5th Edition of ‘Secretariat Reforms’ report released by DARPG

5th Edition of ‘Secretariat Reforms’ report: The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) releases Secretariat Reforms report to assess the performance and streamline various process to ensure efficiency in the functioning of various departments of central secretariat. ‘Secretariat Reforms’ report is also important for UPSC Prelims Exam 2023 and UPSC Mains Exam (GS Paper 2- Various Governance Reform Initiatives taken by the government).

5th Edition of the ‘Secretariat Reforms’ report in News

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) has recently published the 5th edition of ‘Secretariat Reforms’ report for April, 2023. The report is part of DARPG’s monthly series of reports on “Secretariat Reforms,” which were initiated after the National Workshop on Good Governance held in December 2022.

5th ‘Secretariat Reforms’ report 2023 Highlight

Key highlights of the Report for the month of April, 2023 are as follows:

Swachhata Campaign & Reduction in Pendency

1. 1,37,994 files were reviewed. 1,16,538 files weeded out
2. 3,25,665 public grievances disposed
3. 7,22,779 square feet of space freed in April, 2023
4. Rs.29,26,02,083/- of revenue earned by scrap disposal in April, 2023
5. Cleanliness Campaign conducted at 3,159 sites

Increasing Efficiency in Decision Making

1. 71 Ministries/ Departments implemented delayering (46 fully delayered; 25 partially delayered)
2. 72 Ministries/ Departments have issued orders of delegation (42 Ministries/Departments have reviewed and modified Orders of Delegation in 2021, 2022 & 2023)
3. Desk Officer System is in operation in 40 Ministries/ Departments

e-Office implementation and analytics

1. All 75 Ministries which were identified for e-Office 7.0 migration have adopted e-Office 7.0.
2. 28,37,895 active e-Files against 8,01,280 active physical files
3. 30 Ministries/ Departments have 100% e-Receipts in the month of April, 2023
4. 91.52% share of eReceipts in April 2023 against 91.1% share in March 2023

Best Practices Highlighted in 5th ‘Secretariat Reforms’ report

5th Edition of ‘Secretariat Reforms’ report for April 2023 highlighted following best practices-

• Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare revamped the Portal of DGR (Directorate General Resettlement) dgrindia.gov.in to make it user-friendly. The online registration of job opportunities for JCOs/ORs has been started in the DGR portal. Earlier, this facility was available to Officers only. Two new portals have been launched during the year 2022-23, ‘https://affdf.gov.in/’ and ‘www.maabharatikesapoot.mod.gov.in/’ for making online contributions from citizens for AFFD Funds.
• Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship has undertaken several capacity building initiatives for the officials of the Ministry in association with different institutions like the Indian School of Business, Capacity Building Commission, ISTM, etc. for different topics like Microsoft office, data analysis, design thinking, etc. which have resulted in improvement of capabilities of the officials.
• Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has undertaken several initiatives like setting up of Film Facilitation Office (FFO) to promote and facilitate film shootings, Broadcast Seva (BS) Portal to ease making applications for broadcast related activities and Fact Check Unit (FCU) to address the challenge of fake news.
• Ministry of Ports Shipping and Waterways has taken several steps like regular monitoring of files and receipt pendency reports, Workshop of Officers regarding parking of e-Files and closure of receipts resulting in remarkable improvement in disposal of receipts/ files. To motivate the employees of the Ministry, a Scheme ‘Officer of the Month’ has also been launched from 1^st May, 2023.

3rd Edition of the ‘Secretariat Reforms’ report Highlights

The 3rd edition of the report highlights the progress made in several initiatives, including delayering, e-Office adoption, and digitization.

• Notably, the Department of Sports, Department of Legal Affairs, and Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying have been added to the list of 45 Ministries/Departments that have been fully delayered.
• Moreover, all 75 Ministries/Departments designated for e-Office 7.0 migration have successfully adopted this system, with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Department of Commerce, and Ministry of Cooperation being the latest to migrate in February 2023.
• The report also indicates an improvement in the percentage of e-Files, which has increased to 89.66% in February 2023 compared to 89.24% in January 2023 and 83.57% in March 2022.
• These developments signify the Indian government’s commitment to administrative reforms and the digital transformation of the central secretariat.

National Workshop on Good Governance 2022

In December 23, 2022, the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) organized the National Workshop on Good Governance.

• During the workshop, important issues related to “Secretariat Reforms” such as the Special Campaign 2.0, Increasing Efficiency in Decision Making, and E-Office 7.0 were discussed.
• The government has decided to continue and monitor the activities of the Special Campaign on a monthly basis.
• The Initiative for Increasing Efficiency in Decision Making is an ongoing process that involves delayering, delegation of financial powers, digitization of central registration units, and adoption of a desk officer system.
• The timelines for migrating to e-Office version 7.0 and implementing e-Office analytics were also discussed in the workshop.

What is Secretariat Reforms Report?

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) has released the first edition of “Secretariat Reforms” for December 2022, in accordance with the decisions made during the National Workshop on Good Governance.

• The publication focuses on three initiatives-
  • Swachhata Campaign and Reducing Pendency to Minimum Levels,
  • Increasing Efficiency in Decision Making, and
  • E-Office.
• A second comprehensive publication on Secretariat Reforms has been released for January 2023.
  • The data provided by DARPG, which was collected from the special campaign portal at www.pgportal.gov.in/scdpm, is expected to assist Ministries/Departments in implementing more extensive administrative reforms to facilitate the digital transformation of the Central Secretariat.
• The 3^rd Edition of Secretariat Reforms Report for February 2023 was released recently, highlighting various initiatives taken to promote efficiency in various departments and government organizations in the central secretariat.

Regional Conference on Administrative Reforms 2022

Regional Conference on Administrative Reforms 2022

Sharing is caring!