The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh has said that the present Government’s priority is last man in the queue and the goal of ‘maximum governance, minimum government’ is also aimed at achieving this objective. He was addressing the inaugural session of the two-day National Workshop on “Best Practices in Citizen Centric Governance” organized by Department of Administrative Reforms, Pension and Grievances (ARPG), here today. We are guided by the “Antyodaya” philosophy of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, wherein the ultimate yardstick of any welfare scheme depends on whether or not its benefits have reached the lowest of the lowest strata of society, he observedDr. Jitendra Singh said, during the last 15 months of the present government, both the Department of Personnel & Training (DOPT) as well as the Department of Administrative Reforms, Pension and Grievances (ARPG) have taken certain revolutionary decisions which are the result of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s futuristic vision and which could not have otherwise been imagined or visualized in a developing country like India for several more decades to come.
Referring to the Pension Portal option ready to be launched, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, this too is one of the revolutionary steps of the present government which will undo the practice of producing a life certificate which an elderly pensioner was required to produce from time to time. The new provision will not only make the process easier but will also be a befitting tribute to the dignity of the elder citizens of this country, in the same manner as the Department’s earlier decision of introducing self-attested certificate provision is a reiteration of the government’s faith in the youth of this country, he added.Dr. Jitendra Singh called upon the senior officers of the Central and State government to work with conviction and commitment so that future historians record them as instruments of change that was brought about under the leadership of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. He said, it is a matter of satisfaction that in less than one month of Prime Minister’s announcement during this Independence Day address from Red Fort, we have started working on two of the important initiatives announced by him. One of them, he said, is the process of identifying posts where interviews for selection or appointment can be discontinued and the other is Prime Minister’s “Startup India, Standup India” idea which is sought to be promoted among the youth. The Secretary, DARPG, Shri Devendra Chaudhry, Additional Secretary, DARPG, Smt. Usha Sharma, Senior officials of DARPG and delegates from States have also participated.