People’s voice must be Govt policy’s soul: LG Sinha

Srinagar, Aug 22: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday said the voice of the people must be the soul of the government’s policy.

Felicitating the winners of Centre for Innovations in Public Systems (CIPS) Awards at a ceremony in Srinagar, LG Sinha, in his address, said, “People’s voice must be the soul of a government policy. That’s why policies cannot be drafted in offices anymore. Policy making should be done on the ground while incorporating the suggestions and needs of the citizens. A file is more than just a piece of paper; it contains the lives and futures of thousands of people. The measure of any action is whether it improves the lives of ordinary citizens. We must pay special attention to these two important aspects and make the governance system more responsible and responsive. Today, in the age of Artificial Intelligence, change is the only constant. We will have to make decisions accordingly, keeping in mind growth and welfare in every sector.”

He said that civil servants, engineers, doctors, scientists, and technocrats were the administration’s backbone.

“Their impartiality, honesty, efficiency, and fearlessness are our most valuable assets. I am proud that as a team, they have worked to serve the people and contribute to nation building,” the LG said.

He said that the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid a strong foundation, leading to innovative governance initiatives and making the government more sensitive to the needs of the people.

“Prime Minister’s mantra of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’ has enhanced ease of living for citizens and ensured seamless delivery of public services. Today, India is not only the world’s fastest-growing economy, but its future is undoubtedly bright among the largest economies. Favourable environment has been created for sustained and rapid economic development across the country,” LG Sinha said.

He called upon the officials to work on improving policy performance, managing complex challenges, and effectively addressing disruptive changes that would occur in an unpredictable future.

The LG also highlighted the transformation in government-to-citizen and government-to-business services in Jammu and Kashmir.

“There is no doubt that in the future, new technologies like Artificial Intelligence will lead to better public policies, improved decision-making, enhanced citizen engagement, and a faster, higher-quality delivery of public services,” he said.

LG Sinha extended his heartiest congratulations to all the recipients of the Centre for Innovations in Public Systems (CIPS) Awards.

He said the CIPS Awards acknowledge and celebrate transformative initiatives in public systems to promote rapid social and economic progress and encourage others to become agents of change.

The LG lauded the courage and dedication of all the awardees, with which they have stepped forward in sectors like health, education, information technology, rural development, and brought about a positive change in the lives of a large portion of the country’s population.

He also congratulated the Ganderbal district administration for its innovative environmental initiatives.

“Changemakers like Jairaj Bhattacharya, founder of the EdTech startup ConveGenius, and Shri Swapneel Paul, Deputy Commissioner of Tinsukia, Assam, through their determination, succeeded in overcoming challenges to bring about tangible changes on the ground,” LG Sinha said.

He asked the bureaucrats and technocrats to develop new tools, take innovative initiatives to solve the complex challenges, and drive change and transformation in society through technical applications.

The LG called for adopting the Akshaya Patra Foundation’s model to bring a significant improvement to the mid-day meal programme in government schools.

He urged the bureaucrats and technocrats to put dedicated focus on agriculture sector through technology transfer from lab to land.

“We also need to take innovative initiatives to address the problems faced by farmers due to climate change,” LG Sinha said.

He said that the 29 reformative projects under the Holistic Agriculture Development Program (HADP) could also be implemented as per the requirement in different states and union territories of the country.

Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Director General, Administrative Staff College of India, N Ramesh Kumar; Director, Centre for Innovations in Public Systems (CIPS), Valli Manickam, Commissioner Secretary GAD, M Raju, Director J&K IMPARD, Rehana Batul, senior administrative officials, and domain experts were present at the felicitation ceremony.