India’s governance model is about bringing citizens, govt closer through technology: Jitendra Singh

New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said India’s governance model is about bringing citizens and government closer through technology, while highlighting recent reforms undertaken by the government.

The assertion came during a meeting he had with Hanitra Fitiavana Razakaboana, Minister of Labour, Employment & Public Service of Madagascar.

"India’s experience in good governance, technology-driven reforms will form backbone of a training programme for Madagascar’s civil servants," said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel.

The discussions centred around training Madagascar’s civil servants in India’s governance practices and the use of technology to improve transparency and efficiency.

Batches of Madagascar’s civil servants are already attending leadership courses at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) in Delhi, with training tailored to their priorities — from agriculture and food security to urban development and labour reforms.

Singh highlighted India’s citizen grievance redressal platform CPGRAMS (Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System), powered by AI to ensure time-bound resolution of complaints, and the wider shift towards faceless, seamless and paperless service delivery.

He said that over 85% of government services are now digital, reducing delays and minimising corruption.

The minister also spoke of reforms in pension disbursal through Jeevan Pramaan digital life certificates and property digitisation using drones.

He underlined the transformative role of the JAM Trinity—Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar and mobile connectivity — which has enabled direct benefit transfers and made India a global leader in digital payments through UPI.

Singh said India’s governance model is about bringing citizens and government closer through technology, while ensuring human oversight where needed.

Razakaboana welcomed India’s initiatives and stressed that exposing Madagascar’s officers to such practices would help modernise their own systems.

She indicated her country’s interest in expanding participation beyond the existing three-year programme.

On financial inclusion, the minister pointed to India accounting for nearly half of global digital transactions, according to a Personnel Ministry statement.

In October 2024 alone, over 16.8 billion transactions were processed, reflecting the impact of direct benefit transfers and the expansion of digital infrastructure, it said.

The Swachh Bharat campaign, which generated over Rs 2,300 crore through the disposal of office scrap, and the establishment of a human desk set up in 2023 for post-redressal citizen feedback were highlighted as further governance innovations. PTI AKV AKV AMJ AMJ