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The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) created by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to propose ways to scale to a knowledge-driven economy has recommended 10 steps that entail overhauling Government processes and creation of systems. NKC member Sam Pitroda said “it’s essential that we first redesign the Government process keeping the citizen at the center, replacing the old mistrust and control regime from the British Raj.”
The Commission felt that such reengineering will reduce the time and number of attempts made by citizens to avail Government services and would improve create audit trails to improve and measure accountability, efficiency, and transparency. Understanding the complexity of the services and the diversity of the nation, the Commission recommended that the Government choose 10 to 20 key citizen services and focus on making those workable.
Their 10-point recommendation is:
1) Redesign Government Processes to focus on the citizen
2) Choose 10 to 20 key citizen services to implement
3) Standardize programs across the country
4) Institute review of past programs to identify areas of learning and adoption of best practices
5) Build nation-wide infrastructure
6) Use Intranet and Internet based services and applications to gain productivity
7) Use open-source software and not reinvent the wheel with proprietary development
8) Create a position for a Chief Information Officer in each state
9) Create budgets to implement these processes
10) Create autonomous bodies headed by a Chief Executive Officer who can be held accountable
Pitroda pointed out several areas that can be standardized across the nation including voting, taxation, certification, law enforcement, property and land issues, and business management.
On the sidelines, the NKC also voted 8-2 vote that there is dire need to
review the quota based Reservation prevalent in the nation.
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