Technology revolution in india’s welfare state policies and impact on rural societies 2014-19 : An Address by V.Srinivas IAS
Prof Charu Malhotra, Prof Vinod Sharma and distinguished participants of the 7th Training Program on Science and Technology,
It gives me immense pleasure to address the 7th Training Program on Science & Technology at the Indian Institute of Public Administration. India’s 
administrative theory is based on two outstanding drives of Indian society – towards Democracy and towards the Welfare State. A participatory Governance model that implements welfare state programs with citizen’s involvement has resulted in a number of success stories in Education, Health care, Swachh Bharat Mission, Rural Development, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development. “A March to New India” begins in India’s Rural Societies. In my valedictory address, I shall highlight India’s Welfare State Policies 2014-19 and several success stories, therein.
The Constitutional role of the State as mandated in the Science Policy Resolution 1959 seeks to secure to the citizens of the country all the benefits that can accrue from the acquisition of knowledge. It needs to be recognized that India’s Rural Transformation is based on the Technology Acceptance by rural societies and their willingness to be part of the Information and Communication Technology. Lacs of Indians have benefitted from the expansion of internet access networks which helped reduce the digital divide. A National Information Infrastructure has evolved under the aegis of NIC. Technological progress is visible in many of India’s rural transformations – Aadhar, PradhanMantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Goods and Service Tax Network, e-NAM (National Agriculture Market – an online platform for farmers and traders), PradhanMantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Digital India Land Records Modernization Program (DILRMP), Digitalization of Ration Cards and FPS shops, LPG subsidies being directly transferred to beneficiary bank accounts and labor payments to MGNREGS beneficiaries. There have been challenges of insufficient connectivity in rural areas along with a lack of basic computer knowledge and literacy. To further reap the benefits of the technology revolution investments are being made in physical infrastructure, broadband, transportation and education amongst the poorest populations.
Introduction
On my return from central deputation in July 2017, I was appointed as the Chairman Board of Revenue for Rajasthan. The Government of Rajasthan implements the annual revenue campaign in every Gram Panchayat of the State from May 1 to June 30. As the highest Revenue Appellate Authority mandated to oversee the successful implementation of the revenue campaign 2018, I travelled 8000 kilometers in the State, covering 32 district of Rajasthan. In this period, I visited revenue camps in several villages. I interacted with 60,000 farmers, 7000 advocates and 5000 officials. I travelled from Barmer to Dholpur, Sri Ganganagar to Banswada over a period of 60 days. My travels in May-June 2018 inspired me to write about the transformation that I witnessed in Rural India.
What struck me in every village I visited was the proliferation of Digital Technology. India’s villages had changed, and villagers were technologically enabled. E-Mitras, Digital Merchants, Business Correspondents were visible in every village. The proliferation of Jan Dhan accounts and Aadhar had enabled a huge transformation and empowerment. One of most popular schemes implemented by the Government which witnessed high off-take was the PradhanMantriUjjwalaYojana, the others were the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Rural. I was also impressed by the enthusiasm for rural electrification schemes, the enhanced impact targeted food subsidy programs and direct benefits transfers had caused.
New India
India’s economy grew at 6 percent a year from 1980 to 2002 and at 7.5 percent from 2002 to 2006 making it one of the best performing economies for a quarter century, the size of the middle class quadrupled and 1 percent of the country’s poor crossed the poverty line every year. By 2012, the Indian economy had grown at 8 percent for nearly a decade. However, in 2013 growth rates slowed down significantly. In June 2014, Arvind Panagariya in his article “The Promise of Modinomics” says that India has the potential of growing at 10 percent per annum over the next 2 decades. The strategy outlined focused on reducing fiscal deficits, completion of the Goods and Services Tax reform, cutting subsidies – particularly LPG subsidies and raise capital expenditures and recapitalizing banks. The social sector schemes envisaged affordable health care policies, cash transfers and reforms in higher education. Several policy measures have been implemented resulting in a significant progress in the March to New India. Today, it has been widely acknowledged that India is the fastest growing major economy in the world.
At the Economic Times Start-Up Awards Function held in August 2018, industry captains felt that India is at the cutting edge of an enabling policy environment for “Building to Scale, Building to Last”. India had acquired the ability to complete projects on scale and at speed. The 3 big projects that symbolize the rise of New India are the universal issue of 120 croreAadhar cards, the opening of 31.6 crore Jan Dhan Bank accounts and the construction of toilets to cover 85 percent of population under the Swatch Bharat Mission. Government dismantled the Planning Commission which was witnessing mission creep and policy fatigue and established the NITI Aayog which institutionalized cooperative federalism practices in the backdrop of the 14th Finance Commission Recommendations. NITI Aayog represents the most active promoter of the reform agenda of the Government. It offers policy advise, to State Governments and seeks advise of States in the formulation of Central Government’s policies. Government undertook significant structural reforms, marked by deregulation of petrol and diesel prices, further opening up of foreign direct investment, shift to direct benefits transfers, enacted the Goods and Services Act, the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code and introduced greater labor market flexibility.
Successive Governments in India had emphasized on two important areas of governance – rules based fiscal policy and improving the efficiency of subsidy distribution through targeted benefits programs. The Direct Benefits Transfers with Aadhar linkages resulted in significant improvements in food distribution at Fair Price Shops and in streamlining labor payments under NREGS. The Good and Services Act enforcement will severely curb tax evasion, put in place improved tax enforcement practices, streamline documentation and enlarge the tax net. In 2018, The March to New India is best represented by the “Ayushman Bharat[1]” medical insurance scheme with an insurance cover of Rs. 5 lacs for 10 crore people. Government has reached 5 crores target under the “Ujjwala[2]” LPG Scheme implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for providing and saturation of rural India with 8 crore toilets built in 4 years and 1 crore houses being electrified under the “Saubhagya scheme[3]”. Further the rural housing scheme has led to 43 lacs houses being constructed. Government has further strengthened the social inclusion policies in giving constitutional status to the National Commission on Backward Classes. Further the Prevention of Corruption Act has been amended to streamline the processes under the Government’s policy of Zero Tolerance to Corruption. The NITI Aayog says New India@2022 will be a model to the world, by making development a mass movement in the period 2017-2022. The key thrust areas are poverty free India, dirt and squalor free India, corruption free India, terrorism free India, caste free India and communalism free India.
Swachh Bharat
The burden of sanitation-related disease in India is very high. On an average 30 million persons in rural areas suffer from sanitation-related disease. 5 of the top 10 killer diseases of children aged 1-4 in rural areas are related to water and sanitation. About 0.6 – 0.7 million children die of diarrhea annually. In 1991, 9 percent of the households attained sanitation coverage, by 2001, 22 percent of the households attained sanitation coverage and by 2012, 44 percent of the households had attained sanitation coverage.
The Swachh Bharat Mission transformed the implementation modalities, scaling up implementation significantly. As of July 2018, the rural sanitation coverage has reached 87.5 percent, 7.7 crore toilets have been constructed, 413 districts have been declared open defacation free (ODF), 3.97 lac villages have been declared ODF and 19 States have been declared as ODF. The journey from Satyagraha to Swachhagraha has been depicted in various publications. The approach involved behavioral changes, resource allocation, community mobilization and depicting the swachhagrahis as the modern day satyagrahis.
Exemplary work in Bikaner District under Swachh Bharat (Gramin) – the First ODF District in Rajasthan
In Bikaner preparations for the campaign were in the form of branding the campaign as “BankoBikano”, convincing the public representatives, strengthening institutional build-up and training and capacity building of the district resource group. The triggering strategies included awareness generation on dignity of women, spread of diseases via vectors, lower expenditure on medical needs and highlighting the problems of old and differently abled persons. The construction of toilets was community led creating a sense of ownership by not involving any third party.
A freedom of choice of toilet model depending on household preference, with communication of information on low cost options was given. There were dedicated visits and ratrichaupals, regular review meetings by district administration with continuous follow-up during early mornings by nigrani committees, school children, vanarsenas, human chain and elected representatives of Panchayat. Penalties were imposed on those defacating in the open. Further the Gram Panchayat sought to incentivize the desirable behavior by introducing rewards under the scheme such as Solid and Liquid Waste Management, Nirmal Gram Puraskar.
The Swachh Bharat Gramin Campaign in Bikaner district covered 17 lakh rural population in 290 Gram Panchayats and its 1035 villages. On January 26, 2016 Bikaner was recognized as the first open defacation free district in Rajasthan and second in India. Studies revealed that 97.8 percent of the population used toilets, which was a huge increase from 29 percent coverage reported in 2011 census.
Geo Tagging of Toilets has been adopted in most States and photos are associated with a particular location using smart phones as a program monitoring tool.
Ambikapur – Green Solution to Waste Management
Ambikapur the district headquarters of Sarguja in Chhattisgarh ranked first in the SwachhtaSarvekshan 2017. The Ambikapur model offers a green solution adopting a mohalla approach driven by women self-help groups. Over 600 women have been enlisted, trained and divided into20 self-help groups with one garbage clinic being assigned to one self-help group. 225 garbage collection routes were charted in the city covered by 137 teams. Women workers commenced garbage collection at 7 am and ended at 2 pm. The second half of the day was devoted to segregation and cleaning with 17 wet categories and 20 dry categories of trash. Trash Segregation Centers were established which further segregated trash into 156 categories, including 133 inorganic and 33 organic categories. The Ambikapur model made people aware of the basics of municipal waste management and understand terms like dry waste, wet waste and segregation at source and has been replicated in 165 towns of Chhattisgarh.
Health Care for All
The primary aim of the National Health Policy 2017 (NHP) is to strengthen and prioritize the role of the Government in shaping health systems, make additional investments in health, healthcare services, prevention of diseases and promotion of good health. The NHP seeks to raise the health sector spending to 2.5 percent of GDP, create patient centric institutions, empower the patients and lay down standards for quality of treatment. It also seeks to strengthen health infrastructure to 2 beds/ 1000 population and provide free drugs, free diagnostics and essential health care in all public hospitals. The NHP’s key goals are to improve the life expectancy at birth from 67.5 years to 70 years by 2025 and reduce the infant mortality to 28 by 2018. The other goals are elimination of Leprosy, Kala Azar and Filariasis by 2017-18.From a baseline of 560 in 1990, the Nation has achieved an MMR of 167 in 2011. From a baseline of 126 in 1990, the Nation has achieved an U5MR of 39 in 2014. The challenges remain in the six large States of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh which account for 42 percent of national population and 56 percent of annual population increase.
The Government has sought to upgrade 1.5 lakh health sub-centers to health wellness centers and introduce a nationwide scheme for pregnant women under which Rs. 6000/- for each case will be transferred. The NHP seeks to reform medical education. Government has initiated major steps in this direction. AIIMS is a national and global brand – built on more than six decades of evolution and performance of our Institute. It is the bench mark for other centers of excellence in healthcare and academics, and a fountainhead of best practices in education, research and clinical standards. The unique status of AIIMSs has been reinforced by significant infusion of financial resources for major expansion.The focus on medical education should enable India to address the iniquitous utilization of modern health services. The NHP places a lot of emphasis on human resources as a vital component of India’s health care. 5000 Post Graduate seats per annum have been created to ensure adequate availability of specialist doctors to strengthen secondary and tertiary levels of healthcare. The increased availability of PG seats along with a centralized entrance exam represent major steps in reform of medical education in the country.
Ayushman Bharat
One of the biggest health sector challenges is high out of pocket expenses for health and medical costs. It has been estimated that 62.5 percent of India’s population has to pay for its own health care. The Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) seeks to reduce the health care costs of poor and vulnerable groups. The AB-NHPM is a concerted effort to accelerate India’s progress towards achievement of Universal Health Coverage.
The AB-NHPM provides an annual benefit cover of Rs. 5 lac per family to cover 10 crore poor, deprived rural families. The eligible beneficiary has to be listed in the SECC database or the existing RSBY database. The AB-NHPM will be implemented on a 60:40 basis between Centre and the States. A National Health Agency has been mandated to implement the Mission with State Health Agencies being established in every State. The scheme guidelines outline the pattern of fund transfers and release of premium for all States and Union Territories have been outlined.
The National Health Agency is mandated to provide the overall vision and stewardship for design, roll-out, implementation and management of AB-NHPM in alliance with State Governments. The NHA will lead the development of strategic linkages with civil society, financial and insurance agencies, academia, think-tanks, national and international organizations and other stakeholders.
Success Stories in Education
Unnayan Banka – Reinventing Education through Technology
District Banka, Bihar with large parts affected by left wing extremism faced the challenge of lack of quality education, low learning outcomes, shortages of trained teachers, lack of motivation and commitment, poor attendance of students, high rate of teacher absenteeism and lack of monitoring and evaluation. Unnayan Banka is a multi-platform model in which students are getting modern day animated, contextualized and comprehensive videos on various technological platforms like LCD/ LED TVs, projectors, laptops and mobile phones.
Unnayan Banka initiative has reinvented education through visual, audio and audio-visual aids, using mobiles, laptops, tablets and projectors. The initiative recognizes the potential of mobile phones, mobile platforms to create an ‘anytime-anywhere’ model that has been referred to as “Mera Mobile – MeraVidyalaya” which is an integral part of the Unnayan Banka initiative. The initiative an alternative to the traditional chalk and board method at the school level, by providing contextualized multimedia content. A School on Wheels which is an LCD mounted van that visits Left Wing Extremist affected remote areas and provides specially designed crash courses for Board Examinations.
Unnayan Banka initiative has had a significant impact in increasing attendance from 17 percent to 53 percent and average marks have increased from 26 percent to 77 percent. 40 schools of the District Banka are using LCD TVs for multimedia learning and the “Mera Mobile – MeraVidyalaya” is being used by more than 10,000 learners, educators and parents across India.
Success Stories in Rural Development
Success Stories in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Rural (PMAY – R) in Chattisgarh
In Kawardha (Kabirdham district), Chattisgarh, in village Amaniya, SamoraBai and BudhwaroBai benefitted from the PMAY-R. The women were from the Baiga Tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribal group. They worked as wage employees under the MGNREGS and constructing a pucca house was a distant dream. The Government sanctioned Rs. 13000 per unit and 95 days of MGNREGS labor. Together the 2 women built 2 pucca houses, comprising of one room, with a kitchen and veranda and both houses shared a common wall and roof. Further they constructed toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission and under the BaigaVika Pradhikaran Yojana were given 25 chicks each to increase and provide sustainable source of livelihood. Mosquito nets were given to them by the Health department. Further they were given Rs. 50,000 smart cards for their free treatment in private or public hospitals. They were also given ration cards to access food and meet their nutrition needs. Their lives underwent a complete transformation. SamoraBai and BudhwaroBai benefitted from a range of Government schemes.
In Raipur district, Chattisgarh, the New India Nagar colony has been developed. The New India Nagar colony is an all PMAY-R beneficiary residential colony with 40 houses, a garden a gazebo and dustbins. The vision of a sustainable and state of the art housing colony was achieved by convergence of various schemes. Toilets were constructed under the Swachh Bharat Mission, LPG connections were distributed under the UjjwalaYojana, LED light bulbs were distributed under the Ujala scheme, man-days for house construction were sanctioned under MGNREGS, bank accounts opened under the Jan DhanYojana and pensions/ insurance were sanctioned under the Bima schemes. The district administration had worked on a vision called ‘Sankalp se Siddhi’.
PradhanMantri Jan DhanYojana
The PradhanMantri Jan DhanYojana is the National Mission on Financial Inclusion with the objective of comprehensive financial inclusion of all households in the country. The Plan envisages universal access to banking facilities – one basic banking account for every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension facility. In addition, the beneficiaries get RuPay Debit card having inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs. 1 lac. The Plan also envisages channeling all government benefits from Centre/ State/ Local Body to the beneficiaries accounts and pushing the Direct Benefits Scheme of the Union Government. As of October 2018, the PMJDY was successful in opening 19.46 crore bank accounts in rural/ semi-urban centre bank branches, 13.48 crore bank accounts in urban metro centre bank branches, and issued 24.71 croreRuPay debit cards. It is note-worthy that of the 32.94 crore total beneficiaries, 17.39 crore are rural-urban female beneficiaries. The total moneys deposited in the PMJDY accounts is Rs. 86163 crores. The Public Sector Banks accounted for 26.56 crore accounts and Regional Rural Banks accounted for 5.37 crore bank accounts. Uttar Pradesh (3.9 crore), Madhya Pradesh (2 crore), Bihar (2.5 crore) and West Bengal (2.3 crore) opened the largest number of bank accounts.
The PradhanMantri Jan DhanYojana is amongst the biggest success stories of financial inclusion in the world in terms of providing access to a savings bank account without frills to all.
Success Stories in PradhanMantri Jan DhanYojana (PMJDY)
Success Stories from Uttar Pradesh and Assam
In District Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, MdAzim, a resident of village Gajna, was a poor unemployed youth looking for full time employment and regular sources of income. He applied for a vacancy of Bank Mitra under the PMJDY with the Union Bank of India. He was selected for the job by the service provider FINO Pay Tech, a service provider of Union Bank of India with strengths in financial inclusion and network operations. MdAzim worked with considerable commitment and emerged as a high performing Bank Mitra with considerable expertise on use of his hand-held Point of Sale (POS) devise. MdAzim started providing services to 2500 account holders, the majority of whom are women account holders who never expected banking at their door step. MdAzim presently earns Rs. 15000 to Rs. 18000 per month which enables him to provide quality education to his children and renovate his ancestral home. The PMJDY has transformed the life of MdAzim with gainful employment.
In District Nagaon, Assam, PoojaKarmasaki, a resident of village Jhakalabhanda, turned into a Bank Mitra. The village had 500 tribal households and 600 tea garden workers. She went door to door creating awareness about the PMJDY scheme, the importance of savings and motivated the villagers to open bank accounts. Within 6 months, PoojaKarmasaki was successful in opening 1800 bank accounts in the village achieving 100 percent financial inclusion and coverage of banking services. She continued to work hard and facilitated pension services and recovery activities. She became an inspiration for many Bank Mitras around her village, spreading the culture of savings amongst the tribal population and ensuring that their weekly wages are deposited in their bank accounts by the Tea Garden Management. The additional savings were used by many for piggery and livestock rearing activities earning significant additional incomes.
Digital India
The Digital India program built on an Aadhar based platform is built around digital infrastructure as a utility to every citizen, governance and services on demand, and digital empowerment of the citizen. The Digital India campaign has brought significant systemic transformations in the States.State Data Centers have been established with fully operational government cloud. ICT based technology services and e-Governance plans to provide citizen centric services have been operationalized providing e-services through kiosks and CSCs where assistance is available for filling forms, printing and scanning. Payments can be made online from internet cafes using credit cards, debit cards or net banking. Significant computerization initiatives are visible across several Departments of State Governments.
Digital India has benefitted millions of Indians and brought transparency in Governance. There has been a significant growth in e-Governance transactions per day. By June 2018, 117,319 Gram Panchayats have been connected with optical fiber network and the objective is to cover all 250,000 Gram Panchayats. The e-Sign – Electronic Signature Service facility is being used by 50 million Indian and has witnessed a 1640 percent growth. The Digi Locker facility is being used by 11.7 million users and 15.2 million documents have been uploaded. The Common Service Centers which are the Digital Service Kiosks have increased from 83000 to 6.3 million. The rapid growth of Common Service Centers indicates the digital penetration into Rural India particularly the Tier II and Tier III towns. India’s IT companies have generated significantly higher revenues, revenues have increased from USD 129.42 billion in 2015-16 to USD 168.96 billion in 2017-18. There has been an increase in mobile phone manufacturing with 120 mobile manufacturing units being setup producing 225 million units. Digital India impact is being felt in increased Digital Startups, Digital Health, Digital Agriculture, Digital Literacy, Digital Education, Digital Skilling, Digital Services, Digital Payments, Digital Security, Digital Open Data and Digital Democracy. A bright Digital Future awaits India, as the Nation draws up a roadmap for a trillion-dollar digital economy.
As a highly successful flagship program of the Government, the Digital India seeks to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
Success Stories in Promoting Digital Payments (PDP)
Success Stories from Assam and Daman & Diu
Nagaon District, Assam transformed from a non-descript area to a locality with heightened awareness for cashless transactions. An agrarian district with 78 percent population dependent on agriculture, most transactions were in cash in the district. The District Administration post-demonetization, attempted to promote digital transactions involving common people, government departments, banks, NGO’s and Panchayati Raj Institutions. Digital payments facilities were made available at 1000 ration shops and 56 fertilizer stores. In January 2017, a DigidhanMela was organized at Nehrubali where 25 public sector and private sector banks participated informing the benefits of digital transactions. Over 1000 POS machines were made available with registered merchants. Gradually there was an improvement in the use of digital transactions increasing from 27 percent to 90 percent, 33 percent increase in ATM transactions. Farmers were encouraged to use POS machines at fertilizer shops. The district administration organized meetings with petrol pump owners, fair price shops and revenue earning departments to set up POS machines in the district.
Daman district, of the Union Territory of Daman and Diu had many residents who did not have bank accounts and digital modes of payments were not popular. In November-December 2016, the District Administration undertook a door to door campaign for promoting digital payment methods. RekhaBagul, worked in Banswada Garments Daman and did not have a bank account, her salary was paid in cash. She opened her bank account in HDFC bank with her Aadhar number and a reference from the company. Soon 85000 garment workers in Daman opened their bank accounts and digital transactions touched a monthly high of 175000 by the industrial workers, covering 3000 industries. Even small hawkers in Daman use digital payments like BHIM and Paytm. Clearly Daman had switched from a cash dependent society to a digital society.
Success Stories in Skill Development
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana
The DeenDayalUpadhyayaGrameenKaushalYojana (DDU-GKY) focuses on rural youth between the ages 15 and 35 years from poor families. As part of the Skill India campaign, it plays an instrumental role in supporting the social and economic programs of the Government like Make in India, Digital India, Smart Cities and Stand-Up India campaigns.
Implementation in Karimnagar and Mahbubnagar Districts, Telangana
In Karimnagar district awareness generation was created at Panchayat level through various media platforms. District officials visited various junior colleges where young unemployed were briefed about the program and resource persons interacted with the youth. Community organizations, self-help groups and village organizations were involved at every level of the process, in motivation, awareness generation, identification of skill gaps, identification of target skills and registration of students. The officials also carried out home visits for mobilization and counselling of dropped out youth. The courses offered were duly accredited by the National Council for Vocational Training, Sector Skill Council or the Ministry of Rural Development. The course duration was 90 days and 75 percent assured placements. 2209 candidates were trained under the program and 2072 candidates were placed in jobs for 3 months or more.
Bharati was a widow with 3 daughters namely Krishnaveni, Shubhashri and Shreya. Standing as a pillar of motivation for her family, she obtained basic training in tailoring and earned Rs. 2500 per month. The money was insufficient for the daily needs of the family. Bharati met Vandana who had completed her training under the DDUGKY program on English Work Readiness and Computers course at the Karimnagar training center and was employed at the customer service center of Reliance Digital, Hyderabad. Based on the guidance given by Vandana, both Krishnaveni and Shubhashri passed the screening test at the Employment Generation and Marketing Mission (EGMM) in Karimnagar and qualified for the English Readiness and Computers Course. The 2 girls learnt soft skills, behavioral skills, professional etiquette, leadership and management skills and basic computers amongst other skills during the 90-days period of training. After completing their training both girls were placed at the Heritage Retail Stores Hyderabad and each earned Rs. 9500 per month. From a meager Rs. 2500 per month, the girls have increased their family’s annual income to Rs. 2,58,000 per annum. The 2 sisters have now encouraged their 3rd sister Shreya to complete her degree in thereby completing the quadrilateral of income earners in the family.
Samreen Begum, a young girl from Marikal village, District Mahbubnagar could not continue her education after intermediate and pursued employment opportunities. Her father was a motorcycle mechanic and her 2 younger brothers were still in school. Her mother was a daily wage worker and there were never adequate earnings to make both ends meet. Samreen Begum attended a Mahila Samakhya meeting in which a Job Resource Person explained the training programs offered. Samreen Begum underwent the English Work Readiness & Computers Course. She spent 75 days learning basic communicative English, soft skills, retail skills, and participated in Group activities like newspaper reading, group discussions, role plays and presentations. On completion of training she got employment at a well-known American Fast Food Restaurant in Hyderabad with a monthly income of Rs.12000/-
Conclusion
The March to New India is marked by numerous success stories. Governance is not just for the people, it is also for the people. That participatory process distinguishes governance from mere government. To invoke the Preamble to the Constitution, “We the People” ensure the march towards the new India. It has often been said about India that the past and the future are both glorious. The promised future now seems to be blending seamlessly into the present, urged by an enabling government and driven by a young and entrepreneurial India.
References
1. Paul H.Appleby., “Public Administration in India – Report of a Survey” ., President’s Press, New Delhi 1953
2. Rupak De Chowdhuri/ Reuters., “How Technology is Transforming the Lives of India’s Farmers” dated October 2, 2017
3. Karunamay Subuddhi., “Science and Technology for Rural Development – Role of State”., Economic and Political Weekly, September 21, 2002
4. Johan C. Tambotoh, Augie D.Manuparty, FridsE.Banunaek., “Socio-Economics Factors and Information Technology Adoption in Rural Area”., Science Direct., Procedia Computer Science., Published by Elsevier B.V., 2015 www.creativecommons.org
5. Aureliano Fernandes., Rural Transformation through Basic Technologies., The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol LXVIII, No 3, July – Sept 2007
6. Arvind Panagariya., Modinomics at Four – Why India is on the Path to Long Term Prosperity., Foreign Affairs, June 22, 2018
7. Arvind Panagariya., The Promise of Modinomics., Foreign Affairs June 10, 2014
8. The Economic Times., PM to Focus on New India in his Speech., pp 2, August 15 2018
9. NITI Aayog., New India@2022., Conference of Governors, presentation by Vice Chairman NITI Aayog, dated October 12, 2017
10. V.Srinivas., The Fastest Growing Major Global Economy in the World., Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Special Service and Features dated March 3, 2017
11. V.Srinivas., Gandhi Jayanti: Swachh Bharat Diwas., Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Special Service and Features, dated September 29, 2017
12. V.Srinivas., Swachhta Hi Seva Campaign., Press Information Bureau, Government of India, SpecialServices and Features, dated September 20, 2017
13. National Archives of India., Sabarmati Shatabdi – EkKaryanjali., 2017
14. SwachhataPakhwada Newsletter June – July 2018., www.mdws.gov.in
15. SwachhtaSamachar Newsletter May-June 2018., www.mdws.gov.in
16. Satyagraha se Swachhagra, Champaran, April 10, 2018., www.mdws.gov.in
17. Sanitation and Hygiene in South Asia – India Country Report 2016., www.mdws.gov.in
18. Technology Options for Household Sanitation 2015., www.mdws.gov.in
19. Total Sanitation Campaign – Sanitation for All 2012., www.mdws.gov.in
20. Kaya Kalp – Clean and Green AIIMS Campaign., April 2016., www.aiims.edu
21. New Pathways – Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence 2018, Stories of Innovation and New Initiatives in Implementation of Priority Programs, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India
22. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Health Care for All, Three Years of Transforming India May 2014 –April 2017., MOHFW pp 1-62
23. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, National Health Policy 2017, New Delhi., pp 1-28
24. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Situation Analysis: Backdrop of the National Health Policy 2017., MOHFW
25. Mathur, Manu Raj and Srinath Reddy K.., Will India’s National Health Policy deliver Universal Health Coverage? Editorials BMJ 2015 dated 1 June 2015
26. Narayana, MutturRanganathan., India’s Proposed Universal Health Coverage Policy: Evidence for Age Structure Transition Effect and Fiscal Sustainability., Applied Health Economic Policy, dated 19 August 2016
27. Sundararaman T., National Health Policy 2017: a cautious move., Indian Journal of Medical Ethics Vol II No 2 April – June 2017 pp 69-71
28. National Health Agency., “About AB-NHPM”., www.abnhpm.gov.in
29. Ministry of HRD., “Annual Report 2016-17”., www.mhrd.gov.in
30. Govinda R., Transforming Indian School Education: Policy Concerns and Priorities., Yojana January 2016
31. TilakJandhyala B.G., Financing Education., Yojana January 2016
32. KiranBhatty., A Vision for Quality Education., Yojana, January 2016
33. MHRD Annual Report 2016-17., www.mhrd.gov.in
34. E-Book., 4 Years Initiatives and Achievements MORD., www.rural.nic.in
35. Gram SwarajAbhiyan., www.gsa.nic.in
36. MORD., Making a Difference in Rural Poverty by Secretary Rural Development., www.rural.nic.in
37. New Pathways, Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence 2018, Stories of Innovation and New Initiatives in Implementation of Priority Programs, “PradhanMantriAwasYojana – Rural (PMAY-R)” Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India pp 114-123
38. C.H.HanumanthaRao., “Inclusive Growth: Recent Experience and Challenges Ahead”., Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 44, No.13, Global Economic & Financial Crisis (March 28 – April 3, 2009) pp 16-21
39. Charan Singh., “Using Growth Through Empowerment”., Yojana, June 2016
40. News Updates., “PM launches PradhanMantriJanDhanYojana”., August 28, 2014., www.pmindia.gov.in
41. PradhanMantri Jan DhanYojana (PMJDY)., www.pmjdy.gov.in
42. Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Prime Minister’s Office., “English Rendering of PM’s Address to the Nation from the Ramparts of the Red Fort on the 69th Independence Day”., www.pmindia.gov.in
43. V.Ramkumar., “Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy: SBI Initiatives”., CAB Calling July-September 2007., www.pmjdy.gov.in
44. The Change Makers, Transforming India: Success Stories of four Priority Programs, “PradhanMantri Jan DhanYojana” Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India 2017, pp 8-29
45. New Pathways, Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence 2018, Stories of Innovation and New Initiatives in Implementation of Priority Programs, “PradhanMantriAwasYojana – Urban” Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India, 2018 pp 126-139
46. News Updates., “Text of PM’s remarks at the launch of the Digital India week” dated July 1, 2015., www.pmindia.gov.in
47. News Updates., “PM addresses event to mark launch of the Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution”., October 11, 2018., www.pmindia.gov.in
48. Kevin Drum., “Tech World – Welcome to the Digital Revolution” Foreign Affairs., Vol 97, No 4 July/ August 2018 pp 43-48
49. Sameer Kochhar., “Modi’s Odyssey – Digital India, Developed India” Skoch Media, 2016 pp. 1-56
50. NandanNilekeni., “Data to the People: India’s Inclusive Internet”., Foreign Affairs, Vol 97, No 5, September/ October 2018 pp 19-26, www.news@foreignaffairs.com
51. Ram Sewak Sharma., “Aadhar at the core of Digital India”., Modi’s Odyssey: Digital India, Developed India., Skoch Media 2016, pp 70-85
52. V.Srinivas., “Digitalizing AIIMS – Transformation of National Health Institution”, Administrative Change, July-December 2017 edition., www.taxboard.rajasthan.gov.in
53. Press Information Bureau, Government of India., “G20 Member Nations to provide policies that bridge all forms of digital divide” dated August 26, 2018., www.pib.nic.in
54. Digital India e-Book., “New India – Digital India – Achievements of 4 years of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology”, June 2018, www.digitalindia.gov.in
55. New Pathways, Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence 2018, Stories of Innovation and New Initiatives in Implementation of Priority Programs, “Promoting Digital Payments” Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India 2018, pp 98-111
56. Official website of Skill India – Kaushal Bharat Kushal Bharat., www.Skillindia.gov.in
57. Official website of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship., www.msde.gov.in
58. Official website of NSDC., www.nsdcindia.org
59. Official website of India Skills online., www.indiaskillsonline.com
60. Skill India Achievement Booklet., www.msde.gov.in
61. Paul Comyn., “Linking Employment Services, Skills Development & Labor Market Needs: Issues for India”., Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol 49, No. 3, Special Issue on Skill Development (January 2014), pp 378-388 www.jstor.org/stable/24546984
62. The Hindustan Times, ‘Cabinet approves merger of Skilling Institutes to improve performance’, dated October 10, 2018., www.hindustantimes.com
________________________________
[1]Ayushman Bharat – PradhanMantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme having central sector component under Ayushman Bharat Mission in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
[2]PradhanMantriUjjwalaYojana is a scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for providing LPG Connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) Households
[3]Saubhagya – the Pradhan MAntri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana is a scheme to ensure electrification of all willing households in the country in rural as well as urban areas
______________________
About the Author
V.Srinivas IAS
Senior Bureaucrats and Author
V.Srinivas, IAS , Additional Secretary to Government of India , Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions,
V.Srinivas is the Chairman of the Board of Revenue for Rajasthan, Ajmer and Chairman of the Rajasthan Tax Board.He has a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from College of Technology Osmania University. He is a member of the Indian Administrative Service from 1989 batch, and has 30 years of distinguished service.
He is an Indian Council of World Affairs Fellow for 2017. “India’s relations with the International Monetary Fund 1991-2016: 25 years in perspective” is his first book. He has served as Chairman Rajasthan Tax Board, Deputy Director (Administration) AIIMS, Director General National Archives of India, Joint Secretary to Government of India in the Ministry of Textiles, Joint Secretary to Government of India in Ministry of Culture, Secretary to Government Finance and Planning Department, Rajasthan, Advisor to India’s Executive Director on the International Monetary Fund (2003-2006) and Private Secretary to Finance Minister of India and Private Secretary to External Affairs Minister (2001-2003), District Collector at Jodhpur and Pali.
Mr. Srinivas has authored 108 articles on public finance and delivered 18 orations. His second book “A March to New Age India” is scheduled for completion in November 2018. He is a recipient of a number of awards and merit certificates for distinguished public service and has travelled widely across India and the World.
Disclaimer : The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of INVC NEWS.
