BENGALURU: Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said the Centre is prepared to decentralise good governance indices. He was speaking at the valedictory of the two-day regional conference, ‘Bringing Citizens, Entrepreneurs, and Government closer for Good Governance’.
“We are moving to prepare the District Governance Index with 40 indices, with a scientifically designed method wherein districts in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have been chosen initially. We will also go to village-level governance indices where Panchayat and District Development Council heads will get involved in the preparation,” he said.
The minister appreciated Karnataka for its contribution to the decentralisation of power. “I think Karanataka is the first state to implement the amendment to Article 73 and 74, soon after Rajiv Gandhi took over as prime minister,” he remarked. In fact, during Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure (1984-89), the draft was drawn up as he mooted amendments, and the bills were passed when P V Narasimha Rao was prime minister. In Karnataka, it was implemented in 1993, when M Veerappa Moily was CM.
He listed out reforms implemented by the Narendra Modi government. The amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act has been implemented to create a good environment for well-performing officers as it ensured that the bribe giver is as culpable as the taker, he remarked.
Think beyond Bengaluru
The minister said Bengaluru remained the startup capital for IT-related ventures. The potential is far beyond the country, as agriculture technology should be tapped, he said. “Two BTech graduates who were with IT companies in Bengaluru, quit to raise lavender crop in the hillocks of Jammu and Kashmir, and an MBA graduate also quit to help them with marketing,” he said, advising bureaucrats to think beyond Bengaluru.
Tests in 22 languages
Singh announced that exams for recruitment to non-gazetted posts in Railways, banks and other Central institutions would be conducted in all 22 languages in the eighth schedule of the Constitution. “By this year-end, in coordination with DoPT, we will hold the first-ever CET. The exams will be conducted in all 22 languages of the 8th Schedule so that the long-time demand of aspirants, especially from South, is fulfilled,” he explained.