Nirmala Sitharaman chairs meeting to further improve efficiencies in her ministries
Aug 22, 2023
Kevadia (Gujarat) [India], August 22 : Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday chaired the final session on "Improving our Efficiencies" during the chintan shivir of Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs in Kevadia, Gujarat.
Union Ministers of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Bhagwat Karad and senior government officials also participated in the session.
The discussions in the session revolved around skilling, maintaining robust organisational processes, streamlining file management systems and expediting decision-making, onboarding of stakeholders from the start, citizen-friendly technology tools, flexible working hours to enhance productivity, leveraging technology and use of AI for future-readiness, whole-of-government-and-holistic approach towards public service delivery, time-bound delivery of citizen-centric services, removing duplicity of effort, and leveraging technology and use of AI for future-readiness.
In his remarks during the discussion, Minister Pankaj Chaudhary called for ambitious target-orientation for productively achieving goals towards India's journey in becoming a developed country ViksitBharat by 2047.
Minister Bhagwat Karad emphasised on building self-confidence through knowledge and skilling. Karad added that decisions must be made in consultation with knowledgeable partners and stakeholders besides developing appropriate feedback mechanisms for real-time assessment of delivery.
In her concluding remarks during the Chintan Shivir, Sitharaman stated that both effectiveness and efficiency are long-term phenomenon and consistency in reform policy, with focus on both, personal and systemic efficiencies, is the need of the hour.
Referring to the phenomenon of information overload as counter-productive to effectiveness and efficiency, the Union Finance Minister said both ministries must strive for simplification of processes with a focus on not just the whole-of-government-approach, but also the whole-of-the-country approach to maximise delivery and engagement.
She exhorted senior officials to continuously mentor the new entrants/younger colleagues to develop the wherewithal in delivering results in the AmritKaal and beyond ViksitBharat 2047.
The Union Finance Minister also emphasised on the need to continuously reorient policy in the cultural context and to instill a sense of ownership in decision-making, to enhance effectiveness with efficiency.
