New Delhi: The Union Minister for Road Transport &Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Nitin Gadkari delivered the 31st Intelligence Bureau (IB) Centenary Endowment Lecture, here today. The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir was also present.
In his address, Shri Gadkari mooted Performance Audit as a better alternative to Financial Audit to evaluate the managerial and administrative ability of officials. He said though transparency is equally important, but it must accompany time bound decision making and delivery. He advocated Innovation and Modernization including IT tools and e-Tendering for making project implementation process transparent and efficient. Shri Gadkari also touched upon the importance of Human Resource Management and drew distinction between what would constitute a bona fide and mala fide mistake.
Commending the silent and tireless role of the IB in making the country a secure and safe place, Shri Gadkari said it is the aim of all of us to work for comprehensive and all-round development of the country, that is fearless and corruption free. Stating that neither anybody is born evil nor perfect, Shri Gadkari said police can play a key role in converting the incarcerated into contributors for the society’s welfare. Quoting the example of how solid and liquid waste has been recycled, fetching large cash returns for the Pune Municipal Corporation, the Minister said, “no one is a waste in society; the only thing is to realise and harness an individual’s potential.”
Speaking on the occasion, Director, IB Shri Rajiv Jain said many important personalities have delivered the IB Endowment Lecture and this is the 31st Lecture in that series.
Senior officers of IB and MHA were also present on the occasion.
The Intelligence Bureau (IB) completed 100 years of its existence in 1987 and celebrated 1988 as its Centenary Year. On December 23, 1887, the Central Special Branch was set up under orders issued in London by the Secretary of State for India. The Central Special Branch was renamed as the Criminal Intelligence Bureau and, thereafter, as the Intelligence Bureau.
The yearlong Centenary celebrations in 1988 were marked by seminars, workshops and lectures on national security issues in different parts of the country in which the IB personnel interacted with public leaders, administrators, intellectuals and officers of other security agencies. The Centenary Year culminated in a week-long celebration in the capital. Dr Shankar Dyal Sharma, then Vice President of India, addressed the closing function on December 22, 1988 by delivering a lecture on the subject ‘The Dynamics of Security Environment’.
After the first lecture by Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, the Centenary Endowment Lecture was institutionalised and is being organised in the third or fourth week of December every year. Thirty one such Lectures have been delivered by eminent speakers on a wide range of issues related to India’s security, the development of the Indian polity and on the state of the nation.
The Centenary Endowment Lecture provides a wide cross section of Intelligence Bureau personnel an opportunity to hear intellectuals, leaders and thinkers on some contemporary issues. For all personnel of the Intelligence Bureau, the annual gathering is also an occasion on which they rededicate themselves to the highest levels of professionalism and reaffirm their commitment to maintain the unity and integrity of the country. In addition to IB personnel, the invitation is also extended to the select officers from MHA, PMO, Cabinet Secretariat, CPOs etc and ex-DIBs and Retired Senior Officers who have been associated with the IB/CPOs based in and around Delhi. Besides, the Probationer IPS Officers are also invited to the lecture. The address by the guest speaker is followed by a 30-minute interaction with the audience.
