States should adopt Centre’s best governance practices: Dr Jitendra

New Delhi, Jun 27: Union Minister of State, Dr Jitendra Singh, Wednesday called upon State Governments to actively adopt Centre’s besst governance platforms, administrative reforms and citizen-centric service delivery models developed by the Government of India, saying these initiatives have transformed public administration, strengthened citizen trust and are increasingly being studied internationally as successful governance models.
The Minister said platforms such as Mission Karmayogi, CPGRAMS, Digital Life Certificate, CPGRAMS Grievence platform and other technology-driven governance systems have demonstrated how reforms can improve the life of citizens while enhancing transparency, accountability and efficiency, and should be replicated more widely across the country to accelerate the journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047.
Addressing a press conference on the “12 Years’ Achievements of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions”, Dr Jitendra Singh said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, governance reforms have ceased to be merely administrative exercises and have become powerful instruments of social and economic transformation. The event was attended by Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Rachna Shah; Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) and Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW), Nivedita Shukla Verma; Nanu Bhasin, Director General, Press Information Bureau and senior officers of the Government of India.
Recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision that “Good Governance is the key to a Nation’s progress”, Dr Jitendra Singh said the last twelve years have witnessed a profound transformation in the functioning and identity of institutions responsible for personnel administration, governance reforms and pensioners’ welfare. He said departments that once operated largely in the background have today become the principal drivers of reform, innovation and citizen-centric governance. The Department of Personnel and Training has emerged as a catalyst for reform across government, the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances has become central to improving service delivery and accountability, while the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare has expanded its focus from pension processing to ensuring dignity, welfare and quality of life for retirees.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that the transformation has been guided by three core principles- innovation, imagination and inclusion. These reforms, he said, have been driven by technology, administrative sensitivity and an understanding of the aspirations of a changing India. As a result, several Indian governance initiatives are now attracting global attention, with delegations from countries including South Africa, Mongolia and the Maldives studying India’s experiences in public administration, digital governance, grievance redressal and civil service reforms.
Highlighting landmark reforms that changed the relationship between citizens and the State, Dr Jitendra Singh recalled the Government’s decision to introduce self-attestation of documents soon after assuming office in 2014. He described it as a symbolic and substantive shift away from colonial-era practices, replacing bureaucratic hurdles with trust in citizens. The reform, he said, sent a powerful message that governance in a modern democracy must be based on trust rather than suspicion.
The Minister said another transformative decision was the abolition of interviews for Group B (Non-Gazetted) and Group C posts, which reduced subjectivity and strengthened merit-based recruitment. This reform, together with technology-driven examination systems, Aadhaar-enabled verification, computer-based testing and legislative safeguards such as the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, has made recruitment faster, more transparent and more credible. He added that the Government’s commitment to fair recruitment has also been reflected in the success of the National Rozgar Mela, through which more than 12 lakh appointment letters have been distributed across 19 events since October 2022.
Dr Jitendra Singh said social justice has remained at the heart of personnel policies. He highlighted implementation of reservation for Economically Weaker Sections, enhanced opportunities for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, special drives to fill backlog vacancies and sustained efforts to improve representation of disadvantaged sections in public employment. These measures, he said, have ensured that governance reforms are accompanied by greater social equity and inclusion.
Describing Mission Karmayogi as one of the most ambitious civil service reforms undertaken anywhere in the world, the Minister said it has fundamentally changed the philosophy of capacity building by shifting from rule-based administration to role-based and competency-driven governance. The iGOTKarmayogi platform, with over 1.65 crore registered users and nearly 13 crore course completions, has created a continuous learning ecosystem for public servants. He said the integration of Artificial Intelligence through AI Sarthi, AI Tutor and AI-enabled learning tools is helping build a future-ready civil service equipped to meet emerging challenges.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that some of the most visible outcomes of governance reforms have been witnessed in citizen grievance redressal and public service delivery. He noted that annual grievances registered with the Government have increased from around two lakhs to nearly twenty-five lakhs, reflecting growing public confidence in institutional responsiveness. At the same time, grievance redressal timelines have come down dramatically, with average disposal periods reducing from 157 days to just 13 days, demonstrating the impact of technology, accountability and continuous monitoring. He described CPGRAMS as one of the world’s largest and most effective citizen grievance redressal platforms.
The Minister said technology has emerged as the defining enabler of governance reform over the last twelve years. From online RTI systems and e-HRMS to e-Office, digital performance appraisal systems, AI-enabled citizen interfaces and paperless administration, digital platforms have significantly enhanced efficiency, transparency and accessibility. He said India is no longer merely adopting global best practices but is increasingly creating governance solutions that are being emulated elsewhere.
Referring to anti-corruption and transparency initiatives, Dr Jitendra Singh said the Government has strengthened the institutional framework through the operationalisation of the Lokpal, amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act and technology-enabled vigilance mechanisms. He said reforms have sought to ensure accountability while simultaneously creating an environment in which honest and well-intentioned decision-making is encouraged and protected.
The Minister also highlighted a series of employee-centric reforms that have infused greater empathy into governance. These include expanded maternity and child care provisions, leave benefits relating to surrogacy, special leave for organ donation and enhanced educational support for differently-abled children. He particularly referred to the introduction of special maternity leave in cases of stillbirth and reforms extending family pension benefits to divorced and separated daughters, saying these measures reflect a governance approach that recognizes human realities and seeks to address long-standing inequities.
On pension reforms, Dr Jitendra Singh said the Government has worked to ensure that retirement is accompanied by dignity, convenience and security. He highlighted the success of the Digital Life Certificate initiative, including the adoption of face-recognition technology, which has eliminated the need for many elderly pensioners to physically visit offices. He also referred to Pension Adalats, pension grievance redressal systems and the Anubhav platform, which captures the knowledge and experience of retiring employees and converts it into an institutional resource for future generations.
Dr Jitendra Singh said India has also emerged as a leading voice in global efforts relating to transparency and anti-corruption. He referred to India’s initiatives during its G20 Presidency, engagement under BRICS and innovations such as the BharatPOL platform and the Abhay AI Chatbot, which are strengthening international cooperation, combating emerging forms of crime and empowering citizens in the digital age.
Presenting the achievements of the Department of Personnel and Training, Secretary DoPT, Rachna Shah, highlighted major advances in recruitment reforms, personnel administration and capacity building. She detailed the expansion of the iGOTKarmayogi ecosystem, reforms undertaken by UPSC and SSC, the introduction of AI-enabled tools for training and human resource management, cadre reviews, recruitment rule reforms and initiatives aimed at creating a more agile, skilled and performance-oriented civil service.
Highlighting achievements of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare, Nivedita Shukla Verma said the Government has significantly expanded digital governance systems and citizen-centric service delivery mechanisms over the last decade. She highlighted the nationwide expansion of e-Office, the success of Special Campaigns for Swachhata and reduction of pendency, the introduction of AI-enabled grievance redressal tools such as Samadhan Didi, the growing reach of the Bhavishya portal, and plans for an integrated AI-enabled single-window pension platform with multilingual support aimed at achieving a zero-delay pension regime.
Concluding the interaction, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the achievements of the last twelve years demonstrate how governance reforms can become powerful vehicles of national transformation when driven by trust, technology and a citizen-first approach. The journey from procedural administration to responsive governance, he said, has strengthened public confidence, improved service delivery and created a strong foundation for building a developed India by 2047.