Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh on Monday said sustained institutional reforms, technology-driven governance and continuous monitoring have significantly strengthened India’s vigilance framework, resulting in a sharp decline in the pendency of disciplinary cases from more than 4,000 to nearly 700 over the past three to four years.
The Minister made the remarks during a meeting with outgoing Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) Praveen Kumar Srivastava, who called on him after completing his tenure and briefed him on the major reforms undertaken by the Central Vigilance Commission to modernise vigilance administration through technology, process reforms and capacity building.
Singh said transparent and time-bound vigilance mechanisms are essential for ensuring good governance and enhancing public confidence in institutions. He noted that the significant reduction in pending disciplinary cases reflects the impact of sustained administrative reforms and improved coordination among ministries, departments and vigilance authorities.
During the meeting, Srivastava highlighted the Commission’s efforts to simplify and modernise vigilance administration by reviewing more than 600 vigilance-related circulars and instructions. This exercise led to the issuance of nine Master Circulars, two Public Notices and an updated Vigilance Manual, creating a consolidated and user-friendly framework for vigilance officials and government organisations.
The Minister was also briefed on the launch of the Vigilance Status Portal (VSP), which enables end-to-end digital processing of vigilance clearance proposals and is expected to significantly reduce the time required for granting vigilance clearances. He was informed that the revamped Vigilance Case Management System (VCMS) now facilitates complete digital processing of vigilance cases while enabling real-time monitoring and data-driven decision-making.
The discussions also focused on the Commission’s initiatives to strengthen transparency in public procurement. Updated Procurement Manuals, prepared in collaboration with the Department of Expenditure, have brought multiple procurement guidelines under a unified framework to improve consistency, transparency and ease of implementation across government organisations.
Technology-driven vigilance also figured prominently during the meeting. The Commission shared its initiatives in digital governance, fraud prevention in banking and financial institutions, cybersecurity and the ethical use of artificial intelligence. Singh said emerging technologies have the potential to make vigilance administration more preventive, predictive and efficient while ensuring greater transparency and accountability in public institutions.
Srivastava also informed the Minister about the Commission’s online Complaint Management System, which has streamlined the receipt, processing and tracking of complaints. In addition, the Commission has expanded capacity-building initiatives for vigilance officers through specialised training programmes, digital learning modules and collaboration with Mission Karmayogi.
The Minister was also briefed on the Commission’s continued efforts to promote integrity through Vigilance Awareness Week, which encourages ethical governance across educational institutions, Gram Sabhas and public organisations while increasing citizen participation in anti-corruption initiatives through nationwide outreach programmes.
The meeting reviewed the Commission’s future roadmap, including wider adoption of the Probity Portal for monitoring disciplinary cases, conducting Time and Motion Studies to streamline vigilance processes and leveraging artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to strengthen predictive vigilance and improve administrative efficiency.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to transparent, accountable and technology-enabled governance, Singh said reforms aimed at simplifying procedures and improving institutional efficiency would continue to strengthen the country’s vigilance ecosystem. He also appreciated the contribution of Srivastava in advancing vigilance reforms and wished him success in his future endeavours.
