Integrity Pact

Why in news?

• The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has again modified the criteria for the nomination of Independent External Monitors (IEM) in government bodies, months after it had issued a revised standard operating procedure for adoption and implementation of the ‘Integrity Pact’ clause, which is meant to prevent corruption in public procurement.

What is Integrity Pact?

• The pact is to ensure transparency, equity and competitiveness in public procurement.
• They were developed as a tool for preventing corruption in public contracting.
• It is a vigilance tool that envisages an agreement between the prospective vendors/bidders and the buyer, committing both the parties not to exercise any corrupt influence on any aspect of the contract.
• The tool is developed by Transparency International.

About Integrity External Monitors:

• The IEMs independently and objectively review the documents to determine if the parties have complied with their obligations under the pact.
• They may submit a report to the chief executive of the organisation concerned or directly to the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) and the CVC, if they find serious irregularities attracting the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 provisions.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘Integrity Pact’:

1. It is meant to prevent corruption in public procurement.

2. It developed by Transparency International

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer