Dr Jitendra addresses BRICS meet, reiterates India's commitment against corruption
Post by on Thursday, July 14, 2022
New Delhi, July 13: Addressing the BRICS Ministerial meet on Anti-Corruption, on behalf of India, Union Minister of State, Dr Jitendra Singh Wednesday said, India under Modi is determined to continue its crusade against corruption and unaccounted money.
In pursuance of this, he said, a range of initiatives have been taken by the Modi government over the last 8 years.
Dr Jitendra Singh referred to the India’s Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which the Modi government amended after 30 years in 2018 to introduce a number of new provisions including criminalizing the act of giving bribe also in addition to taking bribe and at the same time putting in place an effective deterrence for such actions by individuals as well as corporate entities.
He also pointed out that the institution of Lokpal has been operationalized by appointment of Chairperson and Members. Lokpal is statutorily mandated to directly receive and process complaints as regards alleged offences against public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act,1988.
Dr Jitendra Singh informed the Ministers of the BRICS countries and distinguished delegates the various anti-corruption efforts taken by India in the recent past like the effective implementation of e-Governance through extensive use of ICT tools which has reduced the scope of corruption substantially at all levels. He said, steps like MCA21 (for corporates & business houses e-measures), Fully automated Income Tax compliances, Commercial taxes compliances, Passport & Visa services, Digi Locker, Pensions, Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) through Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB), Common Services Centers (CSCs), etc. are few of the successful e-Government endeavors launched under various e-Governance initiatives.
Dr Jitendra Singh thanked the Chinese Presidency for this initiative and expressed satisfaction over the successful finalization of the BRICS Denial of Safe Haven initiative and shared experiences at the BRICS Workshop on Anti-Corruption and Economic Development. They also focused on enhancing the use of criminal and non-criminal tools to combat corruption, including through cooperation on asset recovery.
