President Pranab Mukherjee has given assent to the Whistleblowers Protection Bill, 2011, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha in February.
The law provides for an institutionalised mechanism to protect, and thus encourage, those who disclose information on corrupt practices or abuse of power by government officials. The Bill was first passed by the Lok Sabha in 2011. The law makes a provision for inquiry into the disclosures and also prescribes punitive measures to curb frivolous complaints. According to the Centre, it supplements the Right to Information Act in fighting corruption.
In 2004, the government introduced a resolution to empower the Central Vigilance Commission for protecting whistle-blowers.
