If all goes according to plan, Indian citizens will now have to fill only single-page forms to avail the benefits of various government services. This is a new practice that is being set in motion as part of citizen-centricity in governance.
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.
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
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