Vigilance Awareness Week affirms commitment to promoting integrity in public life

“Integrity- A way of life” has been chosen as the theme for the Vigilance Awareness Week this year by the Commission.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) observes the Vigilance Awareness Week from 28th October to 2nd November 2019. This is observed every year during the week in which the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (31st October) falls. This awareness week campaign affirms our commitment to the promotion of integrity and probity in public life through citizen participation.

 “Integrity- A way of life” has been chosen as the theme for the Vigilance Awareness Week this year by the Commission.  Integrity and Ethics form the foundational pillars of a nation and national development takes place when individuals and organizations are committed to integrity as a core value. Combating corruption is not just a matter of making laws and creating institutions, but is deeply rooted in human values and morals of individuals. Cultivating ethical values is essential for building a New India.

The Commission believes that this theme would help draw the attention of all sections of society especially the youth to the significance of ethical conduct in the building of honest, nondiscriminatory and corruption-free society.

The Commission has requested all Central Government Ministries/Organizations to conduct activities relevant to the theme both within their organization, and outreach activities for public/citizens as follows:

Activities to be conducted within the organization include the taking of the Integrity Pledge by all employees, distribution of pamphlets/handouts on preventive vigilance activities, whistleblower mechanism, and other anti-corruption measures, conducting workshops and sensitization programs for employees and other stakeholders on policies/procedures of the organization and preventive vigilance measures. Other activities include the publication of journals/newsletters on vigilance issues, systemic improvements and good practices adopted for wider dissemination and awareness, conducting various competitions such as debates, quiz etc. for the employees and their families on issues relating to anti-corruption and the use of organizational websites for the dissemination of employees/customer-oriented information. 

Outreach activities for public/citizens include the display of hoardings, banners, posters and distribution of handouts etc. at prominent locations/places in offices/field units and also at places with public interface , organization of grievance redressal camps for citizens/customers by organizations having customer-oriented services/activities and the taking of the online “Integrity Pledge” developed by the Commission. 

Laying stress for creation of awareness on the ill-effects of corruption amongst school and college students, various activities such as lectures, panel discussions, debates, quiz, essay writing, slogans/elocution/cartoon/poster competitions on moral values, ethics, good governance practices etc. are to be organized in schools and colleges across the country. In 2018, such activities were organized in over 19,333 schools and over 5120 colleges with the participation of more than 22  lakh children across the country. The establishment of ‘Integrity Clubs’ in schools and colleges is an initiative to cultivate ethical values in the leaders of tomorrow.

“Awareness Gram Sabhas” is organized for the dissemination of awareness in Gram Panchayats (in rural and semi-urban areas) to sensitize the rural citizens about the ill-effects of corruption. In the 2018 year, 73,655  such Gram Sabhas were organized during the Vigilance Awareness Week. 

Seminars, discussions and other outreach events are being organized involving the private sector, professional associations, trade unions and associations for wide participation of all sections of civil society.

Organizations conduct activities with high visibility and public appeal such as walkathons, marathons, cycle rallies, human chains, street plays, and other public functions in various cities and towns across the country.

Many organizations extensively use social media platforms, bulk SMS/E-mail, Whatsapp, electronic and print media, etc. for spreading awareness.

(With Inputs from PIB)