In a first, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has decided to develop an 'integrity index' to help government departments assess where they stand on anti-corruption measures.

The integrity index for public sector organisations will be based on bench marking of governance processes by internal and external stakeholders.

The probity watchdog believes that integrity, long-term sustainability and profitability are all closely linked and can help public organisations create islands of excellence in the medium to long term while achieving the objectives.

Accordingly, the wants to undertake a research-based approach to creating an integrity index that various organisations can use to measure themselves and which will evolve with changing needs, the Commission said seeking proposals from reputed academic institutes or organisations with minimum 10 years of experience and expertise in public policy.

"It is for the first time that such a ranking is being planned by the Commission. It will go a long way in ensuring further probity in public organisations," a senior official said.

The selected agency will be responsible for developing a five-year draft road map for integrity index and its associated ecosystem.

Besides, it will understand the ecosystem that is necessary for long-term sustenance of the measurement, upgradation and promotion of use of the index in such a way that it becomes an integral part of policy and decision making.

The main objective of this exercise is to define what constitutes integrity of public organisations, identify the different factors of integrity and their inter-linkages and to create an objective and reliable tool that can measure the performance of organisations on this benchmark, the anti-corruption watchdog said.

The duration of this assignment will be for 12 months effective from the date of signing of the agreement between the and the consultant.