The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, has released the 19th edition of its monthly ‘Secretariat Reforms’ report for February 2025. The report provides an extensive analysis of the ongoing initiatives aimed at transforming governance and administration through (i)Swachhata and Reducing Pendency to Minimum Levels (ii) Increasing Efficiency in Decision Making, (iii) e-Office Implementation and Analytics,

This edition also includes the following:

• Best Practices under "Citizen Centric Practices"
• In Focus: Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
• Cabinet Secretariat Directions on e-Office Implementation

Key Highlights of the February 2025 Report:

1. Swachhata & Reduction in Pendency:

• Cleanliness drives were conducted successfully at 5,825 sites nationwide.
• Approximately 3.47 lakh sq. ft of office space has been freed, with top contributors being the Ministry of Coal (1,41,721 sq. ft) and Ministry of Railways (51,928 sq. ft).
• Rs 156.41 Crore in revenue generated from scrap disposal, with significant contributions from Ministries such as Railways, Heavy Industries, and Coal.
• Effective record management saw 1,74,565 physical files reviewed, with 1,05,818 files weeded out, alongside reviewing 67,457 e-Files and closing 38,451 of them.
• Disposal of 4,80,422 public grievances (91.21% disposed), along with the disposal of 762 MP references, 291 state government references.

2.     Best Practices: Citizen-Centric Initiatives:

• Ministries and Departments implemented innovative citizen-centric practices, enhancing transparency and public accessibility. Examples include:
  • RTI & Public Grievances Office at Electronics Niketan, Ministry of Electronics and Information, Technology
  • Infrastructure enhancements at BEL Brij Vihar Colony, Ghaziabad, Department of Defence.
  • Improved facilities at Department of Public Enterprises, Ministry of Finance.
  • Rooftop revamp for secure storage at Aayakar Bhawan, Kolkata, Central Board of Direct Taxes.

3.    Increasing Efficiency in Decision Making and e-Office Implementation & Analytics:

• The adoption of delayering initiatives has significantly reduced the average distinct transaction levels for active files from 7.19 in 2021 to 4.24 as of February 2025.
• 92.70% of the files created in February 2025 were e-Files, improving from 92.56% in January 2025.
  • • 94.55% of receipts processed were e-Receipts, with 37 Ministries/Departments achieving 100% e-Files adoption at remarkable levels. 19Ministries/Department have 100% share of e-Receipts for Feb’25.
• A notable reduction in inter-ministerial file movements to 2,959 files, compared to 3,238 in January 2025, indicating streamlined administrative processes.

These initiatives underscore the Government of India’s ongoing commitment to digitally enabled, transparent, efficient, and citizen-focused governance, aligning with the broader goal of administrative excellence and responsive public administration.

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NKR/PSM