Indian Initiatives to Strengthen Ethical Framework

1. Accountability to Parliament

• Administrators in India are responsible to political executives
• Political executives are answerable to Parliament
• Financial accountability: executive needs authorization from legislature to spend money

2. Code of Conduct for Ministers

• Government of India prescribed Code of Conduct for Ministers
• Steps needed to prescribe code of ethics recommended by 2nd Committee on Ethics of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha
• Committees on Ethics oversee moral and ethical conduct of Members

3. Disclosure of Interest 

• Members with personal pecuniary or direct interest on a matter must declare nature of interest
• Disclosure of interest provided in both Houses of Parliament

4. Code of Conduct for Civil Servants

• Prescribed code of conduct for civil servants to increase confidence in government
• Aims to prevent private power and interest from subverting government decisions

5. Legal Mechanism to Check Corruption

• Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 applicable to all categories of “public duty”
• Other enactments to check corruption include Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999

6. Right to Information Act, 2005

• Based on the principle that all government information is the property of people
• Ensures participatory governance at grassroots level

7. Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013

• Aims to prevent and control corruption through setting up independent and empowered body at central level
• Each state must pass a law within a year to set up body of Lokayuktas at state level

8. Whistle-blowers Protection Act, 2014

• Enacted to protect whistle-blowers after rise in attacks following RTI Act
• Establishes mechanism to receive complaints and prevent victimization of complainants

Other mechanisms

I. Vigilance and Investigative Mechanisms

• Central Vigilance Commission: apex vigilance institution monitoring all vigilance activity under Central Govt, empowered to receive written complaints on allegations of corruption, conduct preliminary inquiries
• Central Bureau of Investigation: premier investigating police agency in India, involved in collection of criminal intelligence in anti-corruption, economic crimes, and special crimes
• National Investigative Agency: national-level investigative agency to investigate and prosecute offenses affecting the sovereignty, security and integrity of India, created after Mumbai terror attack in 2008
• Right to Public Service Delivery Legislations: states have enacted Public Services Guarantee Act which guarantees “right to public services,” which are to be provided within a stipulated time frame

II. Radical Initiatives to Strengthen Morality in Public Administration

• Political Commitment to Ethics and Moral Values: political leaders responsible for maintaining high standards of propriety, should focus on probity, integrity, and value-based governance
• Message of Zero Tolerance to Corruption and Unethical Action: sent by PM Modi to promote ethical governance
• Political Will to Hold Public Services Accountable: need to weed out non-performers
• Making Directive Principles of State Policy Justiciable: examine possibility of making DPSPs a justiciable right
• National Commission on Integrity and Transparency in Governance: assess effectiveness of code of conduct for civil servants, promote ethical values among public servants
• Transparency in Delivery of Public Services: establish public trust by ensuring citizens’ complaints are heard and redressed
• Use of Innovative Technological Tools: reduce avenues of corruption and narrow down the scope of discretion
• Abuse of Discretionary Powers: tighten procedures, restrict discretion, assign decision-making to a committee rather than individuals
• Protection and Incentives to Honest Public Servants: transfers and postings based on merit and performance