Cabinet approves MoU between India and Portugal on Cooperation in the field of Public Administration and Governance Reforms

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India, and Ministry of the Presidency and of Administrative Modernization, Government of Portuguese Republic, for ‘Cooperation in the field of Public Administration and Governance Reforms’. The MoU will help in understanding the system of customer oriented public service delivery in Portugal with reference to rapidly changing environments in the area of public service management and enable in replicating, adapting and innovating some of the best practices and processes in the Indian Public Service Delivery System, leading to improved public service delivery in India. The areas of co-operation under this MoU may include, but shall not be limited to: (a) Digital transformation of Government (b) Administrative simplification and process re-engineering (c) Public Service Delivery (d) Building and developing staff capability (e) Sharing good governance practices in public administration (f) Public Grievance Redress Mechanism The forms of co-operation under the MoU will be as under: (a) organization of a senior consultative body and working sessions for ongoing discussions regarding cooperation and collaboration; (b) exchange of knowledge and experiences and the holding of consultations in the above mentioned areas, in situ and online; (c) exchange of invitations to events related to Public Administration and Governance Reforms and the dispatch of experts in this sector; (d) exchange of publications, reports and various public materials related to Public Administration and Governance Reforms, which are published by the Sides; (e) facilitating study visits and sharing of information and experience through workshops, seminars and conferences; (f) any other forms of cooperation and collaboration that are of mutual interest in the area of Public Administration and Governance Reforms and are jointly decided upon by the Signatories. A Joint Working Group on Public Administration and Governance Reforms will be responsible for implementation of the MoU. Background: Provision of Citizen-Centric Online Services is the foundation of an efficient public administration system. It leads to transparency and accountability in the governance and fosters equitable growth. Government of India has taken up a goal of quantum shift in Online delivery of Government Services across the country. This aims to further Government’s efforts at revamping of Public Administration system, Public Grievance Redress Mechanism, ushering in e-Governance, Digital India, etc., more so in the context of the goal of ‘Minimum Government with Maximum Governance’ through e-Governance based Citizen Centric End-to-End On-line Services. As part of its efforts in seeking international collaboration for initiatives in Good Governance and Administrative reforms, DARPG has so far entered into bilateral MoUs with China, Malaysia, Singapore. France and United Kingdom and trilateral MoU with Brazil and South Africa. MOUs with China and Singapore are under renewal/consideration in consultation with Ministry of External Affairs. The recent MoU with Portugal is a step in that direction.