New Delhi: The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh has said the Government has “zero tolerance towards corruption”. Speaking at an Awards Function organized by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) here today to felicitate the winners of an Online International Youth Anti-Corruption Contest – “Together against Corruption”, Dr. Jitendra Singh said under the able leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Government has created a congenial environment for diligent officers who perform with honesty and sincerity.
“A number of laws have been amended such as the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) where the bribe giver can also now be prosecuted and time limit fixed to act against the accused. Besides, the Lokpal Act and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act have been enacted to check corruption”, said Dr. Jitendra Singh. “At the same time, the Government has introduced several reforms towards bringing about transparency like scrapping Interviews for Group C and certain Group B posts and doing away with the attestation of certificates”, he added.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said in 2014 the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inherited a huge legacy of scams amidst a huge challenge of pessimism in the country all around. “There has been a significant turnaround in the last more than five years”, he said. Exhorting the youth to rise against corruption, Dr. Jitendra Singh said young minds must lead the fight against the malady of corruption as they can be an effective model of social change. “Incorruptibility is a virtue difficult to achieve for one who has had an opportunity to get corrupted; this virtue comes from self-esteem”, he said.
On the occasion, Dr. Jitendra Singh presented awards to the top three national winners of the Online International Youth Anti-Corruption Contest “Together against Corruption” which was initiated by the BRICS forum.
In January 2019, in BRICS Anti-Corruption Working Group Meeting held in Japan, on the margins of G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group Meeting, Russian Federation initiated organizing an Online International Youth Anti-corruption contest “Together against Corruption!” with the participation of BRICS member countries.
The Contest was organized by the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation. The Co-organizers were the relevant anti-corruption authorities of other Member States of the Interstate Anti-Corruption Council (Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan) and the BRICS countries (the Federative Republic of Brazil, Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of South Africa).
The goals of the Contest was to encourage young people to participate in corruption prevention, to develop and use social advertising against corruption, to foster interaction between the society and prosecution authorities and other public authorities in anti-corruption education of the population. The objectives of the Contest was anti-corruption education of population; developing a zero tolerance within society for any manifestations of corruption; strengthening of trust in public authorities, including prosecution authorities, developing a positive perception of their work; demonstration of the openness to the civil society of the prosecution authorities and other anti-corruption public authorities and their focus on joint anti-corruption activities; drawing public attention to anti-corruption issues, as well as to the role of the prosecution authorities and other public authorities engaged in this area, as well as to the results of this work.
India supported the initiative and organized under the aegis of the Central Vigilance Commission the International Youth Contest of Social Anti-Corruption Advertising “Together against Corruption!” in India. With more than 3,800 entries for Poster and Videos related to anti-corruption from all around the nation, the competition displayed the spirit of our country’s zero tolerance to corruption.
A National Committee, headed by Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission was appointed with six other members from various anti-corruption authorities like Central Bureau of Investigation and Department of Personnel and Training. This Committee completed the task of selecting the top 10 Indian entries each for best videos and best poster categories. These works are displayed on the start page of the website www.anticorruption.life and will be used in preparing the exhibition (exposition) of the Contest works on December 9, 2019 in Moscow.
The top three winners at the national level in Video and Poster category each were awarded with a Shield and a Certificate. They were also given Prize Money of Rs. 15,000/- (1st Prize), Rs. 12,000/- (2nd Prize) and Rs. 10,000/- (3rd Prize) to be transferred directly in the bank accounts of winners.
Shri J. Vinod Kumar, Director, Central Vigilance Commission was nominated as member on the International Jury for the Competition. The entry by Shri Pranav Pradeep Saxena has won the third Prize in Best Video category at the international level.
