Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, and Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Delivering the keynote of the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Annual Memorial Lecture at the 71st Foundation Day of Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), highlighted the democratisation of services delivery over the last ten years since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over.
He underscored the government’s commitment to ensure that governance reaches the last citizen in line, embodying the true realization of Antyodaya Dr. Jitendra Singh reaffirmed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governance mantra, Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas, emphasizing the decade-long transformative journey that has led to a 360-degree shift in governance.
He highlighted his Ministry’s responsibility in bringing governance closer to the citizens through various citizen-centric reforms.
The Minister outlined several landmark reforms, including:
Democratization of Civil Services: A significant demographic shift with increased representation of women officers across government sectors, especially in STEM fields.
Life Certificate Campaign: A revolutionary initiative that has eased the process for elderly pensioners by eliminating the need for physical verification at bank branches through facial recognition technology.
Simplification of Processes: Introduction of a single simplified pension form, a unified fellowship application portal, a single platform for higher education applications, and the abolition of over 1,600 obsolete rules. Multilingual Recruitment Exams: Government recruitment exams are now conducted in 13 regional languages, with plans to extend to all 22 scheduled languages of the Constitution.
Abolition of Interviews for Certain Posts: Creating a level playing field in recruitment processes.
Rozgar Melas: A significant platform facilitating employment opportunities for youth and boosting their aspirations
Dr. Jitendra Singh also spoke about the government's Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Science approach, integrating sectors such as space and nuclear energy with private participation to harness collective potential.
India now ranks 4th globally in patent filings, with 56% of patents filed by resident Indians. He also cited a recent survey from December 31, 2024, which revealed that India has nearly 5,400 scientists among the top 2% best researchers worldwide.
Following the celebrations, as Chairman of IIPA, Dr. Singh presided over the 326th Executive Council Meeting, reviewing action points from the previous meeting and guiding the council on annual activities, including workshops and capacity-building initiatives.
He announced that 130 new life members from diverse backgrounds administrators, academicians, and state service officers had been onboarded. The Minister also directed IIPA to extend its knowledge repository and leadership training modules beyond government sectors to contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047.
An MoU between IIPA and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) was exchanged in the presence of Dr. Singh. Additionally, he unveiled the book “Antyodaya Se Sarvodaya: A Framework of Universal Fulfilment”.
The event witnessed the participation of several distinguished dignitaries, including: Shri S. N. Tripathi, IAS (Retd.), Director General, IIPA; Shri Shekhar Dutt, Former Governor of Chhattisgarh; Shri V. Srinivas, IAS, Secretary, DARPG; Shri Amitabh Ranjan, Registrar, IIPA Senior officers, IIPA members, and faculty.