Rationalization and consolidation of urban network.

MOST RETROGRADE ORDER FROM DEPARTMENT OF POSTS 9797 POST OFFICES IN URBAN AREAS ARE TO BE CLOSED / MERGED OR RELOCATED

Subject:             Rationalization and consolidation of urban network.

D.G. Posts No. 40-06/2010Plg dated 25.01.2011.

                Kindly refer to this office letter of even number dated 17.5.2010 on the subject mentioned above calling for views/suggestions from circles regarding need for rationalization and consolidation for urban network, road  map to  be followed and time frame within which the exercise should be completed,. Almost all the Circles have unanimously favoured the need for rationalization.

2.            Due to historical reasons, a major portion of urban postal network lies in the inner city areas consisting of single/double handed non delivery Sub Offices which are not in conformity with the distance criteria of location of post offices. The outer and recently developed areas, however, suffer from lack of even the basic postal facilities in most of the towns/cities. There are also requests for providing postal services in various urban agglomerations, SEZ areas, professional colleges etc. which may also be a profitable activity of the Department .However, due to non-availability of resources, the Department is not able to meet such request.

3.            While the entire rural network is subsidized, Post Offices in urban areas are expected to be initially self supporting, and should earn profit of at least 5% at the time of the First annual review , to be eligible for further retention. Despite this, as on 31.3.2010,as many as 5531 SOs in urban areas are reported to be incurring losses.

4.            Further, as per the prescribed criteria, the minimum distance between two post offices should be 1.5 Km in cities with a population of 2 lakhs and above, and 2 Km in other urban Areas. No two delivery offices should however be closer than 5 Km from each other. Moreover, a delivery post office in urban area should have a minimum of 7 Postman beats. These norms have not been followed in many cases.

5.            Our existing urban network consists of 15797 Post Offices comprising mainly of HOs and SOs.Urban expansion of the country is currently estimated to be 77370sq.kms. As per the prevalent distance norms, this area justifies only about 6000 Post Offices in urban area. This analysis suggests that we have 9797 Pos Offices in urban areas that do not conform to the prescribed norms. This situation warrants need for corrective measures.

6.            Need for rationalization of urban network  was appreciated by the Department as early as in the year 2003 which led to issuing  elaborate instructions to Circles vide D.O. letter No. 40-4/2002-Plg dated 6.1.2003 for relocation/merger of single / double handed post offices. Resultantly, 1262 post offices have been merged/relocated throughout the country. It is however felt that the pace of relocation of post offices is not satisfactory and we are losing out on various business opportunities and the people in outer areas of urban settlements are deprived of the postal services. On the other hand, the Government is not allowing us to further expand our network by creation of new posts not only in urban areas but also in rural areas. Successive Plan Periods have witnessed opening of Post Office by redeployment of posts only without any new creation.

7.            For rationalization of postal network in urban areas by way of relocation of Post Offices in new areas and creation of bigger Post Offices by merger of single /double handed Post Offices as per stipulated distance and other norms, the Circles should keep the following into consideration:

(i)                                     There are some Post Offices which are loss making due to high rentals e.g. Post Offices at Railway Stations, important bus terminals, airports etc. We may however not relocate them due to their strategic importance, convenience they offer to the people and high number of footfalls they attract.

(ii)                                  While assessing the need for postal facilities we should have close liaison with local bodies like Municipal Corporation/Municipal Committees, Town Area Committees etc. so that we can be aware of their future plans of expansion of cities and we can accordingly formulate our strategies and have a long-term plan for extending our network in such areas. Regular coordination meetings may be prescribed with such bodies at appropriate levels.

(iii)                               Post Offices which have been covered under Project Arrow/Post Offices functioning in departmental buildings should not be earmarked for relocation. If there are other Post offices in their vicinity the same may be considered for relocation.

(iv)                             Post Offices paying high rentals, having low volume of transactions and running in losses should be considered for relocation/temporary merger/permanent merger.

(v)                                Distance from the nearest post office and the business being transacted should be the main criteria for relocation. Merger of Post Offices.

(vi)                             In addition to relocating post offices from one area to another, we can also create bigger Post Offices, not below the rank of LSG Offices, by merger of several smaller scattered Post Offices. The bigger Post Offices will be well equipped to cater to the latest postal facilities like IMO,eMO,Videsh MO, IMTS etc. These newly created Post Offices will be manned by redeployment of staff/posts from the nearby post offices.

(vii)                          It may also be considered to reduce the number of delivery Post Offices, which may lead to obviating the need for the nodal delivery system for Speed Post articles as it is not providing to be cost effective. In any case there is a need to strictly follow the norms of the distance of at least 5 KMs between two delivery offices and also that of delivery Post Office in Urban area having a minimum of 7 Postman beats.

(viii)                       If opening of a post office is justified in an area, but it is not possible to open post office by relocation or under the Plan targets, opening of franchise outlets may be considered for such area.

8.            In, view of the above, Circles are requested to take the following action:

                (i)            Identification of Post Offices which are at lesser distances than that prescribed                                     under   norms. In case, more than one Post Offices are not fulfilling the distance                    norms, Post Office (s) may be earmarked for relocation on the basis of :

(a)                                Condition of building

(b)                               Profitability of Post Office

(c)                                Business of Post Office

(ii)           PMsG / CPMsG will interact with all the stakeholders and convince them that relocation and merger would help in providing postal facilities to public and it is in larger public interest.

                (iii)          Identity needy urban and rural areas where there is justification for new Post                                         Offices.

(iv)          Post Offices once indentified as per (i) above, will be relocated /merged  This will  outside the Plan targets.

9.            Circles are requested to complete the exercise in respect of sub para (i),(ii)and (iii) {of para 8) by 31.03.2011 and in respect of sub para(iv){para 8} by 30.06.2011. Circles are also requested to send monthly progress reports of action taken, to this Directorate(proforma enclosed).

10.          Since the need for opening of Post Offices in new locations seems to be ever increasing , Circles are also requested to open Post Offices by redeployment of posts/staff from the existing office(s), by curtailing  staff strength of the existing offices even to less than the justified workload of the office/offices. This exercise would, however, be subject to Plan targets set by the Directorate. The powers for redeployment of Group 'C' and 'D' posts have already been vested with the HoCs vide Directorate letter No. 2-2/93-PE-I dated 7^th of Sep, 1993.Under no circumstances should the surplus posts be abolished.

                This issue wit h the approval of the competent authority.

Sd/-

(Anurag Priyadarshee)

Director (R.B

Courtesy: NFPE

Modernisation of Post Offices

              The Department of Posts has decided to improve the Look and Feel of its post offices through Project Arrow. The project has been launched with the objective of modernising departmental post offices across the country in a phased manner with an aim to make visible, tangible and noteworthy difference in post office operations. It aims at comprehensive improvement of the core operations of the post office as well as the ambience in which postal transactions are undertaken.

 The IT Modernization Project Phase II of India Post under XIth plan envisages computerization of all the non-computerized Post Offices in the country (Departmental single handed Post Offices) and all Extra departmental Post Offices phased over the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.

The number of Post Offices modernized in 2008-09 and 2009-10 are:

2008-09 -           45 post offices were computerized, computer hardware was upgraded in 1847 post offices and 500 post offices were modernized under Project Arrow.

2009-10 -           2920 post offices were computerized, computer hardware was upgraded in 92 post offices and 500 post offices were modernized under Project Arrow.

                        Total investment to be made on modernization in 2010-2011 and 2011-12 are:

2010-11-            Rs. 209.76 crores has been allocated for computerization of post offices at the RE stage and `84 crores has been allocated for modernization of post offices under Project Arrow.

2011-12 -           Rs. 626.41 crores has been earmarked for computerisation of post offices  and Rs. 9 lakh for carrying out internal review of selected post offices already covered under Project Arrow.

The Department has diversified its activities to utilise its network by introducing services like selling of passport forms in identified post offices, accepting of utilities bills in the post offices, providing railway reservation facilities etc.

            The Department has also tied-up with various Government departments to provide social security services especially in rural areas and with financial institutions to sell their product through post offices like :

(i)   National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS)-for disbursement of wages to NREGS     beneficiaries through Post Office Savings Bank accounts. 

(ii)   Collection of Rural Price Index Data 

(iii)  Payment of Old age pension- through Post Office Savings accounts in Bihar, Chattisgarh, Delhi,  Jharkhand, M.P., Maharashtra, North-East and Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh  and through money order in Karnataka, Kerala, M.P., Maharashtra, N.E., Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu , Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. 

(iv)   Sale of gold coins by tying-up with Reliance Money Limited.

(v)   On Line Acceptance of RTI Applications.

(vi)   Provision of New Pension Scheme through Post Offices.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Communications & Information Technology, Shri Sachin Pilot in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today. 

PIB Press Release, February 23, 2011

Alternative labor bank fills ‘working mom gap’ in Korea

Dear Comrades,

The following story relates to the Govt. of Korea which provides immediate substitutes from a pool of alternative human resources for government employees who take maternity or parental leave.

Can it happen in India ?

Now read the full story:

Ministry creates temp system to provide maternity cover for public sector workers

             Returning from a three-month maternity leave after the birth of her first child, Yun Yeo-jin, 32, is just three weeks back into her job as an official at the public service department of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.

Unlike her friends working for private companies who felt guilty about offloading their work onto colleagues during maternity leave, Yun didn’t have to feel that way.

The ministry’s newly developed initiative called “alternative human resources bank” helped fill the gap Yun created. The program aims to counter Korea’s low birth rate and support the female workforce by providing immediate substitutes from a pool of alternative human resources for government employees who take maternity or parental leave.

“The best part of this system is that my work burden is not going to my colleagues. I was psychologically and physically relieved,” Yun told The Korea Herald.

Her job involves preparing documents about disciplinary

“Since it takes only one or two weeks for the substitute to take over my work, I heard there wasn’t any problem in getting my work done,” she said.

Yun’s experience is uncommon in the Korean corporate world, though.

A 32-year-old female employee, working for one of the nation’s top conglomerates in Seoul, who wanted to be identified only by her surname Kim, said she has had to bear the burden of her senior’s work for the past five months since her senior took extended leave ― two weeks of sick leave before childbirth, three months of maternity leave and another month of paid leave given only to employees who have worked for the company for more than a decade.

“I was really frustrated covering all her work for that long,” Kim said.

The public sector is in a better situation than the private sector when it comes to maternity or parental leave, as welfare policies are more strictly enforced in the government sector.

However, according to some measures, the government sector still has a long way to go.

A 2009 survey, conducted by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, found that 83 percent of employees working in central government were “negative” about taking maternity or parental leave due to concerns about work overload on coworkers.

Where a female government employee took parental leave, 62 percent of respondents said coworkers had to double their work load and 33 percent said a substitute was hired.

Asked why it was difficult to take parental leave, 35 percent of female government employees said they were worried about others’ work overload due to their absence and 28 percent pointed to not being paid enough to support their family. Another 18 percent said they were worried about readjusting to work after returning from leave and 13 percent were concerned about their career prospects.

To help female workers take maternity or parental leave without any guilt, the ministry mapped out a plan to prepare alternative human resources in April 2010 and signed a memorandum of understanding the following month with major government agencies such as the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Seoul Metropolitan Government to participate in the initiative.

According to the Ministry of Public Administration and Safety, a total of 6,641 government employees took maternity or parental leave in 2009, while the ministry has hired a total of 488 alternative employees since introduction of the program.

Of the 488, 200 were hired to support general administrative works and 288 were assigned to professional work duties.

Ryu Han-na, 28, is working as a temporary contract government employee at the National Archives of Korea’s information service bureau for seven months from Dec. 6, 2010 to July 4.

Ryu said she is paid hourly wages and is not allowed to work more than 40 hours a week, which limits her monthly pay to around 1 million won to 1.5 million won.

She applied for the job through the “Nara Ilteo” (public service job market) website and her work involves dealing with general complaints and offering free legal advice.

“Before I began working, I had thought I could feel a little ‘excluded’ because I would be the substitute,” Ryu said.

“But once I joined them, they were very nice to me and they even celebrated my birthday,” she said, adding that she sometimes works extra hours in the evenings as well.

Ryu said she considered her temporary job as a great fill-in, before she takes a government exam in July which she declined to identify.

Sohn Min-joong, a job market analyst at the Samsung Economic Research Institute, said the government’s attempt at establishing an alternative labor force is worth a try.

“Since it is in its budding stage, the government program seems to be part of their efforts to increase overall female employment in Korea and make the labor market more flexible,” Sohn said.

However, he said there should be more details about how the government will meet seasonally-changing work demands. For example, female police tend to delay maternity leave until after promotion tests because taking maternity leave after promotion will be more beneficial to them, he said.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldm.com)

Orissa Circle Published result of L G O Examination:

The following LGO officials who appeared the departmental examination for promotion to the cadre of PA/SA/PACO held on 10.10.2010 have come out successful vide C O Memo No. RE/30-23/09(Con),  Dated   22.02.2011.

The particulars of the successful officials  who have been qualified  from / allotted to  Bhubaneswar Division  are as follows.

Sl. No.	Name of Candidate	Community	Roll No. of the candidates	Division to which belong	Division to which allotted
1	Birabar Sahoo	UR	OR/PA-03/2010	Bhubaneswar	Bhubaneswar
2	B.N.Dalai	OBC	OR/PA-02/2010	Bhubaneswar	Bhubaneswar
3	Jakir Hossen Khan	UR	OR/PA-07/2010	Bhubaneswar	Bhubaneswar
4	Baidyanath Behera	OBC	OR/PA-05/2010	Bhubaneswar	Bhubaneswar

To Know the complete result of Orissa Circle please click on : http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Recruitment/LGO_RESULT_ORISSA.pdf

We congratulate all the successful candidates.

Filling up of GDS posts in Branch Post Offices – review of guidelines regarding

Government of India

Ministry of Communications & IT

Department of Posts

(GDS Section)

Dak Bhawan, Sansad Marg,

New Delhi – 110001

No 17-103/2007-GDS Dated – 17.02.2011

To

      All Chief Postmasters General

         All Postmasters General

Subject: - Filling up of GDS posts in Branch Post Offices – review of guidelines regarding

Sir/Madam,

I am directed to invite attention to Directorate letters No. even dated 14^th Jul 2009 and 29^th Dec 2010 on the subject cited above.

2. Para 2 (ii) of this Directorate letter dated 14^th July 2009 provided that the vacant posts of GDs in branch offices with two or more hands may be filled up on the basis of triennial review already carried out and in case the prescribed workload and financial parameters as prescribed for opening of a branch office are not fulfilled but the posts are required to be filled up for operational reasons then the approval of the Chief PMG will be required with concurrence of circle IFA. It was also provided in Para 2(i) of the said communication, that GDS vacant posts in BOs with a single establishment be filled up straight away and the permission was granted to the concerned Divisional head.

3. The above provisions were further reviewed and modified. It was prescribed vide this Directorate letter dated 29 Dec 2010 that the vacant posts of GD BPM may be filled up by adjusting the surplus GDS fulfilling the prescribed qualification and other prescribed conditions failing which action may be taken in advance to fill the vacant post of GDs BPM on a regular basis following the prescribed procedure and following other conditions prescribed under letter dated 4 Jul 2009.

4. Despite issue of above instructions, it has been brought to the notice of this office, that, the Posts of Branch Postmasters are not being filled up immediately, and they are allowed to be managed by additional charge or kept under combined duties, affecting the quality of service. The issue has been considered and competent Authority has decided that the vacant post of GDs BPMs, in Branch offices (irrespective of the number borne on establishment) be filled up by Head of the Division without reference to HOC immediately after its falling vacant initiating action in advance by adopting the following methods: -

(i) By appointment of surplus identified GDs fulfilling the conditions; failing which

(ii) By combination of the duties of GDS in the same BO, provide the combined work load does not exceed five hours: failing which

(iii) By recruitment of outsiders by observing the selection process.

However, the approval of the Head of the Circle shall continue to be obtained for filling up of other categories of GDS which are not justified by workload/financial parameter, but the post is to be filled up for operational reasons.

4. These orders shall come into effect from the date of issue of the order. This issues with the approval of competent authority.

Yours faithfully,

Sd/-

(Surender Kumar)

Assistant Director General (GDS/PCC)

Divisional Union Wrote to SSPOs, Bhubaneswar Division for supply of surplus Currency Verifiers of Project Arrow POs to needy offices:

To

The Senior Superintendent of Post Offices

Bhubaneswar Division, Bhubaneswar – 751 009

No.      UN-BN / AIPEU-Gr.-C / 13 - 02 / 2011, Dated at  Bhubaneswar the 23^rd  February, 2011

Sub:-   Supply of Currency Verifiers found surplus in Project Arrow Post Offices to P Os without Currency Verifier.

Sir,

This has a reference to Circle Office letter No. SD / 10 – 31 / 03 – Ch. III, dated 18.01.2011 regarding procurement of and supply of Cash Counting Machines and Currency Verifiers  to some Project Arrow Post Offices. Accordingly,  Ashoknagar MDG, Bhubaneswar GPO, Pipli S O and Sahidnagar MDG of Bhubaneswar Division have now been supplied with 5, 10, 2 and 5 pieces of Currency Verifiers ( Make: Infres Methodex) respectively.

It is worth mentioning here that the above offices have already been supplied with Currency Verifiers and as such the present supply will be found surplus in said offices. Illustratively it can be stated , as known to this union that Sahidnagar MDG has now four surplus Currency Verifiers which can be diverted to any office not having Currency Verifier, if instructed.

Therefore, this union is of the opinion that Currency Verifiers found surplus in above offices may be supplied to the needy offices which have already placed indents to Divisional office.

With regards.

Yours faithfully,

( B  SAMAL)

Secretary, AIPEU, Gr.-C

 Bhubaneswar Divisional Branch

Engagement of agents for procurement of PLI / RPLI business in Bhubaneswar Division

Chief PMG, Orisa Circle appealed the Postmasters to achieve targets in RPLI

India Post Gets a Sexy Web Experience – Looking Beyond NIC [$1Bn Put To Use?]

Indian Postal Department has done something radically different that probably no Indian government organisation has ever thought of, they got a clean website. They actually got a very sexy website with a virtual experience. Check out here (http://www.epostoffice.gov.in). Though it’s the same utility as earlier but the whole experience is very web2.0.

The website is not fully functional yet and this is just preview. But whatever we can see, it looks great. IndiaPost had appointed McKinsey for a complete revamp and it seems to be paying off. The total revamp budget for Indian Postal department is said to be $1Bn over 3-5 yrs (from Aug 2009). Meanwhile, they have  a twitter presence, indiapost.nic.in is down and Indiapost.gov.in is too messy.

It took an external agency like McKinsey to make them dare to think beyond the NIC?

Source: pluggd.in, February 22, 2011

Send Money Order, Buy Postal Products Online [Indian Post Office’ New Avatar]

In a few weeks from now, Indian postal department will unveil the new service where you would be able to buy postal products online, and most importantly, send money order from the website.

Process to Send Money Order Online

• Fill up the “To Remit Payment” (TRP-1) form as it appears on screen and press submit. The e Post Office will then take you to the site of the payment gateway where your online payment will be processed.
• After confirmation of payment you will receive a 16 digit iMO number which you can view in My Transactions. Please note this number carefully because payment will be made on the basis of this number. This number will be available online only for 24 hours.
• The details of your transaction minus the secret 16 digit iMO number will then appear on screen. You can either print the receipt at that time. In case you choose not to print you can access this receipt any time by looking in My Transactions at the e Post Office.
• Please note that in order to book an iMO you have to first register on the site and create an account. The advantage would be that your details would only need to be filled once and thereafter would automatically be filled whenever you book an iMO.

Using the new postal service avatar, you would be able to track speed posts and buy philatelic stamps.

Impressive, isn’t it?

Source : gadgethon.com, February 22, 2011

Many States have shown interest in RFD policy; covers 62 Central departments/ ministries and 760 responsibility centres: Cabinet Secretary

Over 1100 delegates attend one day workshop

Cabinet Secretary Shri K. M. Chandrasekhar has said that Results-Framework Document (RFD) policy is a positive policy to help achieve greater heights. He informed that the RFD policy covers not only the 62 departments and ministries of the Central Government, but also 760 responsibility centres attached to these departments. He added that many State Governments have also shown interest in adopting this policy. In fact, Governments of Maharashtra and Punjab have already taken steps to implement RFD policy at the state level.

Cabinet Secretary spoke while inaugurating a workshop on Results Framework Document (an instrument for improving performance of government) here today. The workshop organised by Cabinet Secretariat, was attended by over 1100 delegates from different responsibility centres from different parts of the country under various Ministries/Departments of the Government.

Following is the text of Cabinet Secretary’s address on the occasion:

“This workshop on Results-Framework Document, or RFD, is an important milestone in our journey towards achieving our vision of a government that works better and costs less. It is indeed remarkable how far we have travelled on this path in pursuit of this vision. Today the RFD policy covers not only the 62 departments and ministries of the Central Government, but also 760 responsibility centres attached to these departments.

You will hear about the details of the RFD policy from various experts throughout the day. However, I want to speak about a few general points that we need to keep in mind while striving for a change in the way we conduct our business in the Government. In particular, today I want to share my thoughts with you on the following three broad issues:

1. Why has the RFD policy spread so widely and so fast among Central Government organizations?
2. What is at stake and why is the RFD policy important for the nation?
3. Is this policy enough? If not what other complementary steps are required?

Let me start with the issue of rapid and effective implementation of the RFD policy. As many of you may be aware, the origins of this policy can be traced to the speech of the Hon’ble President of India to the Parliament in June 2009. In this speech Hon’ble President said that the Government of India will initiate steps within the next hundred days towards “Establishing mechanisms for performance monitoring and performance evaluation in government on a regular basis.”

As promised, within the stipulated hundred day deadline, the Hon’ble Prime Minister announced the details of the Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System on September 11, 2009. In the first phase of implementation 59 departments and ministries were covered for the year 2009-2010. The second phase of the policy included 62 departments for the year 2010-2010. In 2011-2012, some 760 responsibility centres attached to various Central Government departments will be covered by the policy. The main reason for organizing this workshop is, in fact, to assist these responsibility centres with the development of their organizational RFDs.

I am also happy to note that many State Governments have also shown interest in adopting this policy. In fact, Governments of Maharashtra and Punjab have already taken steps to implement RFD policy at the state level.

There are many reasons that explain the rapid adoption of this policy. These would include Prime Minister’s leadership and clear directions in this regard; leadership of Secretaries of the 62 departments and ministries; and a cadre of dedicated and enthusiastic civil servants that are ready to go beyond the call of duty to do the right thing. However, the pristine simplicity of the concept has to be also one the main reasons for this widespread adoption of the RFD policy.

The essence of the RFD policy is captured succinctly in the phrase: “What gets measured gets done.” Development of RFD is based on answers to three simple questions: First, RFD seeks to know what are the organizations key objectives? Second, what actions the department proposes to achieve these objectives? Finally, how do we measure progress in implementing these actions? The answers to these questions constitute the core of the RFD.

RFD is a positive and not negative instrument for intention is not to find fault but to help all of us to achieve greater heights and thus enjoy whatever we are doing a great deal more. The objectives are fixed by you and the results are evaluated by you. So far as Ministries are concerned, Ministries approve the objectives and RFD helps them to evaluate how well the Departments under their control have worked. We start with the basic premise that we are committed to service delivery of the highest standards.

In launching the Results-Framework Document policy we are not alone. Rather, we are part of a distinct global trend in public management of a clear movement away from the so called “Administrator Model” to the “Management Model.” The Management Model represents an internal culture of making managers manage, as opposed to the Administrative Model which values compliance to pre-determined rules and regulations. It requires the managers to assume greater responsibility while at the same time, giving them greater operational freedom and holding them accountable for results. Many countries, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the United States and Finland, have made significant progress using such techniques with New Zealand being clearly the leader of this pack.

Finally, we have to also acknowledge the fact that we have learnt a great deal from implementing a similar policy in the public enterprise sector. The policy of Memorandum of Understanding or MOU in our public sector was the precursor of this RFD policy. The experience of designing and implementing MOUs in public sector has made the task of designing and implementing RFDs in Government much easier.

Now I turn to the importance of the RFD policy. It would not be an exaggeration to say that no civilized society can function effectively without an effective government. This statement was as true for Chanakya in the 3rd Century BC and for Sher Shah Suri in the 16th century AD as it is for us today.

All countries use government as a mechanism to provide services that benefit all citizens: police, judicial services, national defense, and municipal services. Government also serves as a means of making some of the most important collective decisions such as the nature of the health system, education system, water and sewage system, roads and highways system. Given this pervasive nature of government, its performance has a direct bearing on the welfare of citizens.

Our work on performance management is inspired by our belief that returns from improving effectiveness of the government are immense. Further, we believe that the majority of these benefits will accrue to the socially and economically weaker sections of our society. Hence, we do not believe that there is a trade-off between efficiency and equity in this area. Extra effort spent on improving government efficiency is likely to do more good on the margin than spending more money on a program that does not work effectively.

We seek to create a government that not only does the right things but does them right, that is, more efficiently and effectively. Enhanced government effectiveness not only affects the welfare of citizens in the short run but also in the long-run. In the increasingly globalized world, government effectiveness is the key determinant of a country’s competitive advantage. Experts agree that in the long run, the race among nations will be won or lost not on the basis of comparative advantage arising from resource endowment, but by the competitive advantage created by effective governments.

Finally, I turn to the third broad question I raised at the beginning: Is this policy enough? If not what other complementary steps are required to achieve our goal?

Let me suggest that our ability to deliver promised results is a necessary condition for improving the perception of a Government, but it cannot be considered a sufficient one. Citizens also expect that results should be delivered with courtesy and in a timely fashion. Further, if citizens have a grievance, they expect a satisfactory response. Above all, they expect us to conduct ourselves in manner that is consistent with the highest standards of public service code of conduct.

Recognizing this reality, the Results-Framework Documents (RFDs) for 2010-2011, include a set of mandatory success indicators to measure effective design and implementation of Citizen’s Charters and Grievance Redress Mechanisms. I see from the agenda that both of these instruments will be discussed in detail and hence I shall not dwell on them at length. Suffice is to say that Citizen’s Charter outlines the service standards to which all citizens are entitled. Similarly, Grievance Redress Mechanism outlines a transparent and effective system of grievance redress for citizens.

Also, a complete system for performance management in government should consist of three interrelated systems: (a) Performance Information System; (b) Performance Evaluation System and (c) Performance Incentive System. Let me describe each of these three subsystems briefly.

Without proper information regarding the activities of the government departments and agencies, it is impossible to even begin to evaluate performance, much less improve performance. However, an adequate performance information system does not imply collection of huge amounts of data. A thoughtfully designed information system allows evaluators timely access to necessary information in an appropriate format. Often, a properly designed system reduces the data overload on agencies. When evaluators are not sure about what matters most, they tend to collect as much information as they can to insure against the risk of not having the necessary data when required.

Once we have the necessary information, it is possible to design an effective evaluation system. Availability of data, however, does not automatically guarantee a sound evaluation system. As we will see later, many of the existing evaluation systems in India are conceptually flawed. Hence, no amount of success in gathering information can allow us to manage performance effectively. Civil servants, like most other people, respond to incentives. No matter how sophisticated an information and evaluation system you may design, if you do not link the evaluation of government departments to the welfare of the government managers, you cannot expect to improve the performance of government departments. I hasten to add that it is not necessary for the incentives to be monetary, but it is necessary to have incentives. Good performance or lack thereof must have some consequences.

While all three subsystems are necessary for designing an effective performance management system, an evaluation system provides the necessary platform to design an appropriate incentive system and an adequate information system. The other two systems can be designed once the government is clear about what it is that it wants to achieve. The answer to this is provided by the evaluation system embodied in the RFD.

Above all, we must remember that a performance management system is useful if we have chosen the right direction. That is why having a sound strategy is as important as an effective RFD system. Indeed, that is why this workshop will appropriately begin with a session by Mr. Arun Maira, Member Planning Commission and arguably the foremost expert in the art and science of strategy making.

In short, performance improvement is a multidimensional concept and requires a multidimensional approach. There is no one simple answer to improve performance. Effort has to be made on many fronts to achieve our vision in this area.

In closing, let me say that today the question is not whether to improve performance of government departments, the real question is how? To be sure, this is not the first time in history that this question has been raised. It has been the preoccupation of policy makers in all civilized societies. However, just as all other technologies evolve, so does management technology. While the question still remains the same—that is how to improve government performance, the answer to this question has evolved

PIB Press Release, February 22, 2011