The government has approved fresh amendments to a 50-year-old Code of Conduct for the Ministers to check the misuse of bureaucrats by ministers for political purposes, both at the Centre and in the states.

The meeting of the Union Cabinet last evening added a new clause which aims at checking the political executive from misusing bureaucrats for political purposes and will also help check civil servants from cultivating political patronage.

While the fresh clause will come into effect at the Centre immediately, it will be sent to the state governments for their adoption.