NEW DELHI, June 4:
Amid his thrust on speedy delivery systems, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked bureaucrats to do away with “archaic” rules and procedures which hamper governance by creating “avoidable confusion” and encouraged them to take decisions with a promise of backing them.
Holding a meeting collectively with 77 Secretaries and senior officers of all the ministries and departments here, he asked them to approach him directly through phone or email to give suggestions or seek his intervention to resolve any issues.
During the marathon two-and-a-half hour meeting, Modi “listened extensively” to the top bureaucrats and empathized with their sentiments while noting their anguish in not being able to realize their true potential because of “circumstances”, an official statement said after the first such meeting in eight years.
Expressing full faith in their commitment and competence to build a better future for the country, he asked them to simplify and streamline administrative rules and procedures to make them people-friendly.
He said that “there may be rules and processes which have become outdated, and instead of serving the process of governance, they are leading to avoidable confusion” and stressed upon the need to “identify and do away with such archaic rules and procedures”.
Promising to be accessible to all officers, he encouraged them to approach him with their “inputs and ideas”.
He also “encouraged the officers to take decisions and assured them that he would stand by them,” the statement said.
Laying emphasis on use of technology for “greater efficiency and effectiveness in administration”, Modi said that “in a democracy, redressal of citizens’ grievances is very important, and information technology can help greatly in this regard.”
He pushed for a “team spirit” and urged the secretaries to be leaders of their teams, saying “only through collective action, faster results can be achieved.”
Offering to be always ready to give an account of the work being done by him, the Prime Minister said that “in the process of governance, ideas should be converted into institutions because institutions last longer than individuals.”
The senior bureaucrats echoed sentiment and welcomed a similar standard of accountability.
He said the process of governance of his Government should begin with cleaning-up of the offices, improving the workplace, which would automatically result in a better work culture and efficient services to the citizens.
Modi said that “through the use of technology, and better understanding among departments, administrative and schematic convergence is possible.”
During the meeting, Modi made initial remarks and then asked Secretaries to raise issues. About 25 Secretaries spoke on the sectoral issues under their responsibility.
Previously, the Secretaries had been asked to prepare a 10-minute presentation for the Prime Minister listing successes and failures of the past regime as well as points of action for the next five years. That process may start tomorrow.
Notes of Finance Ministry officials for the meeting included inflation, fiscal consolidation, controlling the current account deficit, clarity on tax administration and disinvestment in non-core sectors like steel and cement.
Liberalising the FDI policy in defence, e-commerce retail, railways and construction development and hurdles in land acquisition and cumbersome project clearances topped the agenda of Commerce Secretary Rajeev Kher.
Updates on the monsoon and a new insurance scheme to protect farmers from crop failure figured on Agriculture Secretary Ashish Bahuguna’s notes, while the consumer affairs department was concerned about rising onion prices.
While the Oil Ministry went with a list of pending decisions, including an increase in natural gas prices which was due on April 1, the Power Ministry cited round-the-clock power supply and easing of fuel shortages as its top focus.
Divestment of stake in PSUs such as SAIL and opening of closed mines were the focus areas for the steel and mines ministry.
Meanwhile, Modi today assured the nation that all efforts will be made in Parliament for fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of ordinary citizens.
“People of the country have elected the 16th Lok Sabha by blessing the public representatives and casting their votes in unprecedented numbers,” the Prime Minister told reporters at Parliament House before the commencement of the first session of the 16th Lok Sabha.
“I assure the people of the country that all efforts will be made in this temple of democracy to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of ordinary citizens of India,” he said.
In his brief address, Modi also extended his good wishes to the citizens. (PTI)
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