Background and Mandate
The Committee on Prevention of Corruption, popularly known as the Santhanam Committee, was appointed by the Government of India in 1962 under the chairmanship of K. Santhanam.
It was set up to examine corruption in public administration and recommend reforms relating to:
- vigilance machinery;
- disciplinary procedures;
- conduct of public servants;
- administrative discretion and delays;
- opportunities for rent-seeking in government processes;
- institutional mechanisms for prevention and detection of corruption.
The committee treated corruption as a systemic governance problem, not merely as individual misconduct. It linked corruption with procedural complexity, weak supervision, concentration of discretionary power and inadequate accountability.
Major Recommendations
Its recommendations focused strongly on preventive vigilance and administrative reform.
Important proposals included:
- creation of an independent Central Vigilance Commission at the Union level;
- strengthening vigilance units in ministries and departments;
- appointment of designated vigilance officers;
- stricter enforcement of conduct and disciplinary rules;
- greater scrutiny of assets, gifts and conflicts of interest of public servants;
- simplification of procedures that generated delays and opportunities for bribery;
- improved mechanisms for investigation and departmental action;
- greater emphasis on integrity in recruitment, promotion and public administration.
The committee also stressed that anti-corruption policy should combine punitive action with institutional prevention, because criminal prosecution alone cannot address structural causes of corruption.
Institutional Legacy
The most important outcome was the establishment of the Central Vigilance Commission in 1964 through an executive resolution.
Its recommendations also contributed to the development of India’s broader vigilance architecture, including:
- departmental vigilance systems;
- Chief Vigilance Officers;
- stronger conduct and disciplinary mechanisms;
- preventive vigilance within public institutions.
The CVC was later given statutory status through the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003.
The Santhanam Committee remains important because it marked an early shift in Indian anti-corruption policy from isolated prosecution towards institutional vigilance, procedural reform and systemic prevention of corruption.
