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The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh lighting the lamp, during the Young Women Achievers Awards function 2017-18, organised by the FICCI, in New Delhi on April 06, 2018.
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The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh being presented a memento, during the Young Women Achievers Awards function 2017-18, organised by the FICCI, in New Delhi on April 06, 2018.

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The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh giving away the Young Women Achievers Awards 2017-18, organised by the FICCI, at a function, in New Delhi on April 06, 2018.


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The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh addressing the gathering, during the Young Women Achievers Awards function 2017-18, organised by the FICCI, in New Delhi on April 06, 2018.

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The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Shri Anil Baijal calling on the Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi on April 07, 2018.

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The Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Shri N.N. Vohra calling on the Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi on April 07, 2018.

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Vice President's Secretariat
08-April, 2018 20:11 IST
We must encourage women to participate in designing and implementing their vision for the country: Vice President

We must ensure equitable distribution of the fruits of our economic prosperity; Presents CII Annual Awards 2018

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that ae must move beyond seeing women as beneficiaries of schemes and encourage them to be participants in designing and implementing their vision for the country. He was addressing the gathering after giving away Women Exemplar Awards to Smt. Munni Begum, Smt. Asha and Smt. Vechulou Kanuo and the Lifetime Achievement Award to Shri Y.C. Deveshwar, constituted by the Confederation of Indian Industry, here today.

The Vice President said that India has the rich culture of respecting and honouring women. He further said that right from ancient times; women in India have been treated as equals and with respect. Many of our rivers are named after women and whenever given an opportunity, they have excelled in different fields from sports to flying combat aircraft, he added.

The Vice President said that women exemplars who have fought against all odds and flourished. They flourished not for their own benefit, but showed the way to thousands of others, he added.

The Vice President said that we must ensure equitable distribution of the fruits of our economic prosperity. He further said that the poor and weaker sections should not be left behind in the growth narrative of India. It is the duty of those who are better off to think of the disadvantaged sections and help in their uplift, he added.

The Vice President said that empowerment of women, who constitute almost half of India’s population, is very crucial for the country to make progress and achieve economic prosperity. He further said that in a bid to empower women, the government has launched initiatives such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme, Ujjwala and other schemes to promote women entrepreneurship. Niti Aayog also set up a women entrepreneurship cell to promote women’s participation in our economy, he added.

The Vice President said that Indian industry has a major role to promote inclusive growth from the grass root level and we need visionary business leaders to provide resources, ideas, energy and the drive in this regard.

Following is the text of Vice President’s address:

“I am delighted to participate in this celebration to honour outstanding individuals—women who have transformed the lives of people at grass-root level and an industrialist, who created an enterprise dedicated to serving national priorities. I compliment the Confederation of Indian Industry for instituting these awards.

CII has been a strong partner of the government, industry and civil society in creating and sustaining an environment conducive for the development of India.

Although, the recipients of the awards are from different fields, they represent the same set of values—those of placing others before self, working for social good and providing outstanding leadership. Such felicitations will not only help in reinforcing those values but also help in serving as an inspiration to others.

Shri YC Deveshwar has been recognized worldwide for his legendary stewardship. He led ITC to create multiple drivers of economic growth for our country. I congratulate him on this award for Lifetime Achievement.

I also want to congratulate the women exemplars who have fought against all odds and flourished. They flourished not for their own benefit, but showed the way t thousands of others. Their work is an inspiration for others to emulate. The downtrodden people are the most vulnerable and bringing a transformation in their lives is truly an exemplary achievement.

Friends, India is transforming at a fast pace. Our economy is poised to grow at 7.3 per cent of the GDP in 2018-19 and projected to become the third largest economy in the next 10-15 years. While this is good news, what is important is to ensure equitable distribution of the fruits of economic prosperity. In other words, the poor and weaker sections should not be left behind in the growth narrative of India.

It is the duty of those who are better off to think of the disadvantaged sections and help in their uplift. Empowerment of women, who constitute almost half of India’s population, is very crucial for the country to make progress and achieve economic prosperity.

Education is the foundation and the basic tool for women to be empowered. Even 70 years after Independence, literacy rate among women is only 65.4 only per cent. It is estimated that about 68 per cent of adult illiterates in the country are women. How can we allow this situation to continue if India aspires to emerge as one of the major economies?

As has been quite aptly said educating a woman is equivalent to educating an entire family. An educated woman will not only be in a position to support the family economically but will also ensure proper nutrition and education to children. Therefore, education is vital for women’s economic, social and political empowerment.

In a bid to empower women, the government has launched initiatives such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme, Ujjwala and other schemes to promote women entrepreneurship. Niti Aayog also set up a women entrepreneurship cell to promote women’s participation in our economy. We must move beyond seeing women as beneficiaries of schemes and encourage them to be participants in designing and implementing their vision for the country.

Right from ancient times, women In India have been treated as equals and with respect. Many of our rivers are named after women. Whenever given an opportunity, they have excelled in different fields from sports to flying combat aircraft. Maitreyi, who lived in Vedic times, is considered as a symbol of the intellectual prowess of Indian women. Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, Legendary singer, Lata Mangeshkar, Astronaut, Kalpana Chawla, badminton sensation, P. V. Sindhu, boxing champion Mary Kom, cricketer Mithali Raj, Tennis star Sania Mirza and weightlifter Malleshwari, just to name a few, are among the many women who brought name and fame to India. In the ongoing Commonwealth Games too, Indian women are doing the nation proud.

Today women are heading Defence, External Affairs and Information and Broadcasting Portfolios.

However, in the modern times, the degeneration of value system is leading to undesirable trends and we are witnessing barbaric incidents like rapes, female feticides and dowry killings. No civilized society can tolerate such inhuman acts and the most stringent punishments have to be meted to the criminals, who perpetrate those crimes.

Irrespective of how many legislations we frame and implement, there has to be a change in the attitude of the people. The change must begin at home with the parents treating both boys and girls as equals and not discriminating against the girl child. If the right environment is created from childhood, attitudes will change and negative tendencies will be curbed.

As someone standing on the dais today, I see in this room and in the people present here, the ideal mix for promoting inclusive growth and development in our country.

I am aware that through their CSR initiatives, corporates are already reaching out to communities. The CSR outreach also provides an opportunity to the industry to partner with women, especially those who are leading the change at the grass-root level. These women who came here today are working with marginalised groups.

While we have 15 finalists and three winners with us today, what is truly heartening is that there were 227 applications from across the country. Just imagine- 227 hubs of courage, vision and development in small cities and villages across the country. The governments, corporates and civil society must focus on these communities.

Shri Deveshwar and other industry leaders have shown their social commitment through Rs. 9,000 crore that they have spent on CSR. Given the magnitude of the challenges before our country, partnerships are important to collaborate to find solutions to complex problems and achieve the desired results.

Indian industry has a major role to promote inclusive growth from the grass root level and we need visionary business leaders to provide resources, ideas, energy and the drive in this regard.

To herald a new dawn in our nation, we must leverage the strengths of all sectors: the resolve and resources of governments; the compassion and outreach of non-profits; the innovation, know-how, and capabilities of the private sector; and the determination and aspiration of communities especially the women. They lead differently and focus on development of their communities. Investing in women has a multiplier effect-- the good impact always goes beyond them to envelop their families and communities.

My compliments to CII for felicitating women who are leading the social change at grassroots. I am delighted that this is being undertaken through a dedicated CII Foundation set up for the purpose.

I once again congratulate all the winners and convey best wishes for all your future endeavours.

JAI HIND!

***
 
08THHACK

The display logo on the MoD website on Friday had triggered speculation. | Photo Credit: PTI


http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-cyber-outage-not-hacking/article23467126.ece

New Delhi: The display logo that appeared on the Ministry of Defence’s website after it crashed on Friday was a Japanese character and not Chinese, National Cyber Security coordinator Gulshan Rai said.

The appearance of the logo had led to speculation that MoD’s website and nine other government sites had been hacked by the Chinese. The fears were compounded by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s tweet that action had been initiated after “the hacking of MoD website.” She later posted a press release issued by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology that the website was not hacked but it became inaccessible due to a technical fault.

Explaining the cyber outage, Mr. Rai told The Hindu that MoD was running on Drupal, content management software, and that when there was a “hardware failure,” the software went back to resetting position thus displaying the logo, which is a Japanese character.

He said MoD was using Drupal as it was “rich and good.” Drupal, an open source platform, has the Japanese character as the company's logo

“The hardware storage area network which stores the data had a problem, the software (Drupal) went back to resetting position and that is why the logo appeared on the website. The logo was not Chinese but a Japanese character. Its an open source software. The other nine websites were also impacted as all of them were stored in the same system. It was purely a cyber outage,” Mr. Rai said.

Another official said the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which hosts the government websites, was examining the cause of the “hardware failure” and were taking corrective measures.

The official said they were not aware about Ms. Sitharaman’s tweet but added that the concerned ministries could not have been informed in advance as it was a “hardware failure.”

The MoD website was one of the first government websites to go down on Friday. Later, websites of the ministries of home, law and labour and six other departments were also down. They were restored by Friday night.

A private IT professional said hardware failure could be due to multiple reasons such as power failure or backup not working. “Any change to be made on MoD website has to be done through Drupal and its not an alarming situation. Seems to be a one time glitch,” he said.
 
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
10-April, 2018 16:21 IST
Action Plan to increase growth rate of Districts by 3-4%: Suresh Prabhu

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Union Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu chairs a meeting on Role of Districts in Economic Growth

Union Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu today chaired a meeting for brainstorming and creating an action plan on role of districts in economic growth of the country. The aim of the meeting was to prepare an action plan to increase the growth rate at the district level by 3-4% per annum by accelerating economic activities. Larger aim of this initiative is to help India become a USD 5 trillion economy.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister said that to push growth further, a bottom-up approach is required. Therefore, districts need to be considered as planning and execution units, facilitating change at micro level. In order to achieve this aim, few districts including Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Varanasi and Vishakhapatnam, across different states will be selected in phase 1 of the pilot project. Profile of the districts will be created, identifying strengths and local resources, so as to incorporate it with different sectors and verticals. Efforts will be made to converge government and private initiatives and introduce mechanism for handholding and mentoring. The Minister directed the officials to create an Action Plan in this regard at the earliest.

Representative from different Ministries including Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, MSME, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Statistics & Program Implementation along with NITI Aayog, Department of Economic Affairs and representatives of States of Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were present.

***
 
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
10-April, 2018 18:22 IST
New Website & Mobile APP of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Launched

The new Website and Mobile App of the ‘National Commission for Safai Karamcharis’ was launched by Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment here today in the presence of the Chairman, Members and other officers of the Department and the Commission. The Minister congratulated the Commission for its new website and expressed hope that the new website and Mobile App will help the Commission in addressing the grievances/complaints of petitioners in an efficient manner.

The erstwhile website of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis was not user-friendly. On the advice of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Commission undertook the task of preparing a new website for itself. The new website is very user-friendly and as per Government of India Guidelines for official websites. It is a comprehensive website giving complete details about the Commission viz. its composition, mandate, manner of filing complaints, details of visits undertaken by its Chairman and Members, etc. The petitioners can file their grievances/complaints, etc. on-line on the website and thereafter track their grievances/complaints. Simultaneously, the petitioner can also lodge their grievances/complaints through their android mobile phones by using the Commission’s App which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store free of cost.

*****
 
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
11-April, 2018 16:24 IST
Dr Jitendra Singh launches online dashboard to monitor public grievances on real time basis

Dashboard to benefit all Ministries/Departments to monitor implementation of reforms to address public grievances, says Minister

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh launched an online dashboard developed by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) here today. The dashboard will monitor public grievances on real time basis and periodically review progress of systemic reforms. The systemic reforms and their monitoring metrics, catering to grievance issues are highlighted on the dashboard. This will enable concerned Ministries/Departments to monitor implementation of these reforms.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the DARPG is the nodal department for the dashboard that was launched today, but it will also be helpful to the concerned Ministries/Departments to monitor the implementation of various initiatives and will provide inputs to them. He said that DARPG should create awareness among departments/ministries about this dashboard so that they can benefit the citizens to the maximum out of it. He said that the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi works on the principle of ‘maximum governance, minimum government’ for the benefit of the citizens of the country. He said that grievances received by the Government has increased many times, due to the prompt response given by the Department and faith of public in the Government. He said that an analysis has been done by the department on the causes of grievances and this has helped in the indepth understanding of the causes and taking corrective steps. The Minister said that the number of pensioners is more than the number of working employees in the country. The pensioners are a big resource for us and we should do an analysis how best to tap their potential, he added. The ‘Anubhav’ initiative can provide various inputs to us in assessing the ministries/departments, the Minister said.

On the occasion, the Minister also released the Project Monitoring Report on "Monitoring of Systemic Reforms and Public Grievances" as well as the Reports "Grievance Data Analysis, Study of CPENGRAMS and Systemic Reform Recommendations" and "Recommendations for Anubhav portal". A Grievance Analysis Study through the Quality Council of India (QCI) was initiated in 2015 in respect of top 20 highest grievance receiving Ministries/Departments (from 01.01.2012 to 19.08.2015). The Study involved identification of top grievance prone areas and focus on root cause analysis. The Reports recommended systemic reforms to impact and bring about improvements in service delivery. In order to monitor the implementation of the reforms/ recommendations made, a Project Management Unit (PMU) was set up by DARPG in August, 2016.

A presentation on the study of grievances in various ministries and their causes was also given on the occasion. The presentation included discussion about root causes of grievances in various ministries including Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Railways, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Communication & IT, Ministry of Finance and others. It was said that analysis of root causes of grievances has helped the departments of take suitable action on the main causes in their ministries/departments e.g. reduction in the average response time and others.

Secretary, DoPT, Shri C. Chandramouli, Secretary, DARPG, Shri K. V. Eapen and senior officers of various ministries were also present on the occasion.


******
 
The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh releasing the Project Monitoring Report on “Monitoring of Systemic Reforms and Public Grievances” and “Grievance Data Analysis, Study of CPENGRAMS & Systemic Reform Recommendations” and “Recommendations for Anubhav portal”, in New Delhi on April 11, 2018. The Secretary, DoPT, Shri C. Chandramouli, the Secretary, DARPG, Shri K.V. Eapen and senior officers are also seen.
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The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh launching an online dashboard, developed by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), in New Delhi on April 11, 2018. The Secretary, DoPT, Shri C. Chandramouli, the Secretary, DARPG, Shri K.V. Eapen and senior officers are also seen.

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The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh addressing at the launch of online dashboard developed by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), in New Delhi on April 11, 2018. The Secretary, DoPT, Shri C. Chandramouli, the Secretary, DARPG, Shri K.V. Eapen and senior officers are also seen.

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The Minister of State for Communications (I/C) and Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha at the launch of the India Mobile Congress-2018, in New Delhi on April 13, 2018. The Secretary, (Telecom), Ms. Aruna Sundararajan and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Minister of State for Communications (I/C) and Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha launching the India Mobile Congress-2018, in New Delhi on April 13, 2018. The Secretary, (Telecom), Ms. Aruna Sundararajan and other dignitaries are also seen.

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The Minister of State for Communications (I/C) and Railways, Shri Manoj Sinha addressing at the launch of the India Mobile Congress-2018, in New Delhi on April 13, 2018. The Secretary, (Telecom), Ms. Aruna Sundararajan and other dignitaries are also seen.

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Ministry of Tourism
14-April, 2018 13:59 IST
Rs.550 crores project bagged by ITDC for developing infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh;

First ever Private Sector project by ITDC

India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) signed a MoU on 10th April 2018 with Hyderabad based firm M/s Suraas Impex Pvt. Ltd. for developing a Mega Tourism Destination project at Bhairav Lanka in Kakinada, East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh at an estimated cost of Rs. 550 crores. This is the first of its kind project for the state owned ITDC, which got preferred against several private contenders.

ITDC will be the Consulting Agency as well as Implementing Agency for the DPR and the execution which shall be taken up in three stages i.e. preparing the DPR, Implementation of project costing around 550 crores and implementation of second phase of the project.

ITDC has been the prime mover in the progressive development, promotion and expansion of tourism in the country. The Division has completed 67 infrastructure projects for Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and various State Governments. The division has also prepared more than 85 DPRs for various tourism projects in the country. The corporation provides Engineering Consultancy Services through its full-fledged Ashok Consultancy & Engineering Services Division. It undertakes development of Tourism infrastructure projects from concept to commissioning. It provides services to Ministry of tourism and State Tourism Departments. M/s Suraas Impex Pvt. Ltd. is engaged in trading, renewable energy power generation & hospitality etc.

*****

NB/JP/Tourism-14.04.18
 
NITI Aayog
Atal Tinkering Labs Celebrate Annual Community Day

ATLs across the country throw open doors toneighbourhood schools & NGOs

Posted On: 17 APR 2018 3:29PM by PIB Delhi

Atal Tinkering Labs, under the Atal Innovation Mission of the NITI Aayog, were envisioned as innovative makerspaces, setup across India, in every school, accessible to every child. Equipped with modern technologies to help navigate and impart crucial skills in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the ATLs are at the vanguard of the promoting scientific temper and an entrepreneurial spirit in children today.

The ATL Community Day initiative is an effort to spread awareness as well as engage the local communities in the neighbourhood of an Atal Tinkering Lab, to come and experience the exciting new world of science and future technologies. The Annual Community Day was held across India, over the course of April 13 – 16, with the larger theme of AmbedkarJayanti, which was celebrated on April 14. AIM has selected more than 2400 schools in 2017 for establishing Atal Tinkering Labs.

As the world grapples with evolving technologies, a new set of skills have gained popular acceptance and have come to be in high demand. For India to contribute significantly during this age of raid technological advancement, there is an urgent need to empower our youth with these ‘skills of the future’.

Computational thinking, Internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, design thinking, advanced robotics – to name a few – are becoming increasingly relevant today. And Atal Tinkering Labs have evolved as epicenters for imparting these ‘skills of the future’ throughpractical applicationsbased onself-learning. Bridging a crucial social divide, Atal Tinkering Labs provide equal opportunity to all children across the spectrum by working at the grassroot level, introducing children to the world of innovation and tinkering.

Further establishing itself as an agent of community-level, inclusive innovation, children from other schools and/or who are not enrolled in the formal education system are also being introduced to the ‘tinkering’ phenomenon through the ATL Community Day initiative.

AIM is paying tribute to the late Dr. B.R. Ambedkar by hosting its nationwide Atal Community Day Initiative on 14th April,2018. ATLs seek to integrate his philosophy of providing equal opportunity to everyone by opening up the doors of their Atal Tinkering Labs to the neighboring schools and NGOs who support the education of underprivileged children. Up to 30,000 new students were exposed during Community Day celebrations to the Atal Tinkering Labs and its philosophy of creating an environment of creativity and innovation.

The students undertook sessions in Design Thinking and Hands on Learning activities, which composes of the basic elements of the first Atal Innovation Mission integration module for the Atal Tinkering Labs. The sessions were conducted by trained mentors, teachers and Atal Tinkering Lab students who have completed the Atal Tinkering Lab modules. Innovation for all, by all, peer-to-peer learning mixed with expert guidance and enthusiastic mentors.

Tinkering is to explore, experiment and step beyond your textbooks. Tinkering is to identify problems and create solutions. Tinkering is to try, and try again. Tinkering is all about learning and sometimes, failing too. Students are free to explore ideas across sectors like aerospace, medical diagnostics, clean energy, clean water, biotechnology and many more in ATLs. Young student teams from ATLs in Puducherry and Kolhapur, Maharashtra have been innovating new ways to generate electricity from sewage water. This is one innovative idea. There are more such innovations, ideas, patents waiting to be realised in young minds. ATLs will create many more such young student innovators across every Indian district, and initiatives like ATL Community Day not only amplify the impact, but have the potential to effect transformational change at the societal level.



***
 
NITI Aayog
17-April, 2018 19:20 IST
First Meeting of National Council under POSHAN Abhiyaan to held tomorrow

First meeting of National Council on India's Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan to be held tomorrow on April 18, 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, Hall No. 3 at 10:30 AM onwards in New Delhi. It will see the participation of Shri Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman NITI Aayog, Dr V K Paul, Member (Health & Nutrition) NITI Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, apart from representatives of various ministries of the Central and State Governments.

The mandate of the National Council on India’s Nutritional Challenges is as under:

(a) Provide policy directions to address India’s nutritional challenges through coordinated inter-sectoral action.

(b) Coordinate and review convergence between Ministries.

(c) Review programmes for nutrition on a quarterly basis.

The Council will submit its report to the Prime Minister every 6 months.

The POSHAN Abhiyaan targets reduction in the level of under-nutrition and other related problems by ensuring convergence of various nutrition related schemes. It will monitor and review implementation of all such schemes and in this endeavour, the Abhiyaan seeks to utilize existing structural arrangements of line Ministries wherever available.

***


NITI Aayog
17-April, 2018 15:29 IST
Atal Tinkering Labs Celebrate Annual Community Day

ATLs across the country throw open doors to neighbourhood schools & NGOs

Atal Tinkering Labs, under the Atal Innovation Mission of the NITI Aayog, were envisioned as innovative makerspaces, setup across India, in every school, accessible to every child. Equipped with modern technologies to help navigate and impart crucial skills in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the ATLs are at the vanguard of the promoting scientific temper and an entrepreneurial spirit in children today.

The ATL Community Day initiative is an effort to spread awareness as well as engage the local communities in the neighbourhood of an Atal Tinkering Lab, to come and experience the exciting new world of science and future technologies. The Annual Community Day was held across India, over the course of April 13 – 16, with the larger theme of AmbedkarJayanti, which was celebrated on April 14. AIM has selected more than 2400 schools in 2017 for establishing Atal Tinkering Labs.

As the world grapples with evolving technologies, a new set of skills have gained popular acceptance and have come to be in high demand. For India to contribute significantly during this age of raid technological advancement, there is an urgent need to empower our youth with these ‘skills of the future’.

Computational thinking, Internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, design thinking, advanced robotics – to name a few – are becoming increasingly relevant today. And Atal Tinkering Labs have evolved as epicenters for imparting these ‘skills of the future’ throughpractical applicationsbased onself-learning. Bridging a crucial social divide, Atal Tinkering Labs provide equal opportunity to all children across the spectrum by working at the grassroot level, introducing children to the world of innovation and tinkering.

Further establishing itself as an agent of community-level, inclusive innovation, children from other schools and/or who are not enrolled in the formal education system are also being introduced to the ‘tinkering’ phenomenon through the ATL Community Day initiative.

AIM is paying tribute to the late Dr. B.R. Ambedkar by hosting its nationwide Atal Community Day Initiative on 14th April,2018. ATLs seek to integrate his philosophy of providing equal opportunity to everyone by opening up the doors of their Atal Tinkering Labs to the neighboring schools and NGOs who support the education of underprivileged children. Up to 30,000 new students were exposed during Community Day celebrations to the Atal Tinkering Labs and its philosophy of creating an environment of creativity and innovation.

The students undertook sessions in Design Thinking and Hands on Learning activities, which composes of the basic elements of the first Atal Innovation Mission integration module for the Atal Tinkering Labs. The sessions were conducted by trained mentors, teachers and Atal Tinkering Lab students who have completed the Atal Tinkering Lab modules. Innovation for all, by all, peer-to-peer learning mixed with expert guidance and enthusiastic mentors.

Tinkering is to explore, experiment and step beyond your textbooks. Tinkering is to identify problems and create solutions. Tinkering is to try, and try again. Tinkering is all about learning and sometimes, failing too. Students are free to explore ideas across sectors like aerospace, medical diagnostics, clean energy, clean water, biotechnology and many more in ATLs. Young student teams from ATLs in Puducherry and Kolhapur, Maharashtra have been innovating new ways to generate electricity from sewage water. This is one innovative idea. There are more such innovations, ideas, patents waiting to be realised in young minds. ATLs will create many more such young student innovators across every Indian district, and initiatives like ATL Community Day not only amplify the impact, but have the potential to effect transformational change at the societal level.

***
 
Ministry of Women and Child Development
18-April, 2018 19:06 IST
First meeting of National Council on India's Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan held today in New Delhi

235 districts to be covered under Phase-II of POSHAN Abhiyaan bringing the total number to 550 Home based Care for Young Child (HBYC) to be the crucial component of POSHAN Abhiyaan

The first meeting of National Council on India's Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan was held today in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog. The Council which has been set up under POSHAN Abhiyaan is the apex body to formulate overall policies, guide and monitor all nutrition based schemes. The mandate of the Council is:

  1. To provide policy directions to address India’s Nutrition Challenges through coordinated inter-sectoral action
  2. To coordinate and review convergence among ministries
  3. To review programmes for nutrition on a quarterly basis
The Council will submit its report to the Prime Minister every six months.

Sh.Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution , Sh.Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State(I/C) for Housing & Urban Affairs, State Ministers of WCD from the states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, Secretaries of Central Government and District Collectors of eight districts attended the meeting and deliberated on the implementation of the Abhiyaan. Shri Ram Vilas Paswan stressed that mothers should be involved through Self Help groups for distribution of Take home ration in Anganwadi Centres.

Some of the important decisions taken in the meeting are :

  1. 235 Additional Districts have been confirmed as part of Phase II of POSHAN Abhiyaan in financial year 2018-19
The districts have been selected on the basis of:-

(a) The level of stunting.

(b) Ensuring all LWE (105) and Aspirational (117) districts are

included.

(c) Wherever a gap of 1 district was left to achieve saturation in

States/UTs.

315 districts were already covered under phase-I of POSHAN Abhiyaan.The balance of 167 districts out of 718 districts will be covered in Phase III of the Abhiyaan

  1. Provision of Smartphones instead of Tablets to Lady Supervisors.
Some states have highlighted problems in procurement of tablets for Anganwadi supervisors. The issue was discussed in the meeting and it was decided that Smartphones may be procured for Anganwadi supervisors instead of Tablets.

  1. Direct transfer of Funds to States/UTs for Cash Award to Frontline Functionaries, instead of Creation of Corpus Fund.
It was decided to examine the matter in consultation with the Ministry of Finance.

Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman Niti Aayog stressed on the need for ground level work and participation from all sectors, for converting the mission into Jan Andolan and achieving the goals. He called for feedback and suggestions from members and state and district level officers in implementing the mission.

Dr. Vinod Paul, Member, NITI Aayog in his address highlighted that the focus is on the first 1000 days of the child and preventive care for adolescent girls, women and mothers. He also said that Home-based Care for Young Child(HBYC) would be a crucial component of POSHAN Abhiyaan. In HBYC, ASHAs supported by Anganwadi workers(AWW) will visit the homes of children aged between 3 to 15 months and sensitise mothers on energy density and diet of child.The committee has endorsed his recommendation on:



  • Package of interventions matrix for the first 1000 days of the child
  • Roll out HBYC within a month
  • Social and behavioural change road map and action roll out


During the meeting following decisions were also taken

  • The pilot will be conducted in 10 districts for conditional cash transfer(CCT) through direct benefit transfer
  • States/UTs to continue their existing system of providing supplementary nutrition under Anganwadi services
Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Joint Secretary highlighted that various incentives have been made a part of POSHAN Abhiyaan. To encourage Anganwadi workers to use mobile phones for real time monitoring (ICT-RTM), incentive funds shall be provided for each Anganwadi worker per month. It will be linked to the achievements of certain targets.

Centralised call centre will be established for monitoring, grievance redressal and interventions.

Speaking on the importance of ICDS-CAS, he said that it will help in collecting real time data enabling supportive supervision and timely intervention by department officials. He also added that it would further create robust monitoring, evaluation and analysis platform at all hierarchical levels, through an integrated dashboard. E learning module has also been created for Anganwadi workers. Comprehensive Guidelines and Manuals are now available at State Level for all Abhiyaan Components.

Sh. Rakesh Srivastava, Secretary , WCD Ministry in his address said that there is a need to ensure convergence of various programmes spread across Ministries as under:



  • Anganwadi Services, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, Scheme for Adolescent Girls of Ministry of Women & Child Development;
  • Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), National Health Mission (NHM), Home-based New born Care, Home-Based Yong Child Care, Anemia Mukt Bharat and Rashtrya Bal Swasth Krayakram of MoH&FW;
  • Swachchh Bharat Mission, Construction of toilets and WASH of Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DW&S);
  • Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), of Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD);
  • Drinking Water & Toilets with Ministry of Panchayati Raj;
He also stressed on the need for Convergence among Field Functionaries like AWWs, ANM, ASHA and DAY-NRLM as a part of Community based engagement. He further highlighted that States/UTs and Line Ministries need to achieve convergence through close coordination between the Departments of Women & Child Welfare; Health; Drinking Water & sanitation; Rural Development; Panchayati Raj; Education and Food and other concerned Departments.

The first lot of 40 Swasth Bharat Preraks is being dispatched by end of the month and would be available at District level to assist the staff in smooth roll-out. Under the Abhiyaan, Swasth Bharat Preraks will be deployed one in each District for coordinating with District officials and enabling fast and efficient execution of the Abhiyaan across the country. Swasth Bharat Preraks would function as a catalyst for fast tracking the implementation of the Abhiyaan. By July 2018, 315 Swasth Bharat Preraks are likely to be deployed in 315 districts of Phase I of the POSHAN Abhiyaan.

The annual targets set under POSHAN Abhiyaan beginning 2017-18 are as under:



S.No

Objective

Target

1.

Prevent and reduce stunting in children (0-6years)

By 6% @ 2% p.a.

2

Prevent and reduce under-nutrition (underweight prevalence) in children (0-6 years)

By 6% @ 2% p.a.

3

Reduce the prevalence of anemia among young Children(6-59 months)

By 9% @ 3% p.a.

4

Reduce the prevalence of anemia among Women and Adolescent Girls in the age group of 15-49 years.

By 9% @ 3% p.a.

5

Reduce Low Birth Weight (LBW).

By 6% @ 2% p.a.



Target of Mission is also to bring down stunting of the children in the age group of 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by the year 2022.

For more details on the Poshan Abhiyaan :

http://www.pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1525450

http://www.pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1524208



POSHAN Abhiyaan Website http://icds-wcd.nic.in/nnm/home.htm
 
Vice President's Secretariat
20-April, 2018 13:49 IST
Translating “legislative intent” into “programmatic content” is need of the hour: Vice President

The focus has shifted to “implementation” and “innovation”; ‘Swarajya’ has to be meaningful for each Indian and, for this ‘Surajya’ is inevitable; Inaugurates 2-day event of 12th Civil Services Day

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that translating “legislative intent” into “programmatic content” and demonstrating to the common citizens what “Surajya” actually looks like in day to day administration, the civil services have an enormous opportunity today. He was delivering the inaugural address at the 2-day event of the 12th Civil Services Day, here today. The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.



The Vice President said that a clean, competent, people-friendly, proactive administrative leadership is the need of the hour. He further said that ‘Swarajya’ has to be meaningful for each Indian and, for this ‘Surajya’ is inevitable. There is a need for honest introspection into the effectiveness and efficiency of our administrative structures and processes, he added.



The Vice President said that the focus has shifted to “implementation” and “innovation” and it is becoming increasingly clear that “business as usual” approach will not do. We must collectively transform India into a nation that we can all be proud of, he added.



The Vice President called on officers of Civil Services to reorient their approach to look upon themselves as catalysts of change, as facilitators of change, as inspirational leaders for an aspirational India. He further said that it is the collective responsibility of the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and the media to identify, combat and root out evils including casteism, communalism, corruption, inequality, discrimination and violence. We need to be sensitive to these unpleasant realities and try to alter them by being unbiased and evenhanded, he added.



Following is the text of Vice President’s address:



“It is indeed a great privilege to be a part of the two day celebration of Civil Services Day and address this gathering of change makers.

Today is a day of celebration, a day that reaffirmsthe competence, commitment and confidence of the civil services to make a difference to the governance landscape of our country.

I am happy to be with the officers who are being recognized for their quest for excellence. I compliment them as well as those who are engaged in similar innovative initiatives across the country.

Our country’s civil services are among the best in the world.

They constitute the best and the brightest minds of our country.

They have the ability to absorb new information and knowledge, adapt to a rapidly changing socio-political environment and address the key challenges in contemporary society.

Many of them have the forward looking, strategic vision to guide policy formulation and the drive to make a difference in service delivery.

The essential gap today is between the grandiose conception and the ground level implementation.

There is an urgent need to re-think our existing governance paradigm.

There is a need for honest introspection into the effectiveness and efficiency of our administrative structures and processes.

It is this introspection and reflection that has made many civil servants, some of whom are getting awards today, to come up with alternative strategies for improving the system.

I wish and hope that many more civil servants would also think afresh and keep raising the bar through innovative solutions.

After all, even for the best, there is always a possibility to become better.

And there is no better time than now.

There is an unmistakable air of buoyant optimism today.

The clarion call of the Prime Minister to “Reform, Perform and Transform” has found a rare resonance everywhere.

The focus has shifted to “implementation” and “innovation”. It is becoming increasingly clear that “business as usual” approach will not do.

Age –old institutions like the Planning Commission are being reinvented. The overarching idea is clear. We must collectively transform India into a nation that we can all be proud of.

‘Swarajya’ has to be meaningful for each Indian. And, for this ‘Surajya’ is inevitable. Nothing short of a paradigm shift in governance will be adequate.

A clean, competent, people-friendly, proactive administrative leadership is the need of the hour.

Translating “legislative intent” into “programmatic content” and demonstrating to the common citizens what “Surajya” actually looks like in day to day administration, the civil services have an enormous opportunity today, like never before, to serve the country and our people.

With the mantra of ‘Reform, Perform and Transform’ and focusing on ‘Gaon, Garib, Kisan, Mahila aur Yuva’ government has taken up several schemes and programs like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri, Atal Pension Yojana, Sukanya Sammriddhi Yojana , Ujjwala Yojana, BetiBachao, BetiPadhao ,JAM- Direct Benefit Transfer, Mudra Yojana, Start up India, Stand Up, Skill India, , Swachh Bharat , Housing for all, Ayushman Bharat, Mission Indradhanush, Power for All, Ujala Scheme (Led’s), Make In India, Swadesh Darshan, Smart Cities, Amrut, Hriday, Namami Gange, Sagarmala, Look east, Khelo India,

Government E Market place – GEM to root out corruption in Government Procurements, GST: One Nation, One Tax and may more.



All these schemes and programmes are building blocks of a new resurgent India we wish to build, for the renaissance we are ushering in. Effective and timely implementation of these schemes and programmes are huge managerial challenge.

We have the strength within our country to achieve results. We have only to get our act together.

As the Vedic sages have said, “Samgachadhvam”, let us walk together.

As the Prime minister has envisaged, we should work as Team India with people as the main agents of change.

We must aspire for a new India where everyone will become part in the developmental process and get the fruits of it.

Civil Services have to reorient their approach to look upon themselves as catalysts of change, as facilitators of change, as inspirational leaders for an aspirational India.

Sisters and Brothers,

This I said was a renaissance and resurgence. Probably, I should add that this is probably the second renaissance, the first one occurred when India became independent and the all India Services were established.

Modern Indian civil service initially established by the British underwent a metamorphosis after independence. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the chief architect of an integrated India and the visionary ‘Iron’ man who established the ‘steel frame’ of all India services had succinctly envisaged this metamorphosis in his stirring address to the civil service probationers at Metcalfe House in New Delhi on 21st April, 1947:

“The service will now be free to or will have to adopt its true role of national service without being trammelled by traditions and habits of the past; officers must be guided by a real spirit of service in their day-to-day administration, for in no other manner can they fit in the scheme of things.”

This is the expectation expressed by the founder of India’s civil services nearly seventy years ago.

As we commemorate that extraordinary speech of the great legendary unifier of the country, we need to examine how far we have lived upto those expectations.

The shift and the transformation that Sardar Patel envisaged was a shift in attitude, a shift in our behavior.

It is a shift from doing a ‘job’ to ‘serving the people’. The job has a higher objective, a different yardstick for success. It should have ‘people’ at the centre and it should be done with a “spirit of service”.

The first is ‘empathy’. The civil service is the most visible ‘face’ of the government since citizens contact the civil servants for various services. The government’s image depends to a large extent on the image of the civil service and the manner in which it responds to people’s needs and aspirations. Empathy and courtesy at the cutting edge level can really enhance customer satisfaction. In fact, the hallmark of a well-functioning civil service is the ability to ‘serve’ the citizens with respect and alacrity.

What does this spirit of service to people entail? It necessitates, in my view, a number of attitudinal shifts. Let me mention just a few important ones.

First and foremost, it requires us to have the ‘humility’ to hear the voices of the people, the humility to learn from different people and the humility to accept if there are deficiencies.

Second is the ‘agility’, the ability to access information and knowledge and creatively apply them to new situations. Keeping our eyes and mind open and our ears and feet to the ground, we need to innovate and improvise to suit the life contexts of the people we are serving.

Third, is to re-define “accountability” and shifting the focus to ‘outcomes’ and not merely concentrating on ‘activities’. If we have to serve the people, we must know what the real concerns are and be able to address them. We must have the ability to measure our success by the tangible outcomes, by the changes we are able to bring about in the lives of our people.

In this context, it is good to recall Mahatma Gandhiji’s wise counsel:

“Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? … Then you will find your doubts and yourself melt away.”

When we talk of ‘service to people’, it is good to look at the segmentation of our society and shift our focus towards those segments of people which are marginalized and voiceless. We ought to be especially attentive to these feeble but important voices. As Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said in his speech to the Constituent Assembly on December 9, 1946:

“If we wish to preserve the Constitution in which we have sought to enshrine the principle of Government of the people, for the people and by the people, let us resolve not to be tardy in the recognition of the evils that lie across our path and which induce people to prefer Government for the people to Government by the people, nor to be weak in our initiative to remove them. That is the only way to serve the country. I know of no better.”

The evils that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had hinted at are the social evils including casteism, communalism, corruption, inequality, discrimination and violence. These evils continue to raise their ugly heads in different parts of the country at different times. They are a blot on our country’s history.

As leaders in country’s governance, it is the collective responsibility of the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and the media to identify, combat and root out these evils.

We need to be sensitive to these unpleasant realities and try to alter them by being unbiased and evenhanded. This can accelerate the building of a new India, an inclusive India, an integrated India and an innovative India. Sardar Patel’s exhortation to the All India Service probationers, on April 21, 1947, to maintain utmost impartiality in administration is as relevant today as it was then. He cautioned: “A civil servant cannot afford to, and must not, take part in politics. Nor must he involve himself in communal wrangles. To depart from the path of rectitude in either of these respects is to debase public service and to lower its dignity”.

Sisters and brothers,

You, as civil servants, have been the sheet anchor of our democratic polity. You have provided the ‘continuity’ and ‘stability’ we need in governance. Now, I am happy that you are also revamping the system to induce greater ‘predictability’, ‘accountability’ and ‘agility’.

We are living in interesting times. On the one hand, we have formidable challenges, some of them seemingly intractable ones. On the other, we have new frontiers of knowledge, science and technology opening up new possibilities. You are uniquely positioned to find the best fit between the problem and ideal solutions.

This is, I realize, a constant search because the nature of the problems as well as the range of solutions keep changing very rapidly.

But, if you keep the constitutional mandate of civil services in view and the larger picture of serving India as the overarching objective of your mission, a lot of good ideas can emerge and get translated into people-centered policies and programmes.

Sisters and Brothers,

We are an aspirational young democracy, the largest in the world and in the throes of a socio-economic transformation. We need to blend the competencies of diverse stakeholders to achieve a synergistic momentum towards inclusive growth.

I know that many of you have been thinking and acting on these lines. India needs more of your kind. India needs a civil service that constantly refines itself and delivers the finest service at the cutting edge level effectively and efficiently.

I am glad that you are conducting a number of sessions today focused on the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Agriculture, Housing, Skilling and Digital Payments. I hope the discussions will lead to substantive recommendations which will help further advance the cause of developing strong responsive public administration and governance systems. I shall be delighted to hear of the outcomes of your deliberations.

I once again congratulate all the civil servants on their tireless efforts to make our country and our planet a better place to live and work. As our ancient sages have said “Shubhaaste Panthaanah Santu” (Let your path be full of goodness).

Thank You!

Jai Hind!”

***

Prime Minister's Office
20-April, 2018 15:06 IST
PM to confer Awards for Excellence in Public Administration and address Civil Servants tomorrow

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will confer the Awards for Excellence in Public Administration for effective implementation of identified Priority Programs and Innovation to districts/implementing units and other Central/State organisations at Vigyan Bhawan in the capital tomorrow on April 21. He will address Civil Servants on this occasion.

PM Awards for Excellence in Public Administration have been instituted with a view to acknowledge, recognize and reward the exemplary work for citizen’s welfare by Districts & Organisations of the Central and State Governments. Four priority programs identified for the award: i) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, ii) Promoting Digital Payments, iii) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban & Rural, and iv) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana. In addition, there are awards for Innovation for Central, State organisations including Districts. 11 awards for 4 identified Priority Programmes will be given this year while two awards shall be given to organizations of Central/State Government/Districts for innovations out of which one award will be given to an Aspirational district.

Prime minister will release two books on this occasion. ‘New Pathways’ is a compilation of Success stories on implementation of identified Priority Programmes & Innovations while ‘Aspirational Districts: Unlocking Potentials’ is an account of evolving strategies for transforming Aspirational Districts.



*****
 
Prime Minister's Office
21-April, 2018 23:00 IST
Text of PM’s speech on Civil Services Day 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi

मंच पर उपस्थित सभी महानुभाव और विज्ञान भवन में उपस्थित आप सभी अधिकारीगण, देश के सुदूर कोने में अनवरत देश सेवा में जुटे सिविल सेवा के अन्‍यअधिकारीगण, देवियो और सज्‍जनों। आप सभी को सिविल सेवा दिवस की बहुत-बहुत बधाई है, बहुत-बहुत शुभकामनाएं हैं।

एक बार फिर मुझे आप सभी के साथ बातचीत करने का अवसर मिला है। आज का ये अवसर कई प्रकार से महत्‍व का है, Appreciation है, evaluation है और सबसे बड़ी महत्‍व की बात है introspection भी है। आज ये भी सोचने का दिन है कि बीते समय में जो संकल्‍प लिए गए, जो दिशा तय हुई, उस तरफ हम कितना आगे बढ़े, कितना सफल रहे। देश के सामान्‍य मानवी की जिंदगी में हम कितना बदलाव ला पाए।

साथियो, व्‍यक्ति हो या फिर व्यवस्‍था, कितना भी सक्षम, कितना भी प्रभावी क्‍यों न हो, बेहतर काम के लिए निरंतर motivation की आवश्‍यकता रहती है। एक प्रयास पुरस्‍कारों के माध्‍यम से किया जाता है। Prime Minister’s Awards इसी कड़ी में एक कोशिश है।

आज कई अधिकारियों को अपने क्षेत्र में अच्‍छे काम के लिए Prime Minister’s Award दिए गए। जिनको ये सम्‍मान मिला, उन सबको मैं बहुत-बहुत बधाई देता हूं और भविष्‍य में इससे भी ज्‍यादा अच्‍छा करने के लिए बहुत-बहुत शुभकामनाएं भी देता हूं।

साथियो, इन awards का उद्देश्‍य motivation तो है, लेकिन साथ-साथ इसका विस्‍तार हो, व्‍यापकता हो, और ज्‍यादा कैसे हो; ये एक प्रकार से सरकार की प्राथमिकताओं को भी परि‍लक्षित करता है। और इस बार भी priority programs और innovation की कैटेगिरी में पुरस्‍कार की व्‍यवस्‍था की गई थी।priority programs में प्रधानमंत्री फसल बीमा योजना, दीनदयाल उपाध्‍याय कौशल योजना, प्रधानमंत्री आवास योजना और digital payments, इनके प्रचार-प्रसार के लिए भी award दिए गए।

जिन योजनाओं के लिए सम्‍मान दिया गया है, ये न्‍यू इंडिया के हमारे जो सपने हैं, उनको पूरा करने के लिए बहुत महत्‍वपूर्ण है। ये हमारी अर्थव्‍यवस्‍था और सामान्‍य जन-जीवन के स्‍तर को ऊपर उठाने के लिए, उनकी ease of leaving के लिए अहम है। World bank हो या global rating agencies हों, वहां पर तो ease of doing business की चर्चा होती रहती है। लेकिन भारत जैसा देश ease of doing business से कुछ हासिल करके रुक नहीं सकता है। हमारे लिए तो सामान्‍य मानवी की जिंदगी में सरलता कैसे आए, सुगमता कैसे आए? और इस बात को हम भूल नहीं सकते हैं कि हमारी इतनी बड़ी फौज, इतने सालों का अनुभव, पीढ़ी-दर-पीढ़ी लोग आए, कुछ-न-कुछ अच्‍छा करके गए; लेकिन इसके बावजूद भी एक सामान्‍य मानवी को सरकार के साथ हर पल जद्दोजहद रहती है, वो जूझता रहता है, सरकार में अपनी जगह खोजता रहता है, अपने हक का पाने के लिए तो तड़पता रहता है। और ये सबसे बड़ी रुकावट है ease of life के बीच में।

अगर हम इतना सा कर लें, उसके हक के लिए उसको मांगना न पड़े, मैं समझता हूं सवा सौ करोड़ देशवासियों की जिंदगी में जो बदलाव आएगा, उसको देश को बदलने में समय नहीं लगेगा जी। वो बदल देंगे, देश वो ही बदल देंगे, हम तो देखते रह जाएंगे, बदल जाएगा देश। उस शक्ति का हम एहसास करें, हम अनुभव करें और ये सारी व्‍यवस्‍था, ये ताम-झाम, ये कानून, ये नियम, ये व्‍यवस्‍थाएं, अगर उस इंसान के केंद्र में रख करके हम करते हैं तो न जाने जिंदगी कैसे बदल पाएगी और हमें भी अपनी आंखों के सामने जब चीजें बदलते देखते हैं तो बहुत संतोष मिलता है। परिवार में भी बेटा अपनी आंखों के सामने जब बड़ा होता है तो मां को भी ध्‍यान में नहीं आता है, वो कल कितना था, आज कितना हो गया। लेकिन अगर दो-तीन साल कहीं बाहर गया है और वहां से जब आता है तो मां भी देखती रह जाती है, अरे! तू तो इतना सा गया था, इतना बड़ा बनके आ गया। उसके मन को एक नया संतोष मिल जाता है।

और मुझे बताया गया है कि इस वर्ष इन पुरस्‍कारों में जो आवेदन आए, यहां पर बैठे हुए तो लोग बहुत प्रसन्‍न हैं, लेकिन मुझे प्रसन्‍न होने में बहुत मुसीबत रहती थी। अच्‍छा ही है।

क्‍या आज भी मेरे देश में ऐसे districts हो सकते हैं, ऐसे अफसर हो सकते हैं कि जिनका मन ही न करे कि मैं भी स्‍पर्धा में शरीक हो जाऊं? मैं भी कोशिश करूं? मैं समझता हूं जो आए हैं उनका स्‍वागत है लेकिन जो नहीं आए हैं उनके लिए मुझे चिन्‍ता सता रही है।

इसका मतलब हुआ कि उनकी जिंदगी में ठहराव आ गया है, भीतर की ऊर्जा समाप्‍त हो चुकी है और ये जिंदगी नहीं हो सकती। जीवन के आखिरी पल तक नया करने का अगर इरादा नहीं, उमंग नहीं, उत्‍साह नहीं, कोशिश नहीं, तो फिर उससे बड़ा जीवन का अंतकाल नहीं हो सकता है।

और मैं नहीं मानता कि district level पर कोई बहुत बड़ी आयु में और बहुत मुसीबतों में फंसे हुए लोग हैं, मैं नहीं मानता। ऊर्जा से भरे हुए लोग होते हैं, कुछ कर दिखाने के हौसले को ले करके आए होते हैं। तो मैं चाहूंगा कि अब हम ये भी कर सकते हैं कि कोई ये भी कहे कि- लिखे- मुझे इस बार, इस साल कुछ कहने को, करने योग्‍य मेरे पास नहीं है, क्षमा करें, बस इतना कर दे। कभी तो उसका पता ही नहीं होता है कि वो स्‍पर्धा से हट चुका है।

और मैं ये चाहूंगा कि इस बार जो आपके पास आए हैं, उसमें जो आखिरी 25 हैं, उनको जरा खोजा जाए। उनको एक बार बुलाया जाए, उनकी मुसीबतें समझी जाएं। मैं किसी के प्रति एक्‍शन के पक्ष का व्‍यक्ति नहीं हूं। उनको हम समझें, क्‍या कठिनाई है। क्षेत्र विशेष की कठिनाई है, उसके परिवार में कोई समस्‍या है; कुछ तो होगा।

मैं नहीं मानता हूं मेरा साथी ऐसा हो सकता है, यार चल लो, चलने दो, जिंदगी गुजारी है, ऐसा नहीं हो सकता है; वो मेरासाथीहो ही नहीं सकता। उसके दिल में कुछ न कुछ तो ऊर्जा पड़ी होगी। लेकिन हम में से कोई फिर से एक बार जो उस पर राख जम गई है, उसमें एक बार फिर चेतनमंद करने का प्रयास करे। आप देखिए वो 25 जो इस बार पीछे हैं, मैं विश्‍वास से कहता हूं, अगर उनको मौका मिलेगा तो शायद पहले 25 में वो ही होंगे अगली बार।

आखिरकार सफलता के अंदर योजनाओं का जितना महत्‍व है उससे ज्‍यादा मानवीय स्‍पर्श का है, और ये मानवीय स्‍पर्श ही है जो team spirit को पैदा करता है। ये मानवीय स्‍पर्श ही है जो सपनों को साकार करने के लिए खपरे के इरादों को मजबूत करता है। और इसलिए कहा, हमारी कोशिश जो अच्‍छे हैं उनको पुरस्‍कार करने का अवसर मिले लेकिन जो कठिन हैं उनको अधिक प्‍यार दे करके, अधिक प्रोत्‍साहन दे करके, एक अच्‍छे माहौल में यहां बुला करके, आओ हम भी, और मैं भी समझ लूंगा, क्‍योंकि कोई निकम्‍मा नहीं है जी, कोई बेकार नहीं है। हर कोई एक ऊर्जा ले करके आया है। आवश्‍यकता है कि हम उस ऊर्जा को....

कभी-कभी हमने देखा होगा कि घर में एकाध बिजली का बल्‍ब चलता नहीं है। तो सीधा सी सोच यहीं होता है कि नहीं ये तो फ्यूज हो गया है, ये लट्टू बेकार है। लेकिन दूसरा समझदार होता है, कहता है ठहरो जरा, कहीं disconnect तो नहीं हो गया? तो वो प्‍लग को ठीक करता है और फिर वो लट्टू काम करने लग जाता है। कहीं-कहीं वो किनारे पर बैठा हुआ हमारा व्‍यक्ति हमसे disconnect तो नहीं हो गया है? और एक बार आप देख लीजिए, थोड़ा सा connect कर लीजिए, फिर वो बिजली की तरह चमकने लग जाएगा और पूरी रोशनी देना शुरू कर देगा, जो ओरों की जिंदगी को बदलने के लिए काबिल होती है।

आज मुझे यहां दो पुस्‍तकों का लोकार्पण करने का भी मौका मिला है। Prime Minister’s Award जो प्राप्‍त किए हैं, उसकी सारी उसमें बारीकियां हैं, एक इसे और दूसरा जो किताब है aspiration districts के संबंध में। अब तो मैं समझता हूं बहुत बड़ी मात्रा में यहां से हमारे अधिकारी district में जा रहे हैं। एक प्रकार से back to basic का movement चल रहा है।

उसने भी सोचा नहीं होगा कोई ऐसा भी प्रधानमंत्री आएगा यार, फिर उसी काम में रगड़ेगा। लेकिन मैं देख रहा हूं कि करीब-करीब 1000 अफसर दूर-सुदूर उन district में जाएं और जो उस राज्‍य की एवरेज में भी पीछे हैं, और कोई ये 1000 लोग आगे आए हैं, वो कोई हुक्‍म से नहीं आए हैं, अंत:प्रेरणा से आए हैं। ये अंत:प्रेरणा ही है जो मुझे उस aspirational district को leading role में देख रही है जी। आप देखिए अगर तीन साल हम, तीन साल निर्धारित लक्ष्‍य को ले करके time frame में उस काम को करेंगे तो ये hundred and fifteen districts राज्‍य के driving force बन जाएंगे, देश के driving force बन जाएंगे; ये ताकत उसमें पड़ी है।

और हर किसी को लगता है कि जितने parameter में हमको, क्‍योंकि अनुभव ये आता है कि व्‍यवस्‍था में कोई district होता है, push करते हैं, हमारे आंकड़े-वांकड़े ठीक हो जाते हैं तो जब भी पेश करना होता है और हो जाता है भई हमने hundred का टारगेट किया था 80 achieve कर लिया, लेकिन 80 एक ही कोने में कर लिया है।

कभी हम, अब तो साइकिल का जमाना नहीं रहा, लेकिन पहले के जमाने में साइकिल में जब हवा भरने जाते थे फिर वो एक मीटर रहता था, नापते थे कि कितने point हवा उसमें भरी, तो उससे पता चलता था कि अब साइकिल चलेगी। लेकिन कभी-कभार साइकिल की ट्यूब में किसी एक तरफ गुब्‍बारा हो जाता था। और वो जो मीटर था वो बराबर दिखाता था कि हां जितने point हवा जानी चाहिए, उसमें गई है। मीटर सही चल रहा है; साइकिल चलेगी कि नहीं चलेगी? क्‍योंकि एक तरफ वो गुब्‍बारा हो गया है, बाकी ट्यूब खाली पड़ी है; वो गुब्‍बारा ही रुकावट का कारण बन जाता है। कभी-कभी कुछ राज्‍यों में एकाध-दो district इतना अच्‍छा कर लेते हैं कि आंकड़ों में तो राज्‍य बहुत अच्‍छा लगता है लेकिन पूरे विकास की यात्रा के लिए वो ही एक रुकावट बन जाता है।

हमारी कोशिश है hundred fifteen districts में समान रूप से विकास की मात्रा को बढ़ाते चलें, आप देखिए परिणाम तेज आएंगे। एक सबसे बड़ा मनोवैज्ञानिक प्रभाव पैदा होता है और मनोवैज्ञानिक प्रभाव पैदा होता है कि आपने देखा होगा घर में भी तीन-चार बच्‍चे हैं, एकाध अच्‍छा करता है तो मां-बाप का हमेशा उस पर ध्‍यान रहता है। कोई मेहमान आ जाएंगे तो उसी को पेशकरते हैं, इस बार दसवीं में इतने marks लाया था। ये XII में गया है, बहुत अच्‍छा है, ये तो डॉक्‍टर बनेगा जी। और दो जो हैं उसको क्‍या, अभी तो बात मत कर, कमरे में बैठ और पूछते हैं तो नहीं वो खेल रहा है, खेलने के लिए गया है बाहर। अब, हमें तो खुशी हो जाती है मां-बाप ने अच्‍छे बेटों को दिखा दिया, दुनिया को मैसेज चला गया, लेकिन उन दो बच्‍चों के मन पर इतनी बीतती है वो निराशा की गर्त में हमारे ही प्रयासों से हम धकेलते चले जाते हैं। फिर वो खुद में उठने का हौसला खो देता है।

हमारे यहां भी इन districts का वही हाल हुआ है कि जो अच्‍छे हैं उनको तो बहुत बार ले आए, Prime Minister Award तक खींच करके ले आए, लेकिन जो- कठिनाई है उनकी, कोई न कोई स्‍थानीय अवस्‍थाएं होंगी, कुछ न कुछ कारण होंगे; अब वो, उनको लगता है छोड़ो यार हम तो किसी गिनती में ही नहीं हैं, हमारा तो कोई हिसाब-किताब है नहीं, चलो यार दो-तीन साल यहां लगी है ड्यूटी, निकाल देंगे यार। और वो भी फिर सोचता रहता है कि कोई अच्‍छे कुर्ते वाले नेताजी कौन हैं जरा ट्रांसफर करवा दो और जितना लंबा कुर्ता उतनी लंबी फिर पहुंच़।

और इसलिए मैं समझता हूं कि हम लोगों के लिए बड़ी आवश्‍यकता है कि हम सिर्फ आंकड़ों की पूर्ति और उसमें हमारा ग्राफिक सिस्‍टम में ऊंचाई के बजाय सफलता के लिए एक strategic सोच बहुत आवश्‍यक होती है। अगर strategic thinking होता है तो फिर proper planning के लिए भी मन उसके साथ अपने-आप जुड़ता रहता है, experience उसमें role playकरता है। और आपने देखा होगा कि जो लोग सफल हो रहे हैं वे जो detailing करने की आदत रखते हैं वही सफल होते हैं।

कभी-कभार हम लोगों को लगता है यार ये कोई आपका कार्य है, इतना detail काहे देखते हो। उसको हर बार इस detail में नहीं जाना होता है। कुछ चीजों में अगर detailing वो कर लेता है तो अपनी टीम को भी आदत लग जाती है और वो एक character बन जाता है, एक स्‍वभाव बन जाता है, एक संस्‍कार बन जाते हैं। और आप, उसके बाद आप देखिए कि आपको बार-बार implementation के लिए देखना नहीं पड़ता। वो अपने-आप चलता रहता है।

आपने किसी मां को सब्‍जी में नमक कितना डाला, वो सोने की तरह तराजू में करते देखा है क्‍या? की सोने तरह घर में तराजू लगा है, बड़ा इलेक्‍ट्रॉनिक तराजू लगा है और फिर आप नमक का नाप लें, फिर आप डाल दें, ऐसा तो नहीं होता? आंख बंद करके डाल देती है ठीक हो जाता है क्‍योंकि किसी समय detailing कर लिया था, अब practice हो गई है, अब आराम से इस चीज को कर लेती है। हम हमारी व्‍यवस्‍था में स्‍वभाव को अगर लाते हैं तो हम अपने-आप में मैं समझता हूं कि बहुत बड़ा परिणाम ला सकते हैं।

इन aspirational districts को हर parameter से हमने ऊपर लाना है। एकाध-दो चीज में अच्‍छा कर-करके दिखावा नहीं करना है जी। हर प्रकार से हमने उन parameters को बदलना है। लेकिन अगर सरकारी व्‍यवस्‍था से हुआ होता तो बहुत पहले ही हो गया होता। ऐसा तो नहीं है कि ऐसे district में कोई अफसर नहीं आए होंगे। आज भी हो सकता है जो aspirational districts हैं, वहीं पर जिसने अपने जीवन की शुरूआत की होगी, वो शायद उस राज्‍य का chief secretary बन करके बैठा होगा। मतलब अफसर तो होनहार था ही था, अफसर तो शानदार था ही था, कोई यहां दिल्‍ली में आ करके बहुत ही अच्‍छे department का secretary बना हुआ होगा। हो सकता है कोई ऐसा भी अफसर होगा कि जिसकी चारों तरफ वाहवाही सुनने को मिलती होगी और वो वहीं से आया होगा जहां आज कई पिछड़े हुए district में जिंदगी के महत्‍वपूर्ण 25-27-30 साल की उम्र में तीन साल वहां बिता करके आया होगा। इसका मतलब ये हुआ कि वहां कुछ योग्यता का ही अभाव होगा, ऐसा नहीं होगा, सब कुछ होगा।

भारत जैसे देश में सफलता के लिए हमारी लोकतांत्रिक व्‍यवस्‍था, ये कोई पांच साल का contract system नहीं है जी। हमारी democratic व्‍यवस्‍था, यानी हम और जनता के बीच का नाता है, ये जो सोच है वो ही एक सबसे बड़ी रुकावट है। और इसलिए जन-भागीदारी भारत जैसे देश की सफलता का आधार है participatory democracy. हमने देखा है, आप में से सब लोगों ने अफसर के नाते जब district level पर काम किया होगा, हम natural calamities के समय कल्‍पना भर का quantum of workजिसको कहते हैं, हम बड़ी आसानी से कर लेते हैं। एक व्‍यवस्‍था तो वो ही है लेकिन होता इसलिए है कि natural calamities के समय समाज पूरी तरह हमारे साथ जुड़ जाता है। हर कोई हाथ बंटाता है, और उसके कारण हम संकट से बाहर निकल आते हैं। और मुझे लगता है कि हम देश को आगे ले जाने में जन-भागीदारी का महात्‍मय कैसे बढ़ाएं? उसके महत्‍व को कैसे हम स्‍वीकार करें?

दुर्भाग्‍य से माना गया है कि ये काम elected bodyका है, political leaders का है। ये हमारी सोच की सबसे बड़ी गलती है। उनको जो करना है वो करते रहेंगे लेकिन शासन व्‍यवस्‍था में हम वो लोग हैं कि जिसके करने से सामान्‍य मानवी को कभी ये नहीं होता है कि अरे कुछ अपने लिए कर रहा है। मैं कुछ भी करूंगा तो पहले- यार, हूं, 2019 आ रहा है, इसलिए मोदीजी आए हैं। तुरंत उसके दिमाग में और 24x7 का तो यही काम होता है, वो inject करता ही रहता है।

आप जाएंगे तो ऐसा नहीं लगता है, आप जांएगे तो उनको लगता है अरे नहीं, नहीं, साहब आए हैं, इतनी मेहनत कर रहे हैं जरूर यार कुछ मतलब की बात होगी। वो तुरंत आपके साथ जुड़ता है। और इसलिए आज हमारे administrative system के जो अलग-अलग स्‍तर के लोग हैं, उन्‍होंने leadership देने की दिशा में आगे आना चाहिए। ये एक नया पहलू है जिस पर हमने सोचना चाहिए।

आजादी के पहले administration का काम अंग्रेज सल्‍तनत को सलामत रखना था, आजादी के बाद administrative व्‍यवस्‍था से जुड़े हुए लोगों का काम जनता-जनार्दन को आन-बान-शान-आबाद करने का होता है। यही अगर सपना रहता है तो मैं मानता हूं जिन उम्‍मीदों को ले करके चले हैं हम उन उम्‍मीदों को पूरा कर सकते हैं। और इसलिए हम जिन कामों को ले करके निकले हैं, न्‍यू इंडिया का सपना है। ये बात सही है जब चम्‍पारण सत्‍याग्रह महात्‍मा गांधी ने किया होगा, जब आजादी के लिए बिगुल बजाया होगा तो कोई दूसरे ही दिन सुबह आजादी मिल जाने वाली है, ऐसा थोड़ा होगा। लेकिन चूंकि दूसरे दिन आजादी नहीं मिलने वाली है, इसलिए गांधीजी को अपने मुंह पर ताला लगाकर बैठना? कि यार आजादी मत बोलो, अभी मिलने वाली नहीं है, लोग निराश हो जाएंगे; जी नहीं, समाज के सामान्‍य मानवी के हृदय में आशा-आकांक्षा-अरमान-सपना-उम्‍मीदें इसकी cumulative effect होती है जो उसको आगे चलने के लिए हमें सहज रूप से जोड़ देती है।

अगर twenty, twenty two आजादी के 75 साल हो रहे हैं, इससे बड़ी प्रेरणा क्‍या होती है जी? हम पारिवारिक जीवन में भी देखते हैं, पता होता है कि भई कि चलो मई महीने में बच्‍चे का जन्‍मदिन आने वाला है तो फरवरी-मार्च से ही, अच्‍छा जी जन्‍म दिन पर क्‍या करेंगे? समझदार मां-बाप कहते हैं देखो भई इस बार तुम्हारा जन्‍मदिन बहुत बढ़िया मनाना है। तुम एक काम करो, इस महीने इतना कर दो। उसको भी लगता है, हां-हां मेरा जन्‍मदिन है, मैं जरा ये कर लूं। घर में शादी होने वाली है, लगता है यार बहुत साल हो गए घर को चूना-वूना नहीं लगवाया, रंग-रोगन नहीं किया है; चलो शादी है करवा लेंगे।

हर एक व्‍यक्ति के जीवन में एक-एक-एक-एक ऐसे मुकाम होते हैं। उन मुकामों के आधार पर ही गति निर्धारित हो जाती है।twenty, twenty two, इससे बड़ा कोई मुकाम नहीं हो सकता है हमारे लिए, कि देश के दीवानों ने देश की आजादी के लिए जिंदगी खपा दी थी। इससे बड़ी कोई प्रेरणा नहीं हो सकती है। आइए हम जिसको भी प्‍यार करते हैं, उसका पुन: स्‍मरण करें और उसके जो सपने थे, उसका स्‍मरण करें। और स्‍मरण करें, हम भी चल पड़ें, पांच साल में हम बहुत कुछ देश को दे सकते हैं जी, बहुत कुछ दे सकते हैं। जिन्‍होंने आजादी के लिए जंग लड़ा होगा, उन्‍होंने थोड़ा सोचा होगा कि चलो भई देश की आजादी आ जाएगी, मैं कुछ बन जाऊंगा। नहीं, उनको तो पता था जब आजादी आएगी तब तक हम पता नहीं कहां होंगे कहां नहीं होंगे। लेकिन वो अपने सपनों के लिए खपता रहा। और वो खप गए तो हम उसको पाने के लिए सौभाग्‍यशाली भी बने। क्‍या हमारा भी तो आने वाली पीढ़ी के लिए कोई दायित्‍व होता है? और इसलिए हमारी जो एक व्‍यवस्‍था है उसको ले करके हमें आगे चलना चाहिए।

ये भी बात हमको स्‍वीकार करनी होगी कि हमारा एक structure होगा, हमारी निर्णय प्रक्रियाएं होती होंगी, एक, मैं तो अनुभव किया हूं, क्‍योंकि मुझे लंबे अर्से तक राज्‍य में काम करने का सौभाग्‍य मिला। एक प्रकार से आप ही लोगों के बीच में मैं पिछले 20 साल से पला-बढ़ा हूं। आप ही लोगों के अनुभव से सीखता आया हूं मैं क्‍योंकि आपही के बीच में मैं रहा हूं। लेकिन मैंने ये अनुभव किया है कि यही पुराना structure होने के बावजूद भी अगर नवाचार नहीं होगा, innovation नहीं होगा, हमारी निर्णय प्रक्रियाओं में हम तेजी नहीं लाएंगे। और आज सौभाग्‍यसे technology हमारी कमियों को पूरा कर सकती है, हमारी वो additional strength बन सकती है। हम चीजों का सरलीकरण करने के लिए technology का भरसक उपयोग कर सकते हैं। क्‍या हम उन चीजों को स्‍वीकार....

आपको पता होगा जब मैं नया-नया आप सबके बीच में आया था तो मेरा बड़ा आग्रह था कि हम space technology का उपयोग हमारी governance में कैसे करें? और मैंने joint secretary level के अधिकारियों को अभ्‍यास दिया, फिरweekend में लगातार उस प्रक्रिया को चलाए रखा। तो हमारे अफसरों को भी ध्‍यान, ऐसा नहीं कि उनको कोई technology की समझ नहीं है, लेकिन उनको लगता है चलो भाई जो चलता है, मैं कहां बदलाव करूं, कौन मानेगा मेरी बात को, तो वो बदलाव में isolation में फील करता था और उसे institutionalize नहीं कर रहा था।

अब धीरे-धीरे समझ आया कि हां space technology ultimately तो governance के लिए काम की चीज है। जिसने भी दिमाग खपाया, एकाध नौजवान को अपने साथ रख लिया, उसको कह दिया कि चलो तुम mind apply करो। Planning की detailing के अंदर उसको space technology के अंदर बड़ा role play कर रही है।

ये सारी व्‍यवस्‍थाएं जो आज से 20-25 साल पहले जो अफसर थे, उनके भाग्‍य में नहीं थीं, हम लोगों के भाग्‍य में हैं। क्‍या हम उपलब्‍ध जितनी भी प्रकार की technology है, ये हमारी स्‍वयं की capacity building के लिए, हमारे अपने सामर्थ्‍य के expansion के लिए, हमारी reach को और अधिक बढ़ाने के लिए, क्‍या हम इसका उपयोग कर सकते हैं क्‍या? अगर उन चीजों को हम करते हैं तो मुझे विश्‍वास है कि हम इच्छित परिणाम को प्राप्‍त कर सकते हैं, और इसलिए समय की मांग है, जिस समय हम नारे सुन रहे थे, 21वीं सदी, 21वीं सदी आ रही है; हमने, आप भी तो उस समय शायद जूनियर अफसर रहे होंगे, राज्‍यों में काम करते होंगे। और उस समय बड़ा interesting cartoon भी famous हुआ था। एक सज्‍जन रेलवे प्‍लेटफार्म पर खड़े थे और दूर से ट्रेन आ रही थी। तो किसी ने उनको पकड़ा, अरे भाई तेरे को दौड़ने की जरूरत नहीं, वो तो आने ही वाली है; यानी 21वीं सदी आने ही वाली थी, तुझे सामने से भागने की जरूरत नहीं है। 21वीं सदी के दो दशक पूर्ण होने पर आ रहे हैं। क्‍या हमने 21वीं सदी के अनुकूल हमारी निर्णय प्रक्रियाओं को, हमारी व्‍यवस्‍थाओं को हमने बदलाव करने की कोशिश की है क्‍या?

आज आपके सामने बड़े विस्‍तार से artificial intelligence की बात की गई। अब by and largeलोगों को artificial intelligence कहो तो driverless car की तरह गाड़ी रुक जाती है उनकी। दुनिया बहुत बदल चुकी है जी। हम उन चीजों से, हो सकता है हम कर नहीं पाएंगे लेकिन ये भी एक शास्‍त्र है जो हमारे काम आ सकता है, उसके लिए expert हम hire करेंगे, रखेंगे। लेकिन हम व्‍यवस्‍थाओं की ओर अगर खुला मन नहीं रखेंगे तो क्‍या वो कहेंगे।

और आज दुनिया में सबसे बड़ी चुनौती विकास के सामने सपनों को पूरा करने के लिए हम बदलती हुई technology के साथ अगर cope upनहीं कर पाएंगे तो शायद हम बहुत पीछे रह जाएंगे।

भारत के विषय में दुनिया में सभी तो हैं कि भई IT revolution में हमारा बहुत बड़ा contribution है। लेकिन हमारा दुर्भाग्‍य है कि हम उसी को ले करके, वाह-बहुत हो गया, बहुत हो गया। हम मूलभूत चीजें ले करके बैठ गए हैं, दुनिया ने उसी में से अपनी-अपनी चीजें create कर-करके विश्‍व खड़ा कर दिया।

हमें जो श्रेष्‍ठ हैं उसी के गीत गा करके बैठे रहने से काम चलने वाला नहीं है। हल पल, शायद 200 साल में technology ने मानव-जाति पर जितना प्रभाव पैदा नहीं किया होगा, उतना technology ने गत 40 साल में प्रभाव पैदा किया है। और मैं मानता हूं कि सामान्‍य मानवी के जीवन में, governance की जिंदगी में ये बहुत बड़ा role play करने वाला है। हम उन चीजों को ले करके अगर कर सकते हैं तो हो सकता है हमारा काम तो आसान होगा ही होगा, दूरगामीसाकारात्‍मक प्रभाव पैदा करने वाला होगा।

किसी भी सरकार की सफलता के मूल में, जब मैं कभी कहा था भाई minimum government – maximum governance. कभी-कभी ये सोचना चाहिए आपके इस award में कि कौन department है, department सरकार का, जो इस minimum government – maximum governance को साकार कर रहा है।

मैंने शायद पहले एक बार कहा था कहीं, मुझे पता नहीं किस forum में कहा होगा, शायद छोटी मीटिंग में, शुरू-शुरू में नया-नया आया था तो बात कर रहा था।

हिन्‍दू mythology में कहते हैं कि चार धाम की यात्रा करो तो मोक्ष मिल जाता है। ऐसा कहते हैं, पता नहीं कहां है, कहां नहीं, मुझे तो मालूम नहीं। लेकिन सरकार में 32-32 यात्रा के बाद भी फाइल का मोक्ष नहीं होता है। क्‍या हम लोगों को नहीं लगता है कि इसके कुछ हम रास्‍ते, और मैं ये shortcut शब्‍द प्रयोग नहीं करता, क्‍योंकि आप, अब तो शायद आपको रेलवे में जाने का सौभाग्‍य नहीं मिलता होगा, लेकिन मेरी तो पटरी पर जिंदगी गई तो मुझे मालूम है वहां पर लिखा रहता था- shortcut will cut you short. अगर कोई पटरी cross करके जाने वाली जगह है तो वहां लिखा रहता है- और इसलिए मैं आपको shortcut नहीं कह रहा। लेकिन क्‍या हमें नहीं लगता है कि इतनी सारी चीजें, ये चीज यहां से जा करके ही आएगी साहब, ये foolproof, कहां तक हम ये चलाते रहेंगे जी?

हर फाइल को, हरेक को ठप्‍पा मारना ही चाहिए, जरूरी है क्‍या? क्‍या हम इन प्रक्रियाओं को सरल कर सकते हैं क्‍या? क्‍या उस पर जिसने अच्‍छे से काम किया, और foolproof बन सकता है, ऐसा नहीं प्रक्रियाएं सरल हो गईं तो foolproof नहीं होता है। लेकिन हमें ये आदत छूटती नहीं है, हम आदत बदलते नहीं हैं।

What’s app का जमाना आ गया होगा, SMS का जमाना आया होगा,हमने SMS कर भी दिया होगा घर पर कि आज शाम को मेहमान आने वाले हैं, दो लोग खाना खाने के लिए आने वाले हैं, दोपहर को तीन बजे SMS कर दिया होगा, लेकिन 5 बजे फिर फोन करके पूछेंगे, मेरा SMS पढ़ा था? तो हम व्‍यवस्‍थाओं पर भरोसा नहीं कर रहे। और इसलिए हम अतिरिक्‍त हमारी शक्ति खपा रहे हैं।

ये civil service day है,इसेintrospection के लिए होना चाहिए कि दुनिया की तुलना में हम उसी दिशा में चल रहे हैं कि deviated. दुनिया की तुलना में हम गति में बहुत पीछे हैं क्‍या? जो काम वो twenty-thirty में कर लेंगे क्‍या हमको उस पर सोचते-सोचते ही twenty-seventy आ जाएगा क्‍या?

आप कल्‍पना कर सकते हैं जो हाल वो aspirational district का है, कहीं ऐसा तो न हो हमारे रहते हुए, हम दुनिया की नजरों में अपने-आपको वहां ला करके खड़ा कर दें। संभावनाओं से भरा हुआ देश है, शक्ति-सामर्थ्‍य ये भरा हुआ देश है, नई चीजों को स्‍वीकारने के स्‍वभाव का देश है, बदलती हुई परिस्थितियों से मुकाबला करने की ताकत रखने वाला देश है। क्‍या हम उसके लिए अपने-आपको सजगकर रहे हैं क्‍या? क्‍या घड़ी की सुई मेरी जिंदगी को चला रही है कि सामान्‍य मानवी के सपने मुझे चला रहे हैं? अगर घड़ी की सूई मेरे को चला रही है तो हर पहली तारीख को तनख्‍वाह आ जाता होगा, बैंक एकाउंट में जमा हो जाता होगा, जिंदगी वहीं अटक जाती है लेकिन जो सामान्‍य मानवी के साथ अगर मेरी जिंदगी का हर पल जुड़ जाता है तो उसको तो सपने साकार होंगे ही होंगे, लेकिन मेरी जिंदगी में पीढ़ी-दर-पीढ़ी संतोष का एक अनुभव करके मैं चला जाऊंगा। ये विश्‍वास मेरे भीतर अगर भरा हुआ है तो मैं समझता हूं मैं बहुत कुछ देश को दे सकता हूं।

और इसलिए मैं आपसे आग्रह करता हूं, आप में से किसी के पास दो साल होंगे, एक साल होगा, 6 महीने होंगे, पांच साल होंगे, दस साल होंगे; और दूर-दूर जो technology के माध्‍यम से मुझे नई पीढ़ी के मेरे नौजवान साथी सुन रहे हैं; और मैं आपको विश्वास दिलाता हूं जी मैं आपका एक साथी हूं। मेरे कभी दिमाग में मुझे अभी तक आया नहीं है कि वो पहले पता नहीं क्‍या-क्‍या होता था। मैं उस दुनिया का नहीं हूं जी। मैं सामान्‍य मानवी आपका साथी हूं। आपके साथ कंधे से कंधा मिला करके काम करना चाहता हूं।

जब मुझे मंसूरी जाना था तो जो कार्यक्रम बनके आया था जाएंगे भाषण झाड़ेंगे और वापस आएंगे; मैंने कहा, जी नहीं मैं जाऊंगा, उनके साथ गुजारा करूंगा। मैं जरा देखूंगा तो सही कि जिन कम से कम हिन्‍दुस्‍तान के twenty percent districts को आने वाले तीन साल में जिनके हाथों में सुपुर्द होने वाले हैं, मैं जरा देखूं तो सही उनके भीतर वो कौन सी ऊर्जा है, वो कौन सा उनका सपना है, मैं जरा पाऊं तो, अपने-आपको तो समझूं। और मैं, मैं वहां ऊर्जावान हो करके वापस आया था, क्‍यों हर नई-नई ऊर्जा से भरा हुआ नौजवान था।

इस रूप में मेरी काम करने की तैयारी है। और इसलिए आपके एक साथी के रूप में मैं काम करना चाहता हूं। हम मिल करके, और मैं चुनाव के लिए काम नहीं करता, और‍ चिंता मत करो आपमें से एक भी अफसर नहीं होगा हिन्‍दुस्‍तान के किसी कोने में। 20 साल का मेरा शासन व्‍यवस्‍था में जीवन होने के बाद भी एक बार भी किसी को एक टेलीफोन ले करके मैंने काम चिन्हित नहीं किया जी, ये मेरी जिंदगी की विशेषता है। और ये इसलिए है क्‍योंकि देश के सिवाय जीवन में कोई सपना नहीं है जी।

सवा सौ करोड़ देशवासियों की जिंदगी को बदलने के सिवाय कोई इरादा नहीं है। जो व्‍यवस्‍था में जहां भी काम करने का मौका मिला है, सिर्फ और सिर्फ इसी एक भाव के लिए समर्पित जीवन जीने का प्रयास रहा है। और इसलिए मैं कहता हूं दोस्‍तो, मेरे जीवन में आप असामान्‍य लोग हैं, सामर्थ्‍य से भरे हुए लोग हैं, अनुभव की विरासत ले करके आए हुए लोग हैं। आपकी शक्ति, आपका सामर्थ्‍य, आपका सपना, उसे मैं अपना बनाना चाहता हूं ताकि सवा सौ करोड़ देशवासियों के सपने साकार हम अपनी आंखों के सामने देख सकें।

इसी एक भाव के साथ आज आपका ये civil service dayसांच अर्थ में देश के सामन्‍य मानवी को समर्पित हो, उनके सपनों को समर्पित हो; इसी संकल्‍प को ले करके चलें। 2022 भारत की आशा, आकांक्षाओं को नई ऊंचाइयों पर ले जाने वाला बने। इसी अपेक्षा के साथ मेरी आप सभी को बहुत-बहुत शुभकामनाएं।

बहुत-बहुत धन्‍यवाद।

**********


Prime Minister's Office
21-April, 2018 18:19 IST
PM addresses Civil Servants on the occasion of Civil Services Day

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today addressed Civil Servants on the occasion of Civil Services Day. He said the occasion is one of Appreciation, Evaluation and Introspection. He described the Prime Minister's Award as a step towards motivating civil servants, and congratulated the awardees. He said the awards also indicate the priorities of the Government.

He said that the priority programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Deendayal Upadhyay Kaushalya Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and Digital Payments, for which awards have been given, are important programmes for New India. He also mentioned the two books on Prime Minister's Awards, and on Initiatives in Aspirational Districts, which were released today.

Speaking on the subject of Aspirational Districts, the Prime Minister said that these 115 districts could become growth engines for their entire States. He stressed on the importance of Jan Bhagidaari, or public participation, in development. He said 2022, the seventy-fifth anniversary of independence, can become an inspiration for working towards achieving the India of the dreams of our freedom fighters.

The Prime Minister asserted that all available technology, including space technology, should be used for improving governance. He said it is important for civil servants to keep pace with emerging technologies worldwide.

He described civil servants as people with great capability and said that these capabilities can contribute in a big way, for the benefit of the nation.

***

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
21-April, 2018 14:31 IST
Cabinet approves the restructured Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today gave its approval for restructured Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA).

Expenditure:

The Scheme will be implemented during the period from 01.04.2018 to 31.03.2022 at the total cost of Rs. 7255.50 crore with the Central Share of Rs. 4500 crore and that of State Share of Rs. 2755.50 crore as per details given below:



Year



2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
Total (Rs. Crore)




State share
585.51
877.84
712.63
579.52
2755.50


Central share
969.27
1407.76
1160.94
962.03
4500.00


Details:

(i) This scheme will extend to all States and UTs of the Country and will also include institutions of rural local government in non-Part IX areas, where Panchayats do not exist,

(ii) The scheme will have both Central Component - National Level activities including "National Plan of Technical Assistance", "Mission Mode project on e-Panchayat", "Incentivization of Panchayats" and State component - Capacity Building of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs),

(iii) The Central Component will be fully funded by the Government of India. However, Centre:State funding pattern for State Component will be 60:40 for all States, except North East and Hill States where Centre:State funding pattern will be 90:10. For all Union Territories (UTs) (with and without legislatures), the Central share will be 100%.

(iv) The implementation and monitoring of the activities of the scheme will broadly be aligned for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with main thrust on Panchayats identified under Mission Antyodaya and 115 Aspirational districts as identified by NITI Aayog.

(v) The Scheme will converge capacity building initiatives of other Ministries with particular focus on those Ministries which will be impacted substantially by this Scheme,

(vi) Sunset date for RGSA will be 31.03.2030.

States/districts covered:

This scheme will extend to all States and UTs of the country and will also include institutions of rural local government in non-Part IX areas, where Panchayats do not exist.

Impact:

The approved scheme of RGSA will help more than 2.55 lakh Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to develop governance capabilities to deliver on SDGs through inclusive local governance with focus on optimum utilisation of available resources. The key principles of SDGs, i.e. leaving no one behind, reaching the farthest first and universal coverage, along with gender equality will be embedded in the design of all capacity building interventions including trainings, training modules and materials. Priority will be given to subjects of national importance that affects the excluded groups the most, e.g. poverty, primary health services, nutrition, immunization, sanitation, education, water conservation, digital transactions etc.

The scheme is designed keeping in view programmatic convergence with Mission Antyodaya GPs and 115 Aspirational districts as identified by NITI Aayog. As Panchayats have representation of Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes and women, and are institutions closest to the grassroots, strengthening Panchayats will promote equity and inclusiveness, along with Social Justice and economic development of the community.

Increased use of e-governance by PRIs will help achieve improved service delivery and transparency. The scheme will strengthen Gram Sabhas to function as effective institutions with social inclusion of citizens particularly the vulnerable groups. It will establish the institutional structure for capacity building of PRIs at the national, state and district level with adequate human resources and infrastructure. Panchayats will progressively be strengthened through incentivisation on the basis of nationally important criteria which will encourage competitive spirit among them.

Implementation strategy and targets:

The Central Government and the State Governments will take action for performing and completing the activities approved for their respective roles. The State Government will formulate their Annual Action Plans for seeking assistance from the Central Government as per their priorities and requirement. The scheme will be implemented in a demand driven mode.

Background:

The Finance Minister, in his budget speech for 2016-17, announced the launch of new restructured scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), for developing governance capabilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A Committee under the Chairmanship of the Vice Chairman-NITI Aayog was constituted to restructure the existing scheme of this Ministry as Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.

The Committee held several meetings, consultations etc. with various stakeholders and submitted its report with set of recommendations which were accepted by Government and formed the basis for the formulation of this scheme.

In his Budget Speech for 2017-18, the Finance Minister announced to undertake a Mission Antyodaya to bring one crore households out of poverty to make 50,000 Gram Panchayats poverty free. Accordingly, convergent action with Mission Antyodaya has been integrated into this scheme.

***

Ministry of Home Affairs
21-April, 2018 20:36 IST
Union Home Minister holds meeting with the Finance Commission

Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh held a meeting with Shri N K Singh, Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission and members of the Commission on 19.04.18. Ministers of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Shri Kiren Rijiju, Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba and Senior Officers from MHA were present during the meeting.

A presentation was made during the meeting which stressed that the responsibilities of Ministry of Home Affairs have increased manifold in meeting the diverse and varied internal security challenges, even though ‘public order’ and ‘police’ are constitutional responsibilities of states. The capabilities of states alone are not adequate to meet the threats of insurgency and terrorism which have national and international links, it added.

Shri Rajnath Singh pointed out that MHA also has other challenges that include – improving sense of security amongst the public, making vulnerable sections such as women and children safer, improving effectiveness of police, meeting cyber threats, providing immediate relief and rehabilitation during natural disasters etc.

He said due to concerted and coordinated efforts of the Central Government and the State Governments, there has been a significant and steady improvement in the overall security situation in the hinterland, in the North-Eastern States and in the areas affected by Left-Wing Extremism. But relentless efforts are needed to be made continuously in order to consolidate the gains and spread successes in the new areas, he added.

The Finance Commission was briefed about the various schemes being implemented by the MHA, which require continued capital expenditure such as Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF), Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), Immigration, visa, Foreigners Registration and Tracking (IVFRT), Coastal security, border infrastructure, Integrated Check Posts. Further capital investment is also required to make appropriate use of new technologies for cyber security, border management etc.

Accordingly, the Ministry has projected budgetary requirement of more than 3,50,000 crores for the period 2020-2025 for internal security, Central Armed Police Forces, police modernization, Border security, disaster management and Union Territories. A detailed memorandum will be submitted later.



***

Ministry of Panchayati Raj
21-April, 2018 14:35 IST
Cabinet approves the restructured Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi today gave its approval for restructured Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA).

Expenditure:

The Scheme will be implemented during the period from 01.04.2018 to 31.03.2022 at the total cost of Rs. 7255.50 crore with the Central Share of Rs. 4500 crore and that of State Share of Rs. 2755.50 crore as per details given below:



Year
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22


Total (Rs. Crore)



State share
585.51
877.84
712.63
579.52
2755.50



Central share
969.27
1407.76
1160.94
962.03
4500.00


Details:

(i) This scheme will extend to all States and UTs of the Country and will also include institutions of rural local government in non-Part IX areas, where Panchayats do not exist,

(ii) The scheme will have both Central Component - National Level activities including "National Plan of Technical Assistance", "Mission Mode project on e-Panchayat", "Incentivization of Panchayats" and State component - Capacity Building of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs),

(iii) The Central Component will be fully funded by the Government of India. However, Centre:State funding pattern for State Component will be 60:40 for all States, except North East and Hill States where Centre:State funding pattern will be 90:10. For all Union Territories (UTs) (with and without legislatures), the Central share will be 100%.

(iv) The implementation and monitoring of the activities of the scheme will broadly be aligned for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with main thrust on Panchayats identified under Mission Antyodaya and 115 Aspirational districts as identified by NITI Aayog.

(v) The Scheme will converge capacity building initiatives of other Ministries with particular focus on those Ministries which will be impacted substantially by this Scheme,

(vi) Sunset date for RGSA will be 31.03.2030.

States/districts covered:

This scheme will extend to all States and UTs of the country and will also include institutions of rural local government in non-Part IX areas, where Panchayats do not exist.

Impact:

The approved scheme of RGSA will help more than 2.55 lakh Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to develop governance capabilities to deliver on SDGs through inclusive local governance with focus on optimum utilisation of available resources. The key principles of SDGs, i.e. leaving no one behind, reaching the farthest first and universal coverage, along with gender equality will be embedded in the design of all capacity building interventions including trainings, training modules and materials. Priority will be given to subjects of national importance that affects the excluded groups the most, e.g. poverty, primary health services, nutrition, immunization, sanitation, education, water conservation, digital transactions etc.

The scheme is designed keeping in view programmatic convergence with Mission Antyodaya GPs and 115 Aspirational districts as identified by NITI Aayog. As Panchayats have representation of Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes and women, and are institutions closest to the grassroots, strengthening Panchayats will promote equity and inclusiveness, along with Social Justice and economic development of the community.

Increased use of e-governance by PRIs will help achieve improved service delivery and transparency. The scheme will strengthen Gram Sabhas to function as effective institutions with social inclusion of citizens particularly the vulnerable groups. It will establish the institutional structure for capacity building of PRIs at the national, state and district level with adequate human resources and infrastructure. Panchayats will progressively be strengthened through incentivisation on the basis of nationally important criteria which will encourage competitive spirit among them.

Implementation strategy and targets:

The Central Government and the State Governments will take action for performing and completing the activities approved for their respective roles. The State Government will formulate their Annual Action Plans for seeking assistance from the Central Government as per their priorities and requirement. The scheme will be implemented in a demand driven mode.

Background:

The Finance Minister, in his budget speech for 2016-17, announced the launch of new restructured scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), for developing governance capabilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A Committee under the Chairmanship of the Vice Chairman-NITI Aayog was constituted to restructure the existing scheme of this Ministry as Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.

The Committee held several meetings, consultations etc. with various stakeholders and submitted its report with set of recommendations which were accepted by Government and formed the basis for the formulation of this scheme.

In his Budget Speech for 2017-18, the Finance Minister announced to undertake a Mission Antyodaya to bring one crore households out of poverty to make 50,000 Gram Panchayats poverty free. Accordingly, convergent action with Mission Antyodaya has been integrated into this scheme.

***

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
21-April, 2018 20:14 IST
PM addresses Civil Servants on the occasion of Civil Services Day

15 awards presented under various categories Citizen is essential stakeholder of governance, says Dr Jitendra Singh

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today addressed Civil Servants on the occasion of Civil Services Day. He said the occasion is one of Appreciation, Evaluation and Introspection. He described the Prime Minister's Award as a step towards motivating civil servants, and congratulated the awardees. He said the awards also indicate the priorities of the Government.

He said that the priority programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Deendayal Upadhyay Kaushalya Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and Digital Payments, for which awards have been given, are important programmes for New India.

Speaking on the subject of Aspirational Districts, the Prime Minister said that these 115 districts could become growth engines for their entire States. He stressed on the importance of Jan Bhagidaari, or public participation, in development. He said 2022, the seventy-fifth anniversary of independence, can become an inspiration for working towards achieving the India of the dreams of our freedom fighters.

The Prime Minister asserted that all available technology, including space technology, should be used for improving governance. He said it is important for civil servants to keep pace with emerging technologies worldwide.

He described civil servants as people with great capability and said that these capabilities can contribute in a big way, for the benefit of the nation.

The Prime Minister also released two books ‘New Pathways’ and ‘Aspirational Districts: Unlocking Potentials’. The first book ‘New Pathways’ is a Coffee Table Book consisting of significant details of 28 successful Innovations and 34 Success Stories relating to implementation of Priority Programmes viz., PMAY-U, PMAY-G, DDUGKY, PMFBY and Promoting Digital Payments in Districts shortlisted for Prime Minister’s Awards, 2018. ‘Aspirational Districts: Unlocking Potentials’ book relates to development of Strategies for transforming Aspirational Districts and the approach towards development of relevant social and other parameters. NITI Ayog is coordinating the initiative for development of Aspirational Districts.

During the event, “New India-shaping the future”, a film by DARPG was also screened. The film shows initiatives of the 11 districts/organizations selected for PM Awards this year.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space Dr Jitendra Singh said that it is a platform for civil servants to share their best experiences. He said that during the last four years, the entire format of the Civil Services Day has changed and now the work done for implementation of priority programmes is rewarded under PM awards. He said that in the year 2016, only 74 districts had participated for the PM awards and this number has risen significantly to 599 districts in 2017 and to 643 districts this year.

The Minister also said that Prime Minister had given the mantra of ‘minimum government, maximum governance’. The citizens are essential stakeholders of governance, he added. Speaking about the grievance redressal mechanism of the DARPG, he said that now there is CPGRAMS Portal, dashboard and timelines to redress the grievances of the citizens. He added that the grievances have increased significantly from about 2 lakhs in a year in 2014 to about 16 lakhs in a year now. This is due to the fact that the department has been more responsive, sensitive and prompt to the grievances of the citizens. He also spoke about Pensions Portal, Anubhav and Jeevan Pramaan initiatives of the Department of Pensions & Pensioners’ Welfare. The Minister said that DARPG has also started holding regional conferences outside Delhi and has already held such conferences in places like Guwahati, Nagpur, Jaipur and Chandigarh among others.

The Cabinet Secretary, Shri P. K. Sinha said that this year four priority programmes have been chosen for PM awards. These include Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Promoting Digital Payments, Pradhan MantriAwas Yojana – Urban & Rural, and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana. He informed that 103 out of 115 aspirational districts have participated for PM’s awards this year. He assured that the civil servants will work to fulfil the dream of Prime Minister’s ‘New India’.

Later the Prime Minister presented 15 awards to the winners in various categories. Under the priority programme, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, District West Tripura (Tripura) was awarded under NE & Hill States category and Beed (Maharashtra) was awarded under Other States category. Under ‘Promotign Digital Payments’ Programme, Bishnupur (Manipur) was given award under NE & Hill States category, Daman (Daman & Diu) was awarded under Union Territory and Sonipat (Haryana) was awarded under Other States category. The Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh was awarded under NE & Hill States and Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh given award under Other States category for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin). For Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Puducherry ULB (Puducherry) was awarded under UT category and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (Telangana) was awarded under Other States category. For Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, Dhemji (Assam) and Karimnagar (Telangana) were given awards under NE & Hill states and Other states categories respectively. Under awards for Innovation, Disitrcit Administration Banka of Bihar was awarded for initiative Unnayan Banka – Reinventign Education using Technology and Team GST, Department of Revenue (GoI) was awarded for their initiative GST – One Nation, One Tax , One Market. Under innovation (AS/JS & Dir/DS category), Team India represented by Shri Shailendra Singh, AS & Shri Ravinder, JS, DIPP (GoI) was awarded for initiative Ease of Doing Business in India and Shri Yugal Kishore Joshi, Director, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation (GoI) was presented award for Information, Education & Communication of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin).

Shri Nripendra Misra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Dr P. K. Mishra, Additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, Shri K .V. Eapen, Secretary, DARPG and other senior officers from various Ministries/departments also attended the event.

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The Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri Ramdas Athawale addressing the media after reviewing the programmes implemented by the Government of Tamil Nadu, in Madurai on April 21, 2018. The Collector of Madurai District, Shri K. Veera Raghava Rao is also seen.
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The Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar releasing the National Panchayat award brochure, at a Curtain Raiser Press Conference on National Panchayati Raj Day, to be commemorated on 24th April, 2018, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018. The Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Shri Amarjeet Sinha and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launching an A/V Campaign, at a Curtain Raiser Press Conference on National Panchayati Raj Day, to be commemorated on 24th April, 2018, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018. The Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Shri Amarjeet Sinha is also seen.
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The Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar holding a Curtain Raiser Press Conference on National Panchayati Raj Day, to be commemorated on 24th April, 2018, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018. The Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Shri Amarjeet Sinha is also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi releasing the book on the occasion of the 12th Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018. The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Cabinet Secretary, Shri P.K. Sinha and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi releasing the book on the occasion of the 12th Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018. The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Cabinet Secretary, Shri P.K. Sinha and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi conferring the Awards for Excellence in Public Administration, on the occasion of the 12th Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018. The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Cabinet Secretary, Shri P.K. Sinha and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi conferring the Awards for Excellence in Public Administration, on the occasion of the 12th Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi conferring the Awards for Excellence in Public Administration, on the occasion of the 12th Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018. The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi conferred the Awards for Excellence in Public Administration, on the occasion of the 12th Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018. The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Cabinet Secretary, Shri P.K. Sinha and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the Civil Servants on the occasion of the 12th Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the Civil Servants on the occasion of the 12th Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the Civil Servants on the occasion of the 12th Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018.
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The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh addressing on the occasion of the 12th Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018.
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The Cabinet Secretary, Shri P.K. Sinha addressing on the occasion of the 12th Civil Services Day, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018.
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The Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney speaking at the Plenary Session on ‘Artificial Intelligence for Effective Governance’, during the 12th Civil Services Day function, in New Delhi on April 21, 2018.
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The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh holding meeting with the Finance Commission Chairman, Shri N.K. Singh and other members, in New Delhi on April 19, 2018. The Ministers of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Shri Kiren Rijiju are also seen.
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The Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh holding meeting with the Finance Commission Chairman, Shri N.K. Singh and other members, in New Delhi on April 19, 2018. The Ministers of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Shri Kiren Rijiju are also seen.
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Ministry of Commerce & Industry
23-April, 2018 16:05 IST
Suresh Prabhu to Chair First Meeting of Think Tank on Framework for National Policy on E-Commerce

Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, will chair the first meeting of the think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce to be held on April 24th, 2018. Senior officers of the ministries/ departments of the Government of India involved in different aspects of e-commerce; high level representatives from the industry bodies, e-commerce companies, telecommunication companies and IT companies; Reserve Bank of India; and independent experts have been invited to participate in the meeting.

The think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce has been established recently by the Department of Commerce. It will provide a credible forum for an inclusive and fact-based dialogue leading to recommendations for informed policy making, so that the country is adequately prepared to take advantage of the opportunities, and meet the challenges, that would arise from the next wave of advancements in digital economy.

The think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce will seek to collectively deliberate on the challenges confronting India in the arena of digital economy with a view to developing recommendations for a comprehensive and overarching national policy on e-commerce. Some of the issues that will be discussed by the think tank include the following aspects of e-commerce and digital economy: physical and digital infrastructure, regulatory regime, taxation policy, data flows, server localisation, intellectual property rights protection, FDI, technology flows, responding to disruptions in industrial organisation, need for skill development and trade-related aspects. Developments on e-commerce at the WTO and evolving appropriate national position on the underlying issues, would be another important dimension of the discussions of the think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce.

The think tank will explore options for providing a fillip to entrepreneurship in digital economy. It will identify specific policy interventions for nurturing domestic firms and create jobs in e-commerce.

Representatives of almost fifty organisations are expected to participate in the first meeting of the think tank on the Framework for National Policy on E-commerce to be held on 24 April 2018.

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The Minister of State for Tourism (I/C) and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Alphons Kannanthanam at a ceremony for awarding the Letter of Intent, in New Delhi on April 24, 2018.
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The Minister of State for Tourism (I/C) and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Alphons Kannanthanam awarding the Letter of Intent, at a function, in New Delhi on April 24, 2018.
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The Minister of State for Tourism (I/C) and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Alphons Kannanthanam awarding the Letter of Intent, at a function, in New Delhi on April 24, 2018.
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The Minister of State for Tourism (I/C) and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Alphons Kannanthanam awarding the Letter of Intent, at a function, in New Delhi on April 24, 2018.
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The Minister of State for Tourism (I/C) and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Alphons Kannanthanam awarding the Letter of Intent, at a function, in New Delhi on April 24, 2018.
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The Minister of State for Tourism (I/C) and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Alphons Kannanthanam addressing at a ceremony for awarding the Letter of Intent, in New Delhi on April 24, 2018.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi in a group photograph with the Awardees, on the occasion of the National Panchayati Raj Day, at Mandla, Madhya Pradesh on April 24, 2018. The Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Smt. Anandiben Patel, the Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Panchayati Raj, Shri Parshottam Rupala and other dignitaries are also seen.
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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi in a group photograph with the Awardees, on the occasion of the National Panchayati Raj Day, at Mandla, Madhya Pradesh on April 24, 2018. The Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Smt. Anandiben Patel, the Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Panchayati Raj, Shri Parshottam Rupala and other dignitaries are also seen.
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