No shield for graft, but babus need protection in case of honest error

 "It is a very positive step. But there is a need to take many more steps to check corruption in India. Political corruption also needs to be checked," former Cabinet Secretary, TSR Subramanian, said. He said there has to be some protection for civil servants for making bona fide mistakes.

"There must be a senior officer in an investigating agency to decide whether or not a decision was taken in good faith. It should not be left to a junior official to decide on a particular case.

    

"One should not judge a civil servant on the basis of whether a decision is right or wrong, but on the basis of the documents or the information available to him as he took that decision," Subramanian said.

There should be no shield for an official in case of corruption. If an officer is found to own assets more than his known sources of income or hold benami property, then there should be no shield, the former bureaucrat said.

He was commenting on Wednesday's Union Cabinet decision to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, by incorporating stringent penal provisions in it.

Source: Latest News

Cabinet agrees to convert 101 rivers into waterways

India at present has only five river stretches declared a as National Waterways.

"The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for enactment of Central legislation for declaring 101 additional Inland Waterways as National Waterways (NW)  for navigation," an official statement said.

This will create a logistic supply chain with intermodal (Rail, Road and Waterways) connectivity and "would positively contribute to the GDP by opening up business opportunities in the area of dredging, barge construction, barge operation, barge repair facilities, terminal construction...tourist cruise" among others, the statement said.

Investment in all these business areas will create numerous opportunities for employment and economic development and reduce pressure from the already over-loaded, congested and costlier other surface modes of transport, it said.

Detailed business development studies are being carried out under the Jal Marg Vikas Project for identifying all business opportunities and quantifying anticipated investments and employment opportunities, it added.

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