Driving Transparent Governance: 5th National Workshop on Sevottam and Grievance Redressal

In the inaugural session, Shri V. Srinivas delivered a compelling keynote presentation outlining pivotal reforms aimed at revolutionizing grievance redressal processes in India.

 

In alignment with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s emphasis on transparent, accountable, and citizen-centric governance, the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) successfully organized the 5th National Workshop on "Sevottam and Effective Redressal of Public Grievances" on April 25, 2025, at the Institute of Management in Government (IMG), Kerala.

The event was inaugurated in the esteemed presence of Shri K. Jayakumar, Director of IMG; Shri V. Srinivas, Secretary, DARPG; Ms. Jaya Dubey, Joint Secretary, DARPG; along with numerous senior officials from State Government Administrative Training Institutes (ATIs), Administrative Reforms (AR) Departments, and other associated organizations.

Keynote Address and Reforms Highlighted

In the inaugural session, Shri V. Srinivas delivered a compelling keynote presentation outlining pivotal reforms aimed at revolutionizing grievance redressal processes in India. He emphasized:

• Multilingual Grievance Support via the integration of Bhashini, enhancing accessibility across linguistic barriers.

• Advanced CPGRAMS (Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System) Features, including simplified interfaces, better tracking, and strengthened backend monitoring.

• Emphasis on enhanced citizen satisfaction by ensuring faster and more intuitive grievance resolution.

The session saw participation from 18 distinguished speakers representing the Government of Kerala, Government of India, reputed non-profit organizations, technological innovators, National Informatics Centre (NIC), and the National e-Governance Division (NeGD).

Practitioner-Oriented Sessions Across Key Themes

The Workshop unfolded through five intensive sessions, each meticulously designed to cover practical aspects and knowledge-sharing on:

• Best Practices in Public Grievance Redressal: State-level innovations, citizen charters, and proactive grievance management.

• Technology Tools for Grievance Redressal: Digital platforms, AI-driven grievance tracking, and real-time dashboards.

• Role of Non-Profit Organizations: Community engagement, policy advocacy, and on-ground grievance handling support.

An exclusive session led by the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), acting as the knowledge partner, proposed model capacity-building modules for State ATIs to enhance the skillsets of grievance redressal officers.

Professor Nirmalaya Bagchi from ASCI presented draft Sevottam Rules, initiating a robust discussion with State Governments on operationalizing quality benchmarks in grievance redress mechanisms.

Launch of New Models and Frameworks

Two major frameworks were unveiled during the workshop:

• Categorization Framework in CPGRAMS: Shri Chakravarthy T. Kannan, Secretary General of the Quality Council of India (QCI), shared insights into the evolving categorization system, aiming to make grievance filing more intuitive, citizen-centric, and less bureaucratic.

• Model for Ranking State Governments: The Centre for Good Governance (CGG), Hyderabad presented a draft ranking model to evaluate State Governments' performance on grievance redressal based on transparency, responsiveness, and citizen feedback.

Suggestions and feedback were actively solicited from participating State Governments and ATIs to refine these frameworks.

Participation from Distinguished Stakeholders

Key representatives included:

• Smt. Anu Kumari, District Collector, Trivandrum

• Smt. Veena Madhavan, Special Secretary, Administrative Reforms

• Shri Sreeram Sambasiva Rao, Special Secretary, IT, Government of Kerala

• Shri Amitabh Nag, CEO, Bhashini

• Shri K. Krishnakumar, CTO, e-Gov Foundation

• Shri Varun Hemachandran, Team Lead, Agami

• Professor Nisheeth Srivastava, IIT Kanpur

Their collective expertise highlighted the significance of cross-sector collaboration in driving systemic reforms.

Capacity Building and National Outreach

Under the Sevottam Scheme, DARPG has played a crucial role in supporting State ATIs/CTIs through financial aid to establish Sevottam Training Cells. Over the last three financial years (2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25):

• 756 training courses have been conducted.

• 24,942 officers across various State Governments have been trained in grievance redressal best practices.

Additionally, DARPG had earlier hosted two successful National Workshops on November 18, 2024, in New Delhi, and February 20, 2025, in Bhopal, gathering participants from Central Ministries, State Governments, and ATIs.

A Step Toward Responsive Governance

The 5th National Workshop served as a dynamic platform for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and collaborative policy evolution. It emphasized the critical need for citizen-first service delivery, backed by technological innovation, institutional reforms, and capacity development.

By reinforcing grievance redressal mechanisms, the government continues its steadfast journey towards realizing the vision of a transparent, participative, and accountable governance framework.