Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a 60 point action plan that spread across various ministers for the development of the country. The 60 point plan belongs to three main categories even though it targets multiple departments. They are using IT and technology for governance, improving the business climate, and upgrading civil services. The 60 point plan was formed after meetings with the secretaries of all union ministries and departments. The government took forward the 60 ideas that were suggested during the discussions. The Cabinet Secretariat has identified the lead ministries to take these ideas forward and develop action plans for their implementation. Most of these action plans are managed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, and the Niti Aayog.
Action Plan for Using IT and Technology for Governance
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) distributes scholarships to bridge the digital divide for underprivileged students by developing low-cost tablets and laptops for online education. The Education and Social Justice ministries are planning remedial teaching for disadvantaged children.
The action plans also take measures to digitalise all the land records by 2023 under the central database called ‘Matribhumi.’ The integration with the e-Courts system will provide transparency on title and possession related issues of lands. The Cabinet Secretary has told the secretaries to ensure that all government schemes and programmes have a digital section. The digital version of projects will make the governance process easier and accessible across various departments.
The government also plans to link citizenship to birth certificates using technology since India does not have proper proof for citizenship.
Action Plan to Improve Business Climate
One of the main goals of the action plan is to improve the business conditions in India. The government and the Department for Promotion Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) plan to
remove specific permissions and reduce the costs of starting businesses in 10 sectors. The goal is to make India on the same level as Vietnam and Indonesia.
The office of the Principal Scientific Advisor designs an Empowered Group for Technology Development, which acts as a single-window for automatic notification of clearances and single-point access to all government services.
The DPIIT and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) plan to develop an action plan to minimise the number of clearances required for forest and land acquisitions. Since there is overlapping environmental legislation, the MOEF is responsible for creating a comprehensive Environment Management Act.
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Ministries of Mines and Earth Sciences plan to set up a high-level committee to open the two restricted sectors, i.e., beach sand minerals and offshore mining, for exploration and production by the private sector. DAE only did beach sand mining and offshore mining was only done by PSUs until now.
The action plan encourages mentoring platforms for start-ups and skill programmes for the emerging sectors.
Action Plan for Updating Civil Services
One of the main measures taken for upgrading civil services is capacity building.
Capacity Building is called Mission Karmayogi, where training is given to officers on various aspects of infrastructure in both the Centre and states and exposure and expertise to the latest technologies for higher civil services.
Performance-based working is another aspect of the action plan where clear and specific targets are given to ministries and departments like public sector undertakings. Institutional mechanisms are introduced for addressing issues of states with limited capacities and restructuring departments through Government Process Re-engineering (GPR) every ten years.
Other Areas of the Action Plan
NITI Aayog will focus on poverty eradication within five years. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will immediately plan residential and housing facilities for service staff in the construction field to prevent the formation of slums.
The government plans to use Aadhaar to bring together beneficiary oriented schemes of different ministries. The government has asked the departments to look into and learn from the success stories of other States and departments while implementing an action. The government also adds that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment plans to develop a family database design, which might be promoted like Aadhaar. It also states all government data should be made available to all ministries.
The government also directs the culture and tourism ministries to identify and develop 100-200 iconic structures and sites to develop the tourism sector.
They also plan to set up excellence centres in rural areas through PPP (Public Private Partnership) like the centres in Singapore.