Tourism, H&UDD, I&C deptts to be taken up in Phase-I
*NITI Aayog, Deptt of Expenditure to play crucial role
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, May 19: Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is going to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Jammu shortly for establishment of Centre for Transformation and Innovation in Governance, which will provide expert advice to the departments for undertaking various activities in priority areas.
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Official sources told EXCELSIOR that a committee comprising of Administrative Secretaries of Finance, Information Technology, Planning, Development and Monitoring and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Departments has prepared and finalized the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with regard to establishment of Centre for Transformation and Innovation in Governance in the Union Territory.
“The draft will be approved by the competent authority within next few days and thereafter formally MoU will be signed between Planning, Development and Monitoring Department and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Jammu”, they said, adding IIM Jammu will be knowledge partner for setting up of Centre for Transformation and Innovation in Governance, which shall involve experts, advisors, consultants and researchers etc for undertaking various activities in different domains and priority areas.
They disclosed that Tourism Department, Housing and Urban Development Department and Industries and Commerce Department will be among important departments which will be provided expert guidance by the Centre for Transformation and Innovation in Governance in Phase-I for execution of important projects particularly in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
“National Institution of Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and Department of Expenditure of the Union Ministry of Finance will be among the knowledge partners for the Centre for Transformation and Innovation in Governance and they will play crucial role in almost all the important aspects”, sources informed.
According to the sources, the Centre for Transformation and Innovation in Governance will address all the concerns/activities being proposed earlier under State Institute of Transformation (SIT), Public Private Partnership (PPP) expert cell and Future Ready Governance (FRG) unit besides other issues under one umbrella.
The draft MoU has clearly defined Nucleus (Group of Institutions), continuity in knowledge sharing, cost involved and outcomes expected as well as spelt out roles and responsibilities of each partner, they said, adding Centre for Transformation and Innovation in Governance will be the first of its kind platform dedicated entirely to the innovation in governance.
They said that priority areas will be defined by the Government, which inter-alia include Holistic Development in Agriculture Sector, creation of more micro-enterprises and facilitating them to become small and medium enterprises, strengthening of cooperative sector and skill development, working on some niche areas, identify at least 10 new tourist destinations each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions and develop them into world famous destinations through creation of necessary infrastructure, credit flow availability/ utilization, contract management, monitoring and evaluation, expanding employment, revival of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and cooperative society etc
For the establishment of Centre for Transformation and Innovation in Governance, hand-holding and assistance will also be taken from Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG-N), which is an autonomous scientific society under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and providing support for undertaking technology development.
Moreover, IIM Jammu will have the liberty to invite team of experts from BISAG for guidance and support in the establishment of Centre for Transformation and Innovation in Governance.
When contacted, a senior officer confirmed that draft MoU has been prepared and finalized and shortly it will be approved by the Government. “This will be a platform from where expert guidance will be provided to the departments for undertaking different activities in priority areas”, he added.
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