Single-Page Government Forms Are Here!

As a “Good Governance Day” Initiative, the Centre has announced that the lengthy forms required for government services will soon be condensed to a single-page format. This is part of an effort to make the state service delivery apparatus more citizen-centric.

“Today when a beneficiary has to access government schemes, he/she has to fill up lengthy, often complicated forms and give a lot of information repeatedly. There is a need to have a critical look at the current procedures and forms in use in various departments and ministries in the government. There is a need to eliminate layers of decision making for adding speed to the disposal mechanism. There is a need to specify one page forms seeking essential information for upholding the dignity of our citizens,” Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said in a press conference.

Similar Story

‘My Body Is My Business’: Nimrat Kaur’s Hard-Hitting Message on Weight-Shaming

Trolled for gaining 15 kgs for the role of Bimla Devi in Dasvi, Nimrat Kaur shared her experience and learnings in a powerful message that is going viral on Instagram.

Read more >

The Department of Personnel and Training will hold workshops every month with at least two government departments to discuss how to make forms simpler and ideally not more than one page in length.

Source: Flickr

The key principles underlying this shift in practice are:

• The convenience of the beneficiary will be given more importance than the convenience of the department administering the scheme.
• The approach of the department towards citizens should be based on trust.
• The forms should be as simple as possible, and ideally should not be longer than a single A4 page.
• The documents to be submitted along with the form should be easy for the beneficiary to obtain.
• The intended benefit must reach the beneficiary quickly and with dignity.

Featured image source: Flickr

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).