Hon'ble Minister of State for Personnel and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Prithviraj Chavanji, Central Vigilance Commissioner Shri Pratyush Sinha, Secretary Personnel Shri Rahul Sarin, distinguished delegates to the Conference, friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen.

          2. We are honoured to have in our midst Hon'ble Minister of State for Personnel and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Prithviraj Chavanji for this Valedictory session of the XVII Biennial Conference of Heads of State Anti Corruption Bureaux and CBI officers. Sir, we are aware that you are extremely busy with your other appointments as Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences; MOS in Prime Minister's Office; MOS Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions & MOS Parliamentary Affairs. This indicates the trust and confidence of the political leadership in you and also your capabilities and competence to handle so many sensitive assignments. We are beholden to you for finding the time to be with us today as well as yesterday in spite of your busy schedule.

          3. We had the honour of having amongst us the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singhji to inaugurate this Conference. We have been greatly inspired by his words of wisdom. Hon'ble Prime Minister, during his address emphasised upon the important role which Anti Corruption Agencies can play in improving the delivery of services and benefits of various programmes of the Government for poverty alleviation to the poor and people below poverty line. He also emphasised on the need for good governance. His directions regarding acquisition of new skills keeping in view the complexity of criminal activities and intensive training programmes have been noted by all of us. We are extremely grateful to the Hon'ble Prime Minister for having announced setting up of 71 Special CBI Courts to exclusively deal with corruption cases.

          4. Sir, you were kind enough to address the conference yesterday as well. We felt enthused by your assurance that all necessary funds and resources will be given to CBI to improve its functioning.

          5. Sir, during the last two days, the delegates to the Conference have deliberated upon a number of issues relating to corruption. The Conference deliberated upon the benefits of the Lok Ayukta model being followed in Karnataka. During the Conference a presentation on Good Practices being followed by the various States Anti Corruption Agencies and CBI was also made and the best practices have been identified for dissemination. Another presentation made during the Conference related to Technological Perspectives of Corruption Investigation. Similarly, a presentation was made on latest advances made in the field of scientific aids to investigation of corruption cases. The Conference also discussed mechanism for enhanced cooperation between State ACBx and CBI. Various legal issues impacting on investigation and prosecution of a corruption case were also discussed.

          6. I am glad to inform that this Conference has resulted in a number of quantifiable outcomes, such as enhanced cooperation between State Anti Corruption Bureaux and CBI, exchange of knowledge regarding scientific aids in investigation of anti corruption cases, enhanced coordination and cooperation in investigation of economic crimes and familiarization of the participants with the concept and functioning of a Multi Disciplinary Investigation Team. I am happy to inform that the deliberations during the Conference have been of a very high quality. We are confident that by adopting the strategies devised during the Conference we will forge ahead in our fight against corruption.

          7. In the end, I once again Welcome you to the Valedictory function of this Conference. I also welcome Shri Pratyush Sinha, Central Vigilance Commissioner and Shri Rahul Sarin, Secretary Personnel for sparing their valuable time. I express my gratitude to the delegates of the Conference who responded to our invitation and came from all over the country to participate in the deliberations.

          Thank you,