SME Times News Bureau | 31 Oct, 2020
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday
emphasized the need to refine and streamline the implementation and delivery
system for effective response to the needs of common people.
Presiding over the 66th Annual Meeting of General
Body of Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) through video
conferencing, the Vice President called for a change in the delivery of
services, delivery of justice and the way governance structures respond to the
needs of common people.
“This is the change India is looking for today”,
he said.
Naidu observed that the government has been
making policies and designing programmes to improve the quality of life of
people and fast track India’s development.
However the effective implementation of these
policies and programmes by administrative leaders and professionals is
critical, he pointed out.
He said that the practitioners of public
administration and public policy analysts have an important role to play in
this by sharing insights for effective implementation on the ground.
Observing that the country was facing many
challenges in areas such as health and climate change, the Vice President
stressed that the requisite pool of talented professionals was available too.
"What is required is the proper
guidance", he added and said the Prime Minister is was trying to bring in
maximum reforms in line with his three-word mantra of 'Reform, Perform &
Transform'.
He reminded the civil servants that they have to
work together and understand the intention behind enabling legislations and
schemes such as Jan-Dhan, Swachh Bharat Mission and BetiBachao-BetiPadhao.
Naidu also asked IIPA to make a compilation of
good practices to enable administrators to learn from them.He also highlighted
the need to ensure online delivery of government servicesfor bringing
transparency in the system.
The Vice President said that good governance must
percolate down to the lowest level. It should become a way of life for the
institutions we have established for our country’s governance, he added.
Referring to Covid-19 pandemic, the Vice President
said that India is fighting it with strategic alertness and prompt appropriate
action and the international agencies like the United Nations and the World
Health Organization have appreciated India's response to the pandemic.
He added that India is turning this disruptive
moment into a creative opportunity by upgrading public health infrastructure,
stepping up production of medical equipment, essential drugs and focusing on
self-reliance to boost local industries.
Expressing gratitude to innumerable civil
servants, medical professionals, security personnel and the teaching faculty,
the Vice President said that they are all translating the progressive
legislations enacted by the government and parliament into visible outcomes
touching the lives of people.
He opined that IIPA as the premier institution of
public administration must play a pivotal role in bringing about this change.
He expressed happiness that IIPA has continued
its activities and conducted training programs during the pandemic by creating
digital infrastructure. He also appreciated the new website launched by IIPA.
On this occasion, Shri Naidu also unveiled the
statue of former Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at IIPA
Library.
Congratulating the Director and staff for this,
he said the statue should serve as an inspiration to all of us working for
improving India’s governance.
“Sardar Patel was a real karmayogi, a
quintessential visionary administrator, one who had dreamt of a united India
and worked tirelessly to achieve this dream” the Vice President said.
Terming Sardar Patel’s life as a timeless lesson
for all those in public service, he said it is an example of selfless
dedication to national unity and integrity, to good governance and public welfare.
Naidu exhorted the civil servants to be motivated
by the life and ideals of Sardar Patel. He asked them to read all the speeches
of the Sardar Patel and imbibe qualities from the great man to take the country
forward.
Quoting the last Independence Day message of
Sardar Patel in 1950, the Vice President said it underlined the importance of
remaining grateful to the sacrifices made by our leaders, maintaining unity,
discipline and learning from past experience, among others.
Calling the new programme– “Mission Karmayogi” as
the largest Civil Services Reform to improve delivery of services, Shri Naidu
expressed happiness that IIPA is offering digitally-enabled capacity building
programmes to the civil servants under this initiative.
Calling for social cohesiveness and peace in the
society, the Vice President criticised certain forces for trying to use caste,
creed, region and religion to further their interests.
The Vice President also expressed his
satisfaction that the financial condition of IIPA has improved in the last five
years and that the institute was reducing its expenditure without compromising
on the quality.
Taking note of the steps initiated by the
Executive Council of IIPA to re-position it in the light of current and
emerging challenges, Shri Naidu said “We have to come up with sound strategy
for institutional reforms and make IIPA a fit organization to catalyze the new
wave of governance reforms in the country”, he emphasised.
Praising IIPA for its strong network of
institutions at the State and local levels, the Vice President suggested
strengthening the network further. “The State Governments must be brought on
board and be active participants, as also the local bodies in cities and rural
areas”, he said.
“I wish to see IIPA set new ambitious goals
in the next few months, benchmarking itself against the best institutions with
similar mandate around the globe”, he added.