Vigilance Awareness Week 2026 Theme: Probity for Prosperity

Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda read out the Integrity Pledge to senior officers at Kartavya Bhawan-1 in New Delhi on 26 October, marking the start of Vigilance Awareness Week 2026 in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Several other ministries held pledge ceremonies of their own the same day.

When the week falls and why

The dates are not fixed by a calendar rule but by an anniversary. Every year the week is placed around the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which falls on 31 October. This year it therefore runs from 26 October to 1 November 2026, a seven-day observance built around India's first Home Minister and the man known as the Iron Man of India.

The theme

The theme announced for the year is “Satyanishtha se Samriddhi”, written in Devanagari in the official release and given in English as Probity for Prosperity. The idea behind it is that honesty and openness are not moral extras but the supports on which good governance and public faith in institutions rest.

Who took the pledge, and where

At the health ministry the oath was administered in the presence of Prataprao Jadhav, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and for AYUSH with independent charge, and Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare. Staff posted elsewhere joined the ceremony online from their own offices. In the Ministry of Law and Justice, officers of the Legislative Department and the Department of Legal Affairs were sworn in by Manoj Kumar, Additional Secretary in the Legislative Department, in Hall 24000-B at Kartavya Bhawan-2. At the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment the pledge was administered by Secretary Sudhansh Pant, who asked officers to clear public-interest matters tied to schemes without delay so that benefits reach eligible people on time.

What the pledge says

• To keep to the highest standards of honesty in public and private dealings.
• Neither to offer a bribe nor to accept one.
• To discharge every duty openly and in the public interest.
• To set an example through personal conduct and to report corruption to the right authority.

Activities through the week

The Vigilance Division of the Department of Health and Family Welfare is running awareness events for the ministry and its subordinate offices, institutes and organisations under the Vigilance Awareness Campaign for the year. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has lined up quizzes and expert lectures for its employees. The pledge also places the duty of fighting corruption jointly on the government, citizens and private business rather than on officials alone.