Work with 'whole of government' approach: Centre to states on personnel matters

New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI) Union minister Jitendra Singh on Monday called upon states and Union Territories to work in closer coordination with the Centre as a part of the "whole of the government" approach and thereby also enable themselves to modernise personnel administration, address procedural delays and strengthen capacity building across services.

Addressing the annual conference of secretaries (Personnel/General Administration Department) of states and UTs, the minister said governance reforms over the past decade have focused on simplification of rules, greater use of technology and a shift towards outcome-oriented administration to improve public service delivery.

He said a key feature of reforms undertaken by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has been the conscious removal of outdated and cumbersome rules, rather than the addition of new layers of regulation.

Nearly 1,600–1,700 rules have been repealed, including the requirement of attestation of certificates, said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel.

He said that objective recruitment reforms such as doing away with interviews in certain examinations have helped improve transparency and efficiency.

Raising concerns over service-related issues, Singh flagged delays in cadre reviews, observing that prolonged pendency affects both administrative efficiency and public perception.

He urged senior officials to take greater ownership in resolving long-pending matters and cautioned against allowing administrative processes to stall in the absence of specific judicial directions.

The minister also referred to discussions around the Unified Pension Scheme, noting that misconceptions persist and stressing the need for states to carry accurate information to stakeholders.

Underscoring the Centre's emphasis on openness and cooperative federalism, Singh encouraged the states to share feedback candidly and engage proactively with the Centre.

During the interactive session, representatives from several states highlighted operational challenges relating to central deputation, cadre reviews and service management.

The states pointed out that difficulties in relieving officers for central deputation often arise from staffing constraints and service conditions, while others drew attention to acute shortages caused by long-pending cadre reviews and an increase in districts and administrative workload, according to a Personnel Ministry statement.

Responding to these concerns, the minister noted that while local realities must be recognised, ad-hoc relaxations could undermine uniformity across states.

DoPT Secretary Rachna Shah emphasised that cadre review proposals submitted by the states need to be comprehensive and well-reasoned to enable timely processing, adding that significant progress has been made in completing Indian Administrative Service cadre reviews, with efforts underway to expedite pending Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service reviews as well.

Issues relating to vigilance records and service data were also raised, with the minister agreeing on the need for regular updating and corrective action where required.

Earlier, setting the broader context of the conference, the secretary said the Centre–state engagement on personnel and administrative reforms is intended to be collaborative and participative.

Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) Director Sriram Taranikanti highlighted implementation challenges in mid-career and induction training programmes for all India services officers.

He pointed to under-utilisation of training capacity due to late nominations and withdrawals, and urged states to systematically release officers for training to help clear backlogs over the next few years.

Taranikanti also called for closer coordination in identifying faculty, timely settlement of dues and greater involvement of State Administrative Training Institutes in sector-specific programmes to enable wider replication of training outcomes.

The conference, which brought together senior personnel administrators from across the country, served as a platform to exchange experiences, flag operational challenges and align reform priorities. PTI AKV AKV KSS KSS