Vigilance Awareness Week 2024 with the Theme – ‘Culture of Integrity for Nation’s Prosperity’

Vigilance Awareness Week is observed every year to commemorate the birthday of Shri. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. This year, the week starting from 28th Oct, 2024 to 3rd Nov, 2024 will be celebrated across the country as “Vigilance Awareness Week” with the theme – “Culture of Integrity for Nation’s Prosperity”. The Week aims to combat corruption in India through citizen awareness, education, and active participation. This week-long observance promotes ethics and transparency in governance and public administration. The state government is expected to adopt several strategies to fight corruption and to bring awareness to the general public about the perils of corruption. Observance of Vigilance Awareness Week remains one of the primary tools of preventive vigilance and the focus on building awareness and re-affirming our commitment to uphold integrity in governance. The observance is also one of the tools used by the Vigilance Commission to bring together all stakeholders to collectively participate in the prevention and the fight against corruption and to raise public awareness regarding the existence, cause and gravity of and the threat posed by corruption, create awareness regarding common issues related to vigilance and create an atmosphere motivated towards weeding out corruption and unethical practices.

The Central Vigilance Commission, New Delhi has directed all state departments, union territories, public undertaking bodies to conduct training for their employees especially fresh recruits and being working till ten (10) years with detailed a three month campaign period starting from 16th Aug, 2024 to 15th Nov, 2024 for taking up the following five (05) preventive vigilance measures as focus areas:

a.     Capacity building programme

b.   Identification and implementation of systematic improvement measures

c.     Up-dating of circulars/guidelines manuals

d.    Disposal of complaints received before 30.06.2024

e.     Dynamic digital presence

All organisations should strive to drive home the idea that the fight against corruption is a collective fight involving everyone. It is therefore imperative that the public must be motivated to fight against corruption. The Awareness Week’s observance as an initiative to bring an end to corruption by raising voice against corruption and bringing awareness among the citizens to understand the cause of corruption and stand against it. The people must know the threat cause in a society due to the existence of corruption. I believe that corruption has been one of the major obstacles to economic, political and social progress of our country. I believe that all stakeholders such as Government, citizens and private sector need to work together to eradicate corruption.

I realise that every citizen should be vigilant and commit to highest standards of honesty and integrity at all times and supported the fight against corruption.

I, therefore, pledge –

•       To follow probity and rule of law in all walks of life;

•       To neither take nor offer bribe;

•       To perform all tasks in an honest and transparent manner;

•       To act in public interest;

•      To lead by example exhibiting integrity in personal behaviour;

•      To report any incident of corruption to the appropriate agency.

Kezhokhoto Savi,

Advocate