NTC Bonds With Transparency International Through The Integrity Pact

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NTC Bonds With Transparency International Through The Integrity Pact

As an initiative towards integrity, National Textile Corporation Limited (NTC Ltd) has much recently become the 51st Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) and 49th Central PSU to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Transparency International India (TII) for adopting the Integrity Pact (IP). The signing ceremony was attended by K V Chowdary, Central Vigilance Commissioner; Dr. S. K Panda, Secretary, Textiles, and other senior officials from the Ministry of Textiles. Under this Integrity Pact all activities and transactions between a company or government department and their suppliers are monitored through a fair, transparent and corruption-free manner. It prohibits bribing, favour or any other unethical practice, which is closely measured by honorary Independent External Monitors (IEMs). NTC Ltd is ready to implement the Integrity Pact in over 95% of contracts.

K V Chowdary, Central Vigilance Commissioner brought to light that Independent External Monitors (IEMs) should not be seen as umpires but as guidance providers. IEMs are there to throw light on the issues faced by vendors and advise the management regarding the same. He further added that any vendor who has a genuine grievance can approach the IEM. Dr. S. K. Panda, Secretary, Textiles said that vigilance is important for the health of any organisation, more so in the public sector, since public money is involved. He said that one should follow rules and guidelines, and that where any deviation is made in organizational interest, the rationale for such deviation should be recorded in writing. He also highlighted the need for building strong systems, especially by the use of technology.