. He envisioned making India one of the leading countries of the world.

The Prime Minister stressed the necessity for the administrative systems to be transparent, responsible, accountable, answerable to the public. He added that the biggest enemy against this is any form of  corruption. He said one hand corruption hurts the development of the country and on the other it destroys the social balance as well as the trust that people should have in the system. And therefore, he said tackling corruption is not just the responsibility of any single agency or institution but that it is a  collective responsibility. He said corruption cannot be dealt with a stand-alone approach.

He said When it is the question of the country, then the scope of vigilance becomes very expansive. Be it corruption, economic offences, drug networks, money laundering, terrorism, terror funding, it has been seen quite often that they are all linked.

He said hence there is a need for systematic checks, effective audits, and capacity building and training with a holistic approach to fight corruption. The Prime Minister emphasized that it is the need of the hour that all agencies work with  synergy and a cooperative spirit.