G20 Anti-corruption Working Group Meeting Held in India
G20 Anti-corruption Working Group Meeting Held in India
A side event was held on leveraging technology to curb corruption in the public sector.
The first meeting of the G20 Anti-corruption Working Group (ACWG) that was inaugurated on March 1st by Union Minister of State for Personnel & PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh, concluded on March 3 in Gurugram, India.
Rahul Singh, Additional Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) & Chair, G20 ACWG, along with Giovanni Tartaglia Polcini, Head of Task Force, Co-chair, G20 ACWG, Italy, addressed the media at the end of the ACWG meeting.
Rahul Singh informed that over the past three days, there have been intensive and productive deliberations on several key focal areas pertaining to Asset Recovery, Fugitive Economic Offenders, formal and informal channels of cooperation for information sharing, institutional frameworks for combating corruption and mutual legal assistance, among others.
This included presentations and interventions of country delegates and experts from UNODC, OECD, Egmont Group, INTERPOL and IMF. The ACWG meeting included keynote addresses by dignitaries including Girish Chandra Murmu, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India; Praveen Kumar Srivastava, Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) of India; Nitin Gupta, Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes; Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Director Enforcement Directorate; and Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, Director, Central Bureau of Investigation.
Rahul Singh further stated that it has been the endeavor of the delegates during the deliberations to arrive at a consensus on the draft text of the High-Level Principles that are on the agenda for the ACWG during India’s G20 Presidency.
He informed that considerable progress has been made in discussing the High-Level Principles on improving information sharing for fighting corruption and related economic crimes, strengthening asset recovery mechanisms related to corruption and related economic crimes, strengthening law enforcement cooperation for action against corruption and related economic crime, and promoting integrity and effectiveness of public bodies responsible for preventing and combating corruption.
He further stated that on the first day of the ACWG, a side event was held on leveraging technology to curb corruption in the public sector. During this event, leading experts from India showcased how India has adapted the power of information technology to curb corruption in public service delivery.
According to a government statement, over 90 delegates participating from 20 member countries, 10 Invitee countries and 9 international organizations attended the first meeting of the G20 ACWG.
