Central Vigilance Commission to rank government departments on anti-corruption measures

The Central Vigilance Commission will rank the central government organisations on anti- corruption measures being taken by them, an official release said today.

The CVC has decided to go in for development of the integrity index-based on bench-marking of internal processes and controls within an organisation as well as the management of relationships and expectations of outside stakeholders, it said.

The integrity index will bring out annual scores and rankings of public sector undertakings, public sector banks and financial institutions, departments and ministries of the Government of India by linking the essential drivers of vigilance with long-term efficiency, profitability and sustainability of public organisations, the release said.

The index is aimed to create an internal and external ecosystem that promotes working with integrity in public organisations, it said.

"The CVC has adopted a research-based approach for creating an integrity index that various organisations can use to measure themselves and which will evolve with changing needs and with this view the IIM-Ahmedabad has been engaged to develop the integrity index," it said.

Being a new initiative, initially 25 organisations have been selected for development of the integrity index.

Subsequently, it is proposed to extend the integrity index concept to all other organisations of the Government of India, the release said.

The 25 organisations are the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, NTPC Ltd, Eastern Coalfields, Western Coalfields, Steel Authority of India Limited, Punjab National Bank, Syndicate Bank, National Highways Authority of India and Railways Ministry, among others.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), South MCD, Food Corporation of India (FCI) and National Mineral Development Corporation are also among the initially selected organisations.