After independence, India adopted a socialist model of development aimed at achieving a Welfare State. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances looks after administrative reforms in India.
It’s objectives are:
1. to promote administrative reforms in government policies and processes.
2. to promote citizen-centric governance.
3. to conduct innovations in egovernance.
The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) was set up in 2005 to prepare a blueprint for revamping the public administration system in India.
It looked at the following issues.
1. To make public administration accountable, transparent, efficient, responsive and result- oriented.
2. Citizen centric, participative administration.
There have been a large number of reform measures which have sought to bring administration closer to the people.
Broadly these initiatives include :
1. Enacting laws giving certain rights to people.
2. Setting up of new institutional mechanisms to redress citizens’ grievances.
3. Improving accessibility to citizens by setting up units closer to people.
4. Simplifying procedures to reduce bureaucratic delays.
5. Using technology to improve internal efficiency.
6. Reducing regulatory control.
7. Holding public contact programmes etc.