Secretaries present ideas on Swastha Bharat

A fortnight after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged upon all the secretaries of ministries to come up with innovative suggestions on good governance, and had formed eight groups comprising of top bureaucrats for the purpose, one such panel on Sunday made a presentation before him on Swastha Bharat, Shikshit Bharat.

The group is learnt to have suggested measures like the need to sensitise people at the grassroot level, especially tribals living in remote villages, about the need for proper sanitation and education.

The group of secretaries according to sources, is said to have underlined the need to make the tribal population aware about the need to get literate and for this, schools in remote villages need to be adequatedly staffed with teachers.

This newspaper had reported on January 16 on how a panel of secretaries on energy conservation had suggested measures like greater reliance on green energy and usage of star-rated electric appliances could help conserve power in the long run.

Sunday’s presentation was also attended by Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Manohar Parrikar, besides vice-chairman of Niti Aayog Arvind Panagariya.

After the presentation, several members of the audience also gave their suggestions and observations on the subject, a PMO statement said.

So far, four groups of secretaries have made such presentations to the Prime Minister. Eight such groups were set up by Mr Modi recently for focused attention to various sectors.

Two groups of secretaries on innovative budgeting and effective implementation and Swachchh Bharat and Ganga rejuvenation had also presented their ideas on Friday with regard to the “transformative change” that the government wants to bring about in the lives of people. On January 12, the first group on energy conservation and efficiency had made its presentation.

The subjects on which groups have been set up are: “Good Governance — challenges and opportunities”, “Employment generation strategies”, “Farm-er-centric initiatives in agriculture and allied sectors”, “Education and health- universal access and quality”, “Innovative budgeting and effective implementation”, among others.

“Accelerated growth with inclusion and equity”, “Swachchh Bharat and Ganga rejuvenation” and “Energy efficiency and conservation”.