BPCL inaugurates Vigilance Awareness Week 2024

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a prestigious 'Maharatna' and Fortune Global 500 Company, inaugurated Vigilance Awareness Week 2024 (VAW-2024) on 28^th October at its Corporate Office, reinforcing its commitment to ethical practices and integrity in business. The event, themed “Culture of Integrity for Nation’s Prosperity,” is being observed from October 28 to November 3 across BPCL’s operations nationwide, with a series of activities designed to raise awareness and foster vigilance among all employees.

The inaugural ceremony was led by Chief Guest Shri Dinesh Kumar Jain, Ex-Chief Secretary of Maharashtra and Ex-Member Lokpal, who joined BPCL leadership including Smt. Meenaxi Rawat, IES, Chief Vigilance Officer; Shri V.R.K. Gupta, Director (Finance); Shri Raj Kumar Dubey, Director (HR); Shri S. Srikanth, Chief General Manager (Vigilance), and other senior officials. In a symbolic moment, Smt. Meenaxi Rawat administered the Integrity Pledge, uniting BPCL officials across India through a live webcast to affirm their dedication to honesty and transparency.

In a message to employees, Shri G. Krishnakumar, Chairman and Managing Director, BPCL highlighted Bharat Petroleum's commitment to ethics, integrity, and accountability, which are fundamental to its operations. He stated that this week serves as a vital reminder of our dedication to fostering a corruption-free workplace. He also lauded Smt Meenaxi Rawat and her vigilance team, for their ongoing dedication to promoting the values of ethics and integrity.

In her address, Smt. Meenaxi Rawat highlighted India’s ranking in the Corruption Perception Index, emphasizing the need for continuous improvement in ethical practices. She referred Ethisphere’s annual rankings, which reveal that ethical companies often outperform the market, a testament to BPCL’s core values of Ethics and Trust. BPCL’s commitment to transparency was evident in the recent integration of all policies and guidelines on a centralized intranet webpage, streamlining access across all business units. Citing the success of the Public Grievance Portal, Smt. Rawat emphasized the importance of a robust complaint-handling system, adding that vigilance is not only a function of vigilance officers but a shared responsibility across BPCL’s workforce.

Chief Guest Shri Dinesh Kumar Jain, in his keynote, elaborated on the foundational values of honesty and integrity. Sharing an anecdote from Sweden involving a Member of Parliament meticulously distinguishing between personal and official expenses, Shri Jain illustrated how simple acts of accountability reinforce integrity. He outlined the formula for understanding corruption as “Corruption equals Monopoly plus Discretion minus Accountability,” highlighting how the Government of India has tackled corruption with measures like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and faceless Income Tax assessments. Commending BPCL’s Integrity Clubs in schools, he emphasized the value of instilling ethics in young minds.

To mark the occasion, three significant publications were launched: The Vigilance Officer’s Handbook, Do’s & Don’ts Handbook for Officers, and the Vigilance Newsletter, which are expected to enhance vigilance practices within BPCL.

Vigilance Awareness Week 2024 will continue with a series of events and initiatives, aimed at promoting a strong culture of integrity and vigilance across BPCL’s operations, fostering a resilient, transparent corporate ethos for sustainable growth.

About Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL):

Fortune Global 500 Company, Bharat Petroleum is the second largest Indian Oil Marketing Company and one of the integrated energy companies in India, engaged in refining of crude oil and marketing of petroleum products, with presence in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. The company attained the coveted Maharatna status, joining the club of companies having greater operational & financial autonomy.

Bharat Petroleum’s Refineries at Mumbai, Kochi and Bina have a combined refining capacity of around 35.3 MMTPA. Its marketing infrastructure includes a network of installations, depots, fuel stations, aviation service stations and LPG distributors. Its distribution network comprises over 22,000+ Fuel Stations, over 6,250 LPG distributorships, 525 Lubes distributorships, 123 POL storage locations, 54 LPG Bottling Plants, 63 Aviation Service Stations, 5 Lube blending plants and 4 cross-country pipelines as on 31.08.2024.

Bharat Petroleum is integrating its strategy, investments, environmental and social ambitions to move towards a sustainable planet. The company has chalked out the plan to offer electric vehicle charging stations at around 7000 Fuel Stations over next 5 years.

With a focus on sustainable solutions, the company is developing an ecosystem and a road-map to become a Net Zero Energy Company by 2040, in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. Bharat Petroleum has been partnering communities by supporting several initiatives connected primarily in the areas of education, water conservation, skill development, health, community development, capacity building and employee volunteering. With ‘Energising Lives’ as its core purpose, Bharat Petroleum’s vision is to be an admired global energy company leveraging talent, innovation & technology.