Ethics - AUGUST 2018 · accounts, fixed deposits etc. The value of properties under attachment is more than Rs. 4,300 crore including immovable properties of more than Rs. 3400 crore

crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

www.pib.nic.in 2018-08-01

Unearthing of Benami Properties worth Rs. 4,300 croreMinistry of Finance

Unearthing of Benami Properties worth Rs. 4,300 crore

Posted On: 31 JUL 2018 6:00PM by PIB Delhi

Due to intensive efforts undertaken by the Income-tax Department, provisional attachmenthas been made in more than 1600 cases of properties under the Benami Transactions(Prohibition) Act, 1988. These include plots of land, flats, shops, vehicles, deposits in bankaccounts, fixed deposits etc. The value of properties under attachment is more than Rs.4,300 crore including immovable properties of more than Rs. 3400 crore.

Suitable action under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, inter alia, against thebenamidars and the beneficial owners has been taken by the Income-tax Department. However, itmay be mentioned here that category wise details of the persons are not maintained by theIncome-tax Department.

This was stated by Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in written reply to aquestion in Rajya Sabha.

****

DSM/RM/KA

(Release ID: 1540880) Visitor Counter : 396

END

Downloaded from crackIAS.com

© Zuccess App by crackIAS.com

crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

www.pib.nic.in 2018-08-03

99% of wage payments electronically credited into worker’s account through Direct BenefitTransfer system to bring more transparency & minimize leakages in MGNREGSMinistry of Rural Development

99% of wage payments electronically credited into worker’saccount through Direct Benefit Transfer system to bringmore transparency & minimize leakages in MGNREGS

Posted On: 02 AUG 2018 5:09PM by PIB Delhi

The details of the expenditure incurred on wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) as reported by States/UTs in ManagementInformation System (MIS) during the last three years and current year as on 30.07.2018 is givenbelow:

The Government has taken steps under MGNREGA from time to time. These include:

Capacity building of functionaries on planning, training of State/ District/ Block level TechnicalResource team is taken up under SAKSHAM training programme.

i.

Training of Barefoot Technicians, capacity building of MGNREGA functionaries such as StateTechnical Resource Team / District Technical Resource Team / Block Technical ResourceTeam on Mission Water Conservation works, training on Geo-MGNREGA, training to Financeofficers of States on preparation of fund proposals etc.

ii.

Complaints of irregularities/ misappropriation of funds in implementation of Mahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in States/UTs are received in theMinistry from time to time. Since the responsibility of implementation of MGNREGS is vested withthe State Governments/UTs, all complaints received in the Ministry and forwarded to theconcerned State Governments/UTs for taking appropriate action including investigation, as perlaw. With a view to bringing in more transparency into the system and to minimize leakages, DirectBenefit Transfer (DBT) system in wage payment has been adopted. The Ministry has introducedElectronic Fund Management System (e-FMS) under which 99% (FY 2018-19 as on 30.07.2018)of wage payments are electronically credited into the worker’s account through DBT system. TheGovernment has started National Electronic Fund Management System (Ne-FMS) in 24 Statesand 1 UT for direct payment of wages into workers’ accounts.

crac

kIAS.co

mcrackIAS.com

This information was provided by the Minister of State for Rural Development, Shri Ram KripalYadav today in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question.

*****

APS/SNC/AS


Read this release in: Marathi

END

Downloaded from crackIAS.com


crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

Source : www.pib.nic.in Date : 2018-08-07

SHRI NITIN GADKARI LAUNCHES BIDDERINFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND BHOOMIRASHI - PFMS LINKAGE PORTALSRelevant for: Ethics | Topic: Utilization of public funds

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

Shri Nitin Gadkari Launches Bidder InformationManagement System and Bhoomi Rashi - PFMS LinkagePortals

Announces Institution of Annual Awards for Excellence inNational Highways Projects

Expresses Confidence about Faster Execution, LowerCosts And Higher Quality of Highways Projects


The Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, RiverDevelopment and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari launched BidderInformation Management System (BIMS) and Bhoomi Rashi and PFMS linkage -two IT initiatives of the Road Transport & Highways Ministry that are aimed atexpediting pre construction processes relating to bidding and land acquisitionrespectively. The Minister also announced institution of Annual Awards forExcellence in National Highways Projects from this year onwards.

BIMS is aimed at streamlining the process of pre-qualification of bidders for EPCMode of contracts for National Highway works with enhanced transparency andobjectivity. The portal will work as a data base of information about bidders, coveringbasic details, civil works experience, cash accruals and network, annual turnover etc.The pre-qualification of bidders can be assessed from data already stored in theportal, so that technical evaluation can be carried out much faster. BIMS will be usedby all the project implementation agencies of the Ministry for maintenance of technicalinformation of civil works of contractors/ concessionaires, and for online technicalevaluation of civil works bids. The bidders would be responsible for ensuring that theirlatest details are available on the BIMS portal. These details will be used by biddersto apply for any RFP for civil works on EPC mode that has been floated by theMinistry and its implementation agencies on the Central Public Procurement Portal(CPPP). The BIMS portal will be operated in conjunction with the CPPP portal forinvitation of bids for civil works for EPC mode. It is estimated that BIMS portal willsignificantly reduce the procurement time for projects through an objective and

crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

transparent online evaluation system thereby leading to accelerated projectimplementation.

Bhoomi Rashi, the portal developed by MoRTH and NIC, comprises the entirerevenue data of the country, right down to 6.4 lakh villages. The entire process flow,from submission of draft notification by the State Government to its approval by the.Minister of State for RT&H and publication in e-Gazette, is online. The portal, createdfor expediting the process of publication of notifications for LA, is now being fullyutilized for issuing the notifications, and more than 900 notifications have been issuedusing the portal so far. Bhoomi Rashi portal has been instrumental in reducing thetime taken for approval and publication of notifications pertaining to land acquisition

Integration of Public Financial Management System (PFMS) with Bhoomi Rashi isone of the key functionalities to facilitate payment related to compensation for landacquisition to all the beneficiaries directly through the Bhoomi Rashi system. PFMS isa web-based online software application developed and implemented by the Office ofController General of Accounts (CGA). to facilitate sound public financialmanagement system for Government of India (GoI) It provides various stakeholderswith a real time, reliable and meaningful management information system and aneffective decision support system, as part of the Digital India initiative of GoI.

With integration of Bhoomi Rashi with PFMS, payment of Compensation by theMinistry to the beneficiaries will be just-in-time, and without any parking of funds. Thetesting of this integration was done through a pilot project in Jaipur RO of MoRTH forand the system is being now rolled out to all other regional offices of MoRTH andNHIDCL.

Speaking at an event in New Delhi today Shri Gadkari expressed confidence that theabove initiatives of the Ministry will help expedite the work of award and constructionof highways projects significantly. He said that thanks to the Bhumi Rashi portal 900notifications for land acquisition have been issued so far in the current year, asagainst the 1000 issued during the whole of last year. He said that the focus of hisMinistry is to reduce construction costs while enhancing quality, and for this manyinitiatives have been taken towards transformation and optimization of pre-construction, construction and maintenance processes .

Shri Gadkari also announced the institution of Annual Awards for Excellence inNational Highways Projects from this year onwards, for recognizingconcessionaires and contractors who are performing exceptionally. The Annual RoadAwards to be presented every year starting 2018, are designed across five categoriesas follows:

Excellence in Construction Management acknowledges efficient use ofresources along with finest quality standards and smooth execution of allmilestones of the project.

a.

Excellence in Operation & Maintenance recognises projects with swift andsmooth execution of maintenance works, inspections and unparalleled quality inriding experience.

b.

crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

Best Toll Plaza focuses on automation and efficient management of traffic andservices at the plaza.

c.

Safe Highway acknowledges commendable work done to reduce roadcasualties and establish preventive safety measures and emergency responseservices.

d.

Innovation in Design or Construction Technology focuses on significantachievements in devising or adapting a new construction technology or structuraland geometric design.

e.

The best performers would be selected based on multiple rounds of rigorousassessment. Detailed, category-specific and quantifiable evaluation frameworks havebeen developed for this assessment by Quality Council of India engaged by theMinistry to design the complete process. The companies would nominate themselvesthrough an online portal by uploading the project information and documents specificto the award category. In the first round, the validity and propriety of the submitteddata would be verified and evaluated followed by the second round, which involvesan on-site inspection of the shortlisted applicants. The finalists would present to anexpert jury panel consisting of industry experts and academicians in the final round.The winners would be announced on the Good Governance Day on 25th December,2018.

The Minister also facilitated officials of NIC, Transport Ministry and Office ofController General of Accounts who were associated with designing and developingthe above portals. Shri Mansukh l Mandavia, MoS Road Transport & Highways andChemicals and Fertilizers, and senior officials of the Ministry, NIC were also presenton the occasion.

*****

NP/MS/MS


ENDDownloaded from crackIAS.com


crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m


GEM TO ENSURE TRANSPARENCY IN PUBLICPROCUREMENTRelevant for: Ethics | Topic: Utilization of public funds

Ministry of Commerce & Industry

GeM to ensure transparency in public procurement


As an initiative to improve transparency in procurement, Government has set upGovernment e- Marketplace as a 100% Government owned company registeredunder the Companies Act, 2013 for providing online platform for procurement ofcommon use goods and services by government organizations.

Government e- Marketplace (GeM) is an online platform for government users whichwas launched on 9th August, 2016. It leverages technology to enhance transparency,efficiency and speed in public procurement. It provides the tools of e-bidding, reversee-auction and demand aggregation to facilitate the government users, achieve thebest value of their money. It is paperless, cashless and contactless platform givingend to end solution.

All the State Governments are utilising the services offered by Government e-Marketplace. In addition, 22 States namely, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Telengana, UttarPradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu,Tripura, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, HimachalPradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Meghalaya and West Bengal havesigned Memorandum of Understanding for making procurement through GeM portalmandatory in their state.

This information was given by the Minister of State of Commerce & Industry C RChaudhary in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

***

MM/SB




crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m


ZERO TOLERANCE AGAINST CORRUPTIONRelevant for: Ethics | Topic: Challenges of corruption

Ministry of Finance

Zero Tolerance against Corruption


Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has intimated that a total of 273 (268 Regular Cases(RCs) + 05 Preliminary Enquiry (PE)) cases have been registered by CBI relating to corruptionin Banks during the year 2017 & 2018 (up to 30.6.2018).

The details of Banks involved in these cases are enclosed at Annexure–A.

Out of the above cases, Charge Sheets have been filed in 37cases against 166 persons/firmsincluding 45 bank officers/officials.

The bank-wise details of these 45 officers/officials are enclosed at Annexure–B.

Further, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has informed that the number of officers inrespect of whom Commission has advised sanction for prosecution are as under:

Name of the Bank FY 2017-18 FY 2018-19 (till date)

Andhra Bank 1

Bank of Maharashtra 1

Indian Bank - 1

Punjab National Bank 6 -

State Bank of India 1 2

UCO Bank` 2

Total 11 3

Source: CVC

The Central Government is fully alive and committed to implement its policy of “Zero Toleranceagainst Corruption” and has taken several measures to combat corruption.

These, inter-alia, include:

Issue of Instructions by the CVC asking the organizations to adopt Integrity Pact in majorprocurement activities;

●

Ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2011;●

Setting up of additional Special Courts exclusively for trial of CBI cases in different states.●

crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

The pro-active measures taken by CVC to ensure that incorrect practices do not happen infuture, are as follows:

Constant updating of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) pertaining to each activity;●

Setting up robust Whistle Blower Mechanism so that the officials functioning at variouslevels within the organisation get a channel to share their concerns related tovigilance/systemic issues without any fear;

●

Identify areas, where (i) there are no rules (ii) the rules that have potential of beingmisinterpreted or (iii) rules that are impossible to follow and advice framing suitable rules;

●

Formation of Preventive Vigilance Committees at Medium and Large Branches todiscuss/review at monthly intervals preventive vigilance measures and frauds during thepreceding month;

●

Need for devising an effective system for review of quality of concurrent audit by peer ChiefVigilance Officers;

●

Visits of medium and large branches by Vigilance Officers;●

Offsite Surveillance through reports on various parameters e.g. spike in business levels,cash deposits, remittances, etc.

●

Effective and expeditious investigation whenever any irregularity/misconduct is noticed;●

Organising of regular Training Programmes at various levels;●

Further, CVC guidelines are conveyed to all the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) from time to timefor their meticulous compliance in the matter.PSBs regularly monitor their Systems &Procedures, Guidelines, Policies & Technology to incorporate suitable checks & balances in thesystem to curb corruption. PSBs have a Board approved Staff Accountability Policy andRegulations for taking action against officials involved in irregularities.

This was stated by Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in a Written Reply to aQuestion in Rajya Sabha today.

ANNEXURE-A

Bankwise details of cases (RCs + Pes) registered by CBI relating to corruption in Banks.

Sl.No. Name of Bank No.of Cases/PEs Registered

Year

2017 2018

1 UCO Bank 7 5

2 Meghalaya Rural Bank 1 0

3 IDBI Bank 2 7

4 Bank of India 3 8

5 Bank of Baroda 4 3

6 Syndicate Bank 7 0

7 Corporation Bank 22 1

crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

8 ICICI Bank 2 0

9 State Bank of India 24 19

10 Union Bank of India 9 1

11 Punjab National Bank 23 34

12 Indian Oversis Bank 6 1

13 Indian Bank of Jammu 1 0

14 Co-parative Bank 2 1

15 Canara Bank 15 6

16 APGV Bank 1 0

17 Allahabad Bank 2 3

18 Central Bank of India 1 3

19 Vijay Bank 3 0

20 Central Madhya Pradesh Gramin Bank 1 0

21 Oriental Bank of Commerce 1 5

22 Bank of Maharashtra 12 3

23 Dena Bank 4 0

24 UttarakhandGramin Bank 2 2

25 State Bank of Mysore 1 0

26 State bank of Hyderabad 2 0

27 United bank of India 0 1

28 Lakshmi Vilas Bank 1 0

29 Andhra Bank 1 0

30 IFCI limited 1 1

31 TelanganaGramina Bank 0 1

32 Prathma Bank 0 1

33 SaptigiriGramin Bank 0 1

34 Bihar Co-oparative Bank 2 0

35 Muslim Co-oparative Bank 2 0

36 Punjab & Sindh Bank 0 1

Total 165 108

crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

Source:CBI

There are instances where 01 or more than 01 Banks are involved.●

ANNEXURE-B

Bank wise details of number of officials of Banks against whom charge sheet has beenfiled by CBI in cases of corruption in Banks.

2017

Sl. No. Name of Bank Bank Officers/Official involved

1 Corporation Bank 3

2 State Bank of Travancore 1

3 State Bank of India 5

4 Indian Overseas Bank 4

5 Canara Bank 1

6 Bank of Maharashtra 1

7Jalgaon District Central Co-op. BankLtd.

3

8 Dena Bank 5

9 UttarakhandGramin Bank 1

10 State Bank of Mysore 4

11 State Bank of Hyderabad 1

12 Syndicate Bank 1

13 Punjab National Bank 2

Total 32

2018

Sl. No. Name of Bank Bank Officers/Official involved

1. Punjab National Bank 13

Total 13

Source: CBI

This was stated by Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance in written reply to aquestion in Rajya Sabha.

crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

****

DSM/RM/KA


Read this release in: Urdu



crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2018-08-12

TO CHECK CORRUPTION, COPS IN UNA BARREDFROM CARRYING OVER RS 200Relevant for: Ethics | Topic: Case Studies

In a bid to curb corruption, the police chief of Himachal Pradesh’s Una district has issued aunique diktat barring police personnel manning checkpoints from keeping more than Rs. 200with them. Una Superintendent of Police Diwakar Sharma said the decision was taken followingcomplaints that policemen at checkpoints were seeking bribes.PTI

Sign up to receive our newsletter in your inbox every day!

Please enter a valid email address.

Our existing notification subscribers need to choose this option to keep getting the alerts.



crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2018-08-16

PROBING AN AMENDMENTRelevant for: Ethics | Topic: Challenges of corruption

In the monsoon session, Parliament passed certain amendments to laws on corruption, whichcould have a far-reaching effect. Among them, the focus here is on two aspects: one requiringprior approval for initiating investigation into allegations of corruption against public servants,and the other requiring prior sanction for prosecution of public servants.

Section 6A of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act has been amended, reinterring therequirement of prior approval for initiating investigation of corruption cases not only against JointSecretaries and above, but all categories of public servants. The only exception to this are casesof traps in which such public servants are caught red-handed while taking bribe. Also, till nowunder Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, previous sanction of the competentauthority was required to prosecute public servants, under various sections of the Act. Thissafeguard has been extended to retired public servants.

One worrying factor is the amendment requiring prior approval of the government to even initiatean investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into allegations of corruptionagainst public servants. Under the law of the land, the police has unfettered jurisdiction to initiateinvestigation into a crime or acts of corruption, once it gets credible information. There areSupreme Court rulings that even the courts can’t interfere in this exercise of power by acompetent investing agency. However, political authorities have been trying to appropriate thispower from the CBI. It first came in the shape of the Single Directive under the Rajiv Gandhigovernment, which was confined to senior officers only. A long legal battle was fought before theSupreme Court, challenging the legality of the directive. The court eventually set it aside, in whatcame to be known as the Vineet Narain case. The bench, headed by the then Chief Justice ofIndia, J.S.Verma, had held that the Single Directive was liable to be quashed as untenable inlaw.

While arguing in the case, the Attorney General had sought to justify the Directive on the groundthat it was the Minister’s ultimate responsibility to Parliament for the functioning of the agencies.On this point, the Supreme Court had said: “All the powers of the Minister are subject to thecondition that none of them would extend to permit the Minister to interfere with the course ofinvestigation and prosecution in any individual case and in that respect the concerned officersare to be governed entirely by the mandate of the law and the statutory duty cast upon them.”

The court quoted with approval, as has been done in scores of cases, the caution administeredby Lord Denning in Regina v. Metropolitan Police Commissioner (1968). Indicating the duty ofPolice Commissioner, Lord Denning stated: “I have no hesitation, however, in holding that, likeevery constable in the land, he should be, and is, independent of the executive… I hold it to bethe duty of the Commissioner of Police, as it is of every chief constable, to enforce the law of theland… in all these things he is not the servant of anyone, save of the law itself.”

The burden of the court order was that under the scheme of the criminal justice system and therule of law, which we have adopted and have been practising, the police and the CBI are boundby the law and the Constitution to investigate a crime reported to them, if there is credibleinformation. They have jurisdiction as per law and that the power to register and proceed withthe investigation must remain unhindered. Once the investigation is complete and the police orthe CBI is ready with the report on the investigation, other authorities come into play.

crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m

But even after the Directive was set aside, the political class brought it back in the CentralVigilance Commission Act of 2003. This led to protests and was challenged before the court. In2014, the Supreme Court set aside this provision of the Act. Inter alia, the court had observed,“The very power of CBI to enquire and investigate into the allegations of bribery and corruptionagainst a certain class of public servants and officials is subverted and impinged by Section 6A.”It also observed, “The scheme of Section 155 and Section 156 CrPC indicates that the localpolice may investigate a senior Government officer without previous approval of the CentralGovernment. However, CBI can not do so in view of Section 6A.”

The recent amendment, therefore, is retrograde in nature and is likely to be quashed if contestedin the apex court.

N.K. Singh, a former Joint Director, CBI, is currently member the Janata Dal (United) NationalExecutive

Sign up to receive our newsletter in your inbox every day!

Please enter a valid email address.

This refers to the tendency to form friendships and other forms of interpersonal relationshipswith people we come across often in our daily lives.

Our existing notification subscribers need to choose this option to keep getting the alerts.



crac

kIAS.co

m

crac

kIAS.co

m


LAUNCH OF NATIONAL MISSION ON GEMRelevant for: Ethics | Topic: Utilization of public funds

Ministry of Commerce & Industry

Launch of National Mission on GeM


National Mission on Government e Marketplace (GeM) will be launched on 5th September 2018to accelerate the adoption and use of GeM by major central Ministries, State Governments andtheir agencies. The aim of the National Mission is to promote inclusiveness, transparency andefficiency in public procurement and achieve cashless, contactless and paperless transaction.This will increase overall efficiency and lead to cost saving on government expenditure inprocurement.

During the 6 weeks’ special drive beginning from 6th September up to 15th October 2018, themission will be launched at state headquarters by Chief Ministers and will cover importantsectors and flagship programmes, launch of IEC campaign along with training on usage of GeMfor buyers and sellers, buyer registration drive to on board government agencies and vendorregistration drive with special focus on MSMEs.

The GeM has completed two years and as on 26th of August 2018, it has crossed 10,800 crorein value terms and 6.96 lakh in volume of transactions through the platform. More than 1.35lakh sellers offer 4.43 lakh products on the GeM platform which has 26,500 organizations asbuyers. While all States and Union Territories are buying through GeM, 25 States and UTs havealready signed an MoU to make procurement through GeM mandatory. It has led to an overallaverage saving in cost of procurement to the tune of about 25%.

The GeM platform provides online, end to end solution for procurement of commonly usedgoods and services for all Central Government Departments and State Governments. PublicSector Units and affiliated bodies.

***

MM/ SB




Documents

Ethics - AUGUST 2018 · accounts, fixed deposits etc. The value of properties under attachment is more than Rs. 4,300 crore including immovable properties of more than Rs. 3400 crore