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Little public tolerance on corruption: PM

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday announced that India was soon going to ratify the United Nations Convention on Corruption. He said that there was a growing feeling in public that laws and system were not effective in dealing with corruption. He said this while inaugurating Civil Services Day here at Vigyan Bhawan. He awarded Bihar cadre IAS officer Pratyaya Amrit for his contribution in the field of public administration. Addressing top bureaucrats of the country, he said, "We must recognize that there is little public tolerance now for the prevailing state of affairs. People expect swift and exemplary action and rightly so. Corruption is an impediment to faster growth and hurts the poor most. It is a challenge that we must tackle boldly and we stand committed to doing so. "We will soon ratify the United Nations Convention on Corruption. We are committed to bringing more transparency in public procurement and to ensuring that disinvestment of public utilities and allocation of public resources are done in a manner that best safeguards the interests of the asset-owning public," he said. The Prime Minister said the government hoped to introduce the Lokpal Bill in the Monsoon session of the Parliament. "A committee of ministers and representatives of civil society is at work to finalize the draft of a Lokpal Bill, which we hope to be able to introduce during the monsoon session of Parliament," he said. Observing that two bills relating to judicial accountability and protection of whistle blowers have already been introduced in Parliament, Singh said that the government would soon ratify the United Nations Convention on Corruption. "We are committed to bringing more transparency in public procurement and to ensuring that disinvestment of public utilities and allocation of public resources are done in a manner that best safeguards the interests of the asset-owning public," the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister said that people value the work done by honest and dedicated civil servants and look up to them. He asked the civil servants to work to strengthen the trust and faith which people still have in civil servants. The spontaneous support of the people of Malkangiri, when the collector of the district was kidnapped by left-wing extremists, "is a pointer to the extent of goodwill that well meaning civil servants can achieve", he said. Noting that the core of the Civil Services was sound and rooted in values of integrity and fair play, Singh said, "it is a pity that instances of individual waywardness, of lack of moral courage and of surrender to pressures and temptations tarnish the image of Civil Services and lead to immense criticism and dissatisfaction". He said that Civil Services as a whole should set the highest standards of probity and integrity in public and personal life and create an atmosphere and a work ethic which encourage honesty and integrity.

                                                                                                               
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