A rating system for banks, government departments and public sector units on the corruption scale will now be a reality. Chief vigilance commissioner (CVC) N Vittal is set to announce the top 20 corrupt units in all three sectors by June this year.
"My tenure ends by the middle of 2002 and I plan to have the index ready before that. This will be an annual affair from now on," Vittal told reporters at the sidelines of the 23rd Bank Economists' Conference in Kolkata today.
Vittal has christened the index Probity Perception Index. The objective is to avoid the word corruption in the index that will measure corruption the honesty way. In other words, instead of branding a banker corrupt on a scale of 1-10, the index will focus on his other side: his honesty. For instance, if one scores 4 out of 10 in the corruption scale, he will be projected as scoring 6 in honesty. In other words, the focus will not be blatantly on corruption, although the end result will convey the meaning.
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The rating (on a scale of 1 to 10) will have three components -- probity perception index, field study and meta perception. The field study, to be conducted by three organisations -- Centre for Management Service, Transparency International India and Strategic Management Group -- will carry 70 per cent weight, while the corruption index with have 20 per cent weight and meta perception -- which will allow the organisations to rate themselves -- 10 per cent.
Speaking on banking and vigilance, Vittal said, "We have provided enough cushion to banking professionals and, despite this, if bankers say we are not in a position to take decisions, it is the bankers' fault."
Quoting from a study conducted some time back, Vittal said a small 18.47 per cent of bank officers (44,525) fall under the commission's jurisdiction and the number of officers who may end up with a major penalty is 251. "This is too small a figure for creating any psychosis," he said rubbishing bankers' perception of being hounded by the CVC.
Vittal also stressed on implementation of decisions with regards to SICA (Sick Industrial Companies Act) and Benami Transaction Prohibition Act (BTPA). While the finance minister advised on SICA being repealed, no action on BTPA was taken since the Act was incorporated in 1988.
The inordinate delay in the judiciary system also drew flak from the CVC and he proposed a 150 times expansion in judicial infrastructure. With the huge number of cases pending, and at the pace cases are handled, it will take more than 300 years to deliver the rulings, he said.
"The judicial system should be treated as a service, expanding which will lead to employment creation," he added. The expansion can be financed from organisations such as the Infrastructure Development Corporation, since this can also be considered a infrastructure, said Vittal.
Expenditure on judicial system should also be planned. The established practice has been to finance expenses through non-planned budgetary allocations. The judicial system can also be made a self-financing activity if things happen at a faster pace, he pointed out.