Ensure government spending is transparent, PM tells officials

Using the occasion of the World Public Service Day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today told civil servants to ensure that the decision-making process was transparent and that government spending did not give rise to corruption.

Observing that the Right to Information Act empowered people to secure information on matters relating to governance and policy, he said, "I do believe that free citizens in free societies must not live in fear of arbitrary governments. This too is an important responsibility of the civil services."