Other States - Rajasthan   

Bringing about integrity in public life

JAIPUR: A two-day national convention on “People, probity and performance” ended here on Saturday with a call to bring about integrity in public life and restore the virtues of good governance in both public and private systems. Experts from various fields highlighted various aspects of reforms, creativity and innovation.

Academicians, consultants, government officials and corporate leaders addressing the sessions at the convention laid emphasis on performance-based creativity and probity-inspired social systems.

Noted economist and Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council V. S. Vyas, chairing a session on “Education policy at the crossroads”, expressed concern at the deteriorating quality of education and underlined the need to evolve an effective regulatory mechanism for private players in the public-private partnership model.

Prof. Vyas said the quality of teachers should be improved at all levels and civil society organisations, panchayati raj institutions and entrepreneurs should be involved in public-private partnership, which he felt was presently interpreted “rather narrowly”.

Indian Institute of Public Administration Director D. S. Baswan said though schemes such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan had yielded positive results in promoting education, they had not succeeded in improving the quality in a significant manner.

He called for encouraging vocational education and gradually reducing subsidy on higher and technical education.

State Revenue Board chairman Rakesh Hooja said at a session on “Creativity and innovation in private and public systems” that the scope for innovation in the lower echelons of power should be exploited in a rigorous manner. Underlining the need for flexibility to accept appropriate solutions at all levels, he said the government was duty-bound to provide to the citizens inclusive growth along with natural justice.

Former Bank of Baroda chairman Anil Khandelwal said innovation had always led to a manifold increase in productivity and deposits in the banking sector and called for bringing human resource development to the mainstream of management.

Second Administrative Reforms Commission Member-Secretary Vinita Rai highlighted the Commission’s recommendations for reforms in civil services which would bring transparency, accountability and political neutrality to the country’s administrative structure.

Ms. Rai said the Commission had suggested appointment of a five-member Civil Services Authority to manage the affairs of administrative set-up and simplification of disciplinary proceedings against civil servants without compromising the principles of natural justice.

She said a code of ethics should be introduced in the proposed Civil Services Bill.

Former Rajasthan Chief Secretary M. L. Mehta called for a renewed focus by policy-making and implementing agencies on good governance.

Bibek Debroy of the Centre for Policy Research pointed out that there was a correlation between per capita income and governance.

The convention, inaugurated by Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai on Friday, was organised by Jaipur-based Management Development Academy.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Jamia professor new V-C for Rajasthan University
Bringing about integrity in public life

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu