New Delhi, June 13: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that governance reforms will include digital empowerment of citizens, especially elder citizens and pensioners.
Dr Jitendra is the Union MoS (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions.
Chairing a joint meeting of the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), and Department of Pensions & Pensioners Welfare (DoPPW), Dr Singh highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance”. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our ministry will continue the reforms initiated in the last decade,” he said.
Dr Singh said that citizens remain at the centre of the reforms initiated by the government. He said the objective is to bring ease of living to citizens by ensuring efficient public service delivery, creating a robust grievance redressal system, enhancing digital governance with new-generation technologies, and ensuring citizens’ welfare.
The Union Minister directed officials to work towards rationalising the multiplicity of recruitment rules and service rules to align with contemporary times and incorporate digital technology to make them future-ready. He stressed the need to create unique competency-building products to increase the efficiency of government departments. “Continuing the reforms and revamping training structures and methodologies to optimise the performance of government employees is our priority,” he said.
Dr Jitendra underscored the importance of integrating emerging technologies like Gen AI, ML, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality into new-age reforms. The goal is to create a self-motivated environment for public servants to utilize the I-Got platform and elevate Mission Karmayogi to new heights, he said.
He reviewed the functioning of the Digital Learning Lab at ISTM, New Delhi, which he inaugurated in his previous term as DoPT minister, and called for making e-learning and capacity building integral to career progression. Dr Singh also stressed the need for creating flatter organizations and ensuring data security in a technologically fast-changing world.
The minister highlighted the importance of rewarding employees and departments for performance and increasing accountability in public service delivery. He guided officials on creating state-of-the-art physical and digital training infrastructure and housing the best faculty for capacity building, with the identification and creation of Centers of Excellence. “We must ensure Jan Bhagidari (public participation) to make capacity building more organic,” he added.
While reviewing the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Dr Jitendra suggested creating a Good Governance Index for central ministries, similar to the existing index for states, to promote cooperative competition among government departments and replicate best practices. He directed devising a structured mechanism for the early disposal of vigilance matters using new-age technology.
“Digital empowerment of senior citizens by unifying pension rules and bringing ease of living is the guiding force of our department,” he said while reviewing the progress of the Department of Pensions & Pensioners Welfare (DoPPW).
