OREANDA-NEWS. A Regional Conference on “Innovations in Public Service Delivery” involving 16 States and Union Territories of Southern, Central and Western Regions of India was inaugurated by Shri Alok Rawat, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, Government of India and Shri Vivek Dhand, Chief Secretary, Government of Chhattisgarh at Raipur today. The two-day Conference is being organized by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Government of India, in collaboration with the General Administration Department of Government of Chhattisgarh. 

Inaugurating the Conference, Shri Vivek Dhand drew attention to the first major innovations - Computerisation of Railway Reservation Systems in the 1980s, the eSeva Kendras in Andhra Pradesh etc., which were a major turning point in the delivery of Public Services with focus on citizen centricity. While stressing upon the need of technology, he also touched upon the importance of simplifying procedures. He hoped that the conference would enable the states to learn from each other. The Chief Secretary expressed his pleasure that a good number of States have gathered at Chhattisgarh which signifies their ardent quest for excellence in public administration.

Shri Alok Rawat mentioned that this is the 22nd such Regional Conference being organised by the DARPG on diverse themes pertaining to Best Practices. These Conferences provide an opportunity to learn from each other. While the needs of the states may vary, the experiences and lessons learnt are invaluable. Secretary also said that an exercise is being carried out in all the Ministries/Departments of the Government of India for rationalisation and simplification of procedures and forms. To ensure ‘Sushashan’, the mechanism for grievance redressal also needs to be effective.