Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr. Jitendra Singh called upon States and Union Territories to work in closer coordination with the Centre, as a part of "whole of the government" approach and thereby also enable themselves to modernise personnel administration, address procedural delays and strengthen capacity building across services.

Addressing the Annual Conference of Secretaries (Personnel/GAD) of States and UTs, the Minister said governance reforms over the past decade have focused on simplification of rules, greater use of technology and a shift towards outcome-oriented administration to improve public service delivery.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said a key feature of reforms undertaken by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has been the conscious removal of outdated and cumbersome rules, rather than the addition of new layers of regulation. He noted that nearly 1,600–1,700 rules have been repealed, including the requirement of attestation of certificates, and that objective recruitment reforms such as doing away with interviews in certain examinations have helped improve transparency and efficiency.

Emphasising the importance of continuous learning, the Minister highlighted Mission Karmayogi as a central pillar of capacity building, which has expanded from serving in-service officers to new recruits and is now being extended to elected representatives at the local body level.

Raising concerns over service-related issues, Dr. Jitendra Singh flagged delays in cadre reviews, observing that prolonged pendency affects both administrative efficiency and public perception. He urged senior officials to take greater ownership in resolving long-pending matters and cautioned against allowing administrative processes to stall in the absence of specific judicial directions. He also referred to discussions around the Unified Pension Scheme, noting that misconceptions persist and stressing the need for States to carry accurate information to stakeholders. Underscoring the Centre’s emphasis on openness and cooperative federalism, the Minister encouraged States to share feedback candidly and engage proactively with the Centre.

During the interactive session, representatives from several States highlighted operational challenges relating to central deputation, cadre reviews and service management. States pointed out that difficulties in relieving officers for central deputation often arise from staffing constraints and service conditions, while others drew attention to acute shortages caused by long-pending cadre reviews and an increase in districts and administrative workload. Responding to these concerns, the Minister noted that while local realities must be recognised, ad-hoc relaxations could undermine uniformity across States.

Secretary, DoPT, Rachna Shah, emphasised that cadre review proposals submitted by States need to be comprehensive and well-reasoned to enable timely processing, adding that significant progress has been made in completing IAS cadre reviews, with efforts underway to expedite pending IPS and IFS reviews as well. Issues relating to vigilance records and service data were also raised, with the Minister agreeing on the need for regular updating and corrective action where required.

Training and capacity building emerged as another major focus area of the discussions. States sought better advance intimation of training programmes to facilitate planning, while suggesting more effective use of digital communication channels. Responding to these points, Secretary, DoPT, said that training calendars are generally finalised well in advance and that reminders closer to programme dates are meant to ensure participation.

She highlighted the growing uptake of Mission Karmayogi and the iGOT platform by State officials, noting that a majority of learners are now from States and that an increasing number of courses are available in regional languages. She added that work is in progress to integrate iGOT with electronic HRMS and APAR systems to ensure seamless linkage between training and service records, and encouraged States to actively leverage these platforms.

Earlier, setting the broader context of the conference, the Secretary said the Centre–State engagement on personnel and administrative reforms is intended to be collaborative and participative. She outlined key reform initiatives undertaken under the guidance of the Union Minister, including recruitment reforms, expediting promotions, pension reforms, public grievance redressal and the rollout of digital governance platforms such as iGOT and e-HRMS. Describing State GAD and Personnel Secretaries as custodians of the administrative framework at the State level, she stressed that sustained reform would depend on trust, partnership and the sharing of best practices.

Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Sriram Taranikanti, highlighted implementation challenges in mid-career and induction training programmes for All India Services officers. He pointed to under-utilisation of training capacity due to late nominations and withdrawals, and urged States to systematically release officers for training to help clear backlogs over the next few years. He also called for closer coordination in identifying faculty, timely settlement of dues and greater involvement of State Administrative Training Institutes in sector-specific programmes to enable wider replication of training outcomes.

The conference, which brought together senior personnel administrators from across the country, served as a platform to exchange experiences, flag operational challenges and align reform priorities.

 

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NKR/AK

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