{"id":35711,"date":"2025-01-18T18:37:04","date_gmt":"2025-01-18T13:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=35711"},"modified":"2025-01-18T18:37:05","modified_gmt":"2025-01-18T13:07:05","slug":"lokpal-india-1st-foundation-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-01-2025\/lokpal-india-1st-foundation-day","title":{"rendered":"Lokpal of India Celebrates 1st Foundation Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Syllabus: GS2\/Polity; Statutory Bodies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • On January 16, 2025, the Lokpal of India celebrated its Foundation Day<\/strong>, marking 11 years since its inception on January 16, 2014, under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Historical Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • The journey of Lokpal stems from:\n
        \n
      • First Administrative Reforms Commission (1966):<\/strong> Proposed a two-tier system with Lokpal at the Union level and Lokayuktas at the State level.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013:<\/strong> Passed to establish statutory bodies to combat corruption in public offices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Inception:<\/strong> Lokpal was officially constituted on January 16, 2014, with its first Chairperson, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh, appointed in 2019.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • India is also a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (2005)<\/strong>, reflecting its commitment to combating corruption.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Lokpal: Mandate & Performance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • Legal Authority: <\/strong>The Lokpal derives its authority from the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, which mandates it to:\n
            \n
          • Investigate corruption allegations against public officials, including:\n
              \n
            • Prime Minister (with safeguards related to national security, public order, etc.).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Union Ministers, Members of Parliament, and all public servants.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Entities receiving foreign contributions above \u20b910 lakh.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Exercise supervisory powers over CBI, ensuring accountability during investigations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Composition:\u00a0<\/strong>\n
                \n
              • Chairperson:<\/strong> A former Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court Judge, or an eminent person with integrity and expertise.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Members:<\/strong> Up to 8 members, with at least 50% being judicial members and 50% from underrepresented groups (SC\/ST\/OBC, minorities, and women).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Appointment and Tenure:<\/strong>\n
                  \n
                • Appointed by the President of India based on recommendations from a Selection Committee (PM as chairman, Speaker of LS, L<\/strong>eader of Opposition <\/strong>of <\/strong>LS, CJI or eminent ju<\/strong>rist<\/strong>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Term: <\/strong>5 years or until the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • Achievements:<\/strong>\n
                    \n
                  • Establishment of a prosecution wing to streamline corruption cases.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Enhanced oversight of public servants and central government-funded entities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  • Promoted transparency and accountability through technology-driven processes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    Key Challenges Ahead of Lokpal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                      \n
                    • Delays in Appointments and Staffing: <\/strong>The first Lokpal, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh, was appointed in March 2019, six years after the Act was passed.\n
                        \n
                      • The current Lokpal, Justice (retd) A.M. Khanwilkar, was appointed in March 2024.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • The Lokpal has faced issues related to staffing and the appointment of key positions such as the Director of Inquiry and Director of Prosecution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Investigations and Prosecutions: Nearly 90% of complaints <\/strong>in the last five years were rejected due to incorrect formats or other procedural issues.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
                      • Coordination with Agencies: <\/strong>The Lokpal relies on various investigative agencies for conducting probes.\n
                          \n
                        • Ensuring seamless cooperation and avoiding bureaucratic bottlenecks remain critical hurdles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                          Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
                            \n
                          • Strengthening Infrastructure:<\/strong> Enhancing staffing, budgetary allocations, and technological support will enable faster and more thorough investigations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • Improved Coordination:<\/strong> Strengthening collaboration with other anti-corruption agencies, such as the CBI, can expedite case resolution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • Awareness Campaigns:<\/strong> Educating the public about the Lokpal\u2019s role, jurisdiction, and procedures can encourage more citizens to come forward with complaints.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                          • Transparency and Accountability:<\/strong> Regular public disclosures about ongoing investigations, within legal limits, can bolster trust in the institution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                            Key Legislations in India pertaining to Anti-Corruption<\/strong>
                            – Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (Amended in 2018):<\/strong> Criminalizes bribery and corruption by public officials and corporations.
                            1. Introduced stricter penalties and time-bound trials.
                            – Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2014:<\/strong> Protects whistleblowers and ensures confidentiality.
                            1. Penalizes threats or victimization of whistleblowers.
                            – Right to Information Act, 2005:<\/strong> Empowers citizens to access government information.
                            1. Promotes transparency and accountability in public offices.
                            – Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA):<\/strong> Prevents money laundering and confiscates proceeds of crime.
                            1. Strengthens global cooperation in anti-money laundering efforts.
                            – Companies Act, 2013:<\/strong> Regulates corporate fraud and governance.
                            1. Introduces penalties for fraud and unethical practices.
                            – Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 (Amended in 2016):<\/strong> Criminalizes benami transactions to conceal property ownership.
                            1. Allows confiscation of benami properties.
                            – Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act, 2015:<\/strong> Targets undisclosed foreign income and assets.
                            1. Imposes heavy penalties and prosecution for offenders.
                            – Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018:<\/strong> Addresses economic offenders fleeing the country.
                            1. Allows confiscation of assets for offenses over \u20b9100 crore.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                            Source: TH<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                            On January 16, 2025, the Lokpal of India celebrated its Foundation Day, marking 11 years since its inception on January 16, 2014, under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35711"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35712,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35711\/revisions\/35712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}