Process of Planning in India, Planning Commission in India Process of planning in India takes place in three major steps- formulation,

implementation and evaluation of the plan. It is essential to follow these steps in order to make the plan as effective as possible. Process of planning in India takes place in three steps- formulating the plan, its implementation and the evaluation. Over the years and due to the political pressures two new aspects have been added to the process, namely decentralization and popular participation. These are briefly discussed below. Plan Formulation The process of plan formulation takes place in a series of steps. The first step in the process of formulating the plan is for the Commission to prepare, on a rough basis, certain schemes and projects in consultation with the union ministries and state governments in the background of the Perspective Plan; to determine some kind of priority; to take stock of the available resources; and to distribute these resources among the different agencies on an approximate basis. These estimates and projections are then placed before the National Development Council (NDC) and the schemes are modified in the light of discussions. These are then sent to the various union ministries and state governments in the form of preliminary instructions. Then begins the second stage where each union ministry and state government preparing its own plan. The machinery for planning is fairly well developed at the state level. After the states and the union ministries have submitted their plans to the commission, there begins the process of dovetailing the various schemes and programmes into an integrated plan. In this task the Commission consults representatives of different groups in the Indian Parliament. At the end of these exercises the draft plan is published and thrown open for discussion. The universities, the press, political parties, chambers of commerce and industry, trade organisation and other groups and individuals are free to give their comments on the draft. The next stage is the period of prolonged detailed discussion between the commission and the representatives of different state governments and the central government as a result of which the agreements as to the size and nature of state plans are reached. These tentative agreements are then placed before the cabinet and after its approval sent to the NDC and after the councils recommendations are given the final shape. The plan is then presented to the Parliament and after its approval it is published. Plan Implementation It should be noted here that the Commission is an advisory body and has no executive functions. It is only a national organ for plan formulation and a staff body to advise the cabinet. The task of implementation is left to the union ministries and state governments. It is in this field that efforts have been made to introduce the two concepts of democratic decentralisation and the popular participation, particularly after the introduction of the Panchayati Raj in the country. Plan Evaluation Evaluation is the last of the three stages in the process. One of the functions of the Commission

is to appraise from time to time the progress achieved in the execution of each stage of the plan and make recommendations for necessary adjustment. The Commission makes such appraisal through: 1) Monthly reports of selected projects, quarterly reviews of the working of the plan and the annual progress reports obtained form the union ministries and the state governments. 2) The advisors who visit the states within their charge and study at first hand the working of the development programmes; and 3) Through the machinery of the Committee on Plan Projects. In addition, there is the Programme Evaluation Organisation set up 1952. The Programme Evaluation Organisation (PEO) undertakes evaluation of selected programmes/schemes under implementation, as per the requirement of the various Divisions of Planning Commission and Ministries/Departments of Government of India. The evaluation studies are designed to assess the performance, process of implementation, effectiveness of the delivery systems and impact of programmes. The Programmed Evaluation Organisation which functions as an independent unit of the Commission. Thus discussed above is a step-by-step analysis of the planning process in India.

Law and Order

The Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for matters relating to the internal security of the country and enacts laws for the functioning of the criminal justice system.

Police
The Police force in the country is entrusted with the responsibility of maintenance of public order and prevention and detection of crimes. Each state and union territory of India has its own separate police force. Article 246 of the Constitution of India (External website that opens in a new window) designates the police as a state subject, which means that the state governments frame the rules and regulations that govern each police force. These rules and regulations are contained in the police manuals of each state force.

The Police force in the state is headed by the Director General of Police/Inspector General of Police. Each State is divided into convenient territorial divisions called ranges and each police range is under the administrative control of a Deputy Inspector General of Police. A number of districts constitute the range. District police is further sub-divided into police divisions, circles and police-stations. Besides the civil police, states also maintain their own armed police and have separate intelligence branches, crime branches, etc. Police set-up in big cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Pune, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack etc. is directly under a Commissioner of Police who enjoys magisterial powers. All senior police posts in various states are manned by the Indian Police Services (IPS) cadres, recruitment to which is made on all-India basis. The Central Government maintains Central Police forces, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) (External website that opens in a new window), institutions for training of police officers and forensic science institutions to assist the state in gathering intelligence, in maintaining law and order, in investigating special crime cases and in providing training to the senior police officers of the state governments.

Judiciary
India has one of the oldest legal systems in the world. The Preamble defines India as a 'Sovereign Democratic Republic', containing a federal system with Parliamentary form of Government in the Union and the States, an independent judiciary, guaranteed Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy containing objectives which though not enforceable in law, are fundamental to the governance of the nation. The fountain source of law in India is the Constitution which, in turn, gives due recognition to statutes, case law and customary law consistent with its dispensations. One of the unique features of the Indian Constitution is that, notwithstanding the adoption of a federal system and existence of Central Acts and State Acts in their respective spheres, it has generally provided for a single integrated system of Courts to administer both Union and State laws. At the apex of the entire judicial system, exists the Supreme Court of India (External website that opens in a new window) below which are the High Courts in each State or group of States. Below the High Courts lies a hierarchy of Subordinate Courts. Panchayat Courts also function in some States under various names like Nyaya Panchayat, Panchayat Adalat, Gram Kachheri, etc. to decide civil and criminal disputes of petty and local nature.

Justice & Law

The Constitution of the Republic of India guarantees, besides other rights, protection of life and personal liberty and provides adequate safeguards against the arbitrary deprivation thereof by the State.

Adoption of a Constitution by India in 1950 did not disturb continuity of existing laws and unified structure of courts. Unity and uniformity of the judicial structure were preserved by placing such areas of law as criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, will, succession, contract including special form of contract, but not including contract relating to agricultural land, registration of deeds and documents, evidence, etc., in the Concurrent List.

Source of Law
The main sources of law in India are the Constitution, statutes (legislation), customary law and case law. Statutes are enacted by Parliament, State legislatures and Union Territory legislatures. Besides, there is a vast body of laws known as subordinate legislation in the form of rules, regulations as well as bye-laws made by Central/State governments and local authorities like municipal corporations, municipalities, gram panchayats and other local bodies. This subordinate legislation is made under the authority conferred or delegated either by Parliament or State or Union Territory legislatures concerned. Judicial decisions of superior courts like Supreme Court and High Courts are important sources of law. Decisions of Supreme Court are binding on all courts within the territory of India. Local customs and conventions which are not against statute, morality, etc., are also recognised and taken into account by courts while administering justice in certain spheres.

Enactment of Laws
The Parliament is competent to make laws on matters enumerated in the Union List. State legislatures are competent to make laws on matters enumerated in the State List. Parliament alone has power to make laws on matters not included in the State or Concurrent List. On matters enumerated in the Concurrent List, laws can be made by both Parliament and legislatures. But in the event of repugnancy, law made by Parliament shall prevail and law made by State legislature, to the extent of repugnancy, be void unless the latter law having been reserved for consideration of President, has received his assent and in that event it shall prevail in that state.

Judiciary
At the apex of the entire judicial system exists Supreme Court of India with a High Court for each State or group of State and under High Courts; there is a hierarchy of subordinate courts. Panchayat courts also functional in some States under various names like Nyaya Panchayat, Panchayat Adalat, Gram Kachehri etc., to decide civil and criminal disputes of petty and local nature. Different State laws provide for jurisdiction of these courts. Each state is divided into judicial districts presided over by a district and sessions judge, who is the principal civil court of original jurisdiction and can try all offences including those punishable with death. He is the highest judicial authority in a district. Below him, there are courts of civil jurisdiction, known in different states as munsifs, sub-judges, civil judges and the like. Similarly, criminal judiciary comprises chief judicial magistrate and judicial magistrates of first and second class.

Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of India consists of 26 Judges (including the Chief Justice of India). The judges hold office until they attain the age of 65 years. The Supreme Court of India has original jurisdiction in any dispute arising:

Between the Government of India and one or more States. Between the Government of India and any State or States on the one side and one or more states on the other. Between two or more States.

An appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court from any judgment, decree or final order of a High Court in the territory of India, whether in a civil, criminal or other proceeding.

High Courts
High Court stands at the head of the State's Judicial Administration. There are 21 High Courts in the country, three having jurisdiction over more than one State. Among the Union Territories, Delhi alone has a High Court of its own. Other six Union Territories come under jurisdiction of different State High Courts. Each High Court comprises a Chief Justice and such other Judges as the President may, from time to time appoint. The Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the state. The procedure for appointing of the High Courts judges is the same except that the recommendation for the appointment of Judges in the High Court is initiated by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned. They hold office up to 62 years of age. To be eligible for appointment as a judge, one must be a citizen of India and should have held a judicial office in India for 10 years or must have practiced as an advocate of a High Court or two or more such courts in succession for a similar period. Each High Court has power to issue any person or authority and Government within its jurisdiction, direction, orders or writs, including writs which are in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, for enforcement of Fundamental Rights and for any other purpose. This power may also be exercised by any High Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to territories within which the cause of action, wholly or in part arises for exercise of such power, even if the seat of such Government or authority or residence of such person is not within those territories. The total sanctioned strength of Judges and additional judges in different High Courts is 678 against which 587 Judges were in position as on 26 June 2006. Table 19.1 gives the seat and territorial jurisdiction of the High Courts.

Health
A healthy citizen contributes to the making of a healthy nation. The Government of India has introduced various health programmes and policies to improve the Indian citizen's standard of

living. These efforts have paid rich dividends by way of increase in the life expectancy of males and females (External website that opens in a new window) at birth to 62 and 64 years respectively. Also, the infant mortality rate (less than five death rate) has fallen to 53 per thousand births. The issue of health comes under the purview of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(External website that opens in a new window) and its 3 departments; the Department of Health(External website that opens in a new window), Department of Family Welfare(External website that opens in a new window) and the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy(External website that opens in a new window). As part of its drive to educate and encourage a healthy lifestyle, the ministry promotes a website called Healthy India(External website that opens in a new window). The 'Citizen Health' section of our website offers information about the various health schemes launched by the government, resources on different aspects of health care as well as a list of hospitals and medical institutions in the country. Other than this, we also provide information about alternative systems of medicine, medical insurance, family welfare and rehabilitation.

Government Aided Schemes/Programs/Projects

Government aided schemes and programmes are run by the Central Government for the health and welfare of the citizens. The people of the country are one of its most valuable resources. These programmes are aimed at increasing the standard of health of the people and decreasing the incidence of disease and death due to illness. The government aided schemes include immunization drives, special steps to deal with epidemics, programmes for elimination of dangerous diseases, and numerous education and training programmes. According to the Indian Constitution (External website that opens in a new window), the subject of 'Health' comes under the purview of State governments (External website that opens in a new window). This means that the State Governments are responsible for maintaining and bettering the health of the people who live under its jurisdiction. The main policy, framework and support is enumerated by the Centre while the States devise their own models of accomplishing the Central Government's health related goals.

Programmes and Schemes

The Ministry of Women and Child Development (External website that opens in a new window) has come up with several schemes deciding the norms of child nutrition. These are:

National Guidelines on Infants and Young Child Feeding (File referring to external site opens in a new window) : these guidelines emphasize the importance of breast feeding. Breast feeding must commence immediately after birth and continue exclusively for six months before other forms of milk are introduced. Appropriate and adequate complementary feeding must commence there after and breast-feeding can continue for up to two years. National Nutrition Policy (File referring to external site opens in a new window) : was adopted by the Government of India in 1993 under the aegis of the Department of Women and Child Development. It advocated a multi-sectoral strategy for eradicating malnutrition and achieving optimum nutrition for all. The policy advocates the monitoring the nutrition levels across the country and sensitising government machinery on the need for good nutrition and prevention of malnutrition. The National Nutrition Policy also includes the Food and Nutrition Board, which develops posters, audio jingles and video spots for disseminating correct facts about breastfeeding and complementary feeding. The Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (External website that opens in a new window): is one of the most comprehensive schemes on child development in the country and perhaps in the world. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (External website that opens in a new window) has been running the scheme since 1975 in pursuance of the National Policy for Children (External website that opens in a new window). It aims at providing services to pre-school children in an integrated manner so as to ensure proper growth and development of children in rural, tribal and slum areas. This centrally sponsored scheme also monitors nutrition of children. Udisha (External website that opens in a new window): in Sanskrit means the first rays of the new dawn. It is a nationwide training component of the World Bank (External website that opens in a new window) assisted Women and Child Development Project (External website that opens in a new window). Udisha has been cleared with an outlay of about Rs.600 crores for five years. UNICEF is also a technical collaborator in the Project. The programmes aims to train child care workers across the country. Its scope reaches as far are remote villages. o Training Programmes under Udisha (External website that opens in a new window) o The Udisha Team (External website that opens in a new window) o Udisha at the State level (External website that opens in a new window) National Policy for Children (External website that opens in a new window) lays down that the State shall provide adequate services towards children, both before and after birth and during the growing stages for their full physical, mental and social development. National Charter for Children emphasizes Government of India's commitment to children's rights to survival, health and nutrition, standard of living, play and leisure, early childhood care, education, protection of the girl child, empowering adolescents, equality, life and liberty, name and nationality, freedom of expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, the right to a family and the right to be protected from economic exploitation and all forms of abuse. National Plan of Action for Children (External website that opens in a new window) includes goals, objectives, strategies and activities for improving the nutritional status of children, reducing Infant Mortality Rate, increasing enrolment ratio, reducing drop out rates, universalisation of primary education and increasing coverage for immunization. Other Schemes Include: o Balika Samriddhi Yojana (BSY) (External website that opens in a new window) o Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) (External website that opens in a new window) o Nutrition Programme for Adolescent Girls (NPAG) (External website that opens in a new window)

o o o o o o o o o o

Early Childhood Education for 3-6 Age Group Children Under the Programme of Universalization of Elementary Education (External website that opens in a new window) Scheme for welfare of Working Children in need of Care and Protection (External website that opens in a new window) An Integrated Programme for Street Children (External website that opens in a new window) Child line Services (External website that opens in a new window) Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) (External website that opens in a new window) Rajiv Gandhi National Crche Scheme For the Children of Working Mothers (File referring to external site opens in a new window) Programme for Juvenile Justice (External website that opens in a new window) General Grant-in-Aid Scheme (External website that opens in a new window) Pilot Project to Combat the Trafficking of Women and Children for Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Destination Areas (External website that opens in a new window) Mid-day Meal Scheme (External website that opens in a new window) National Crche Fund

Family Welfare Schemes

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has a number of schemes to cover the underprivileged sections of society and help them with maternity, post and neo-natal healthcare and family planning. These include the Janani Suraksha Yojana (File referring to external site opens in a new window) , Rehabilitation of Polio Victims and several financial assistance schemes for surgery and other health problems. Counseling centres are also available across the country as part of the government sponsored family welfare schemes.

Several important schemes are listed below:

National Family Welfare Programme (External website that opens in a new window) - India launched the National Family Welfare Programme in 1951 with the objective of "reducing the birth rate to the extent necessary to stabilise the population at a level consistent with the requirement of the National economy. The Family Welfare Programme in India is recognised as a priority area, and is being implemented as a 100% centrally sponsored programme. National Population Policy (External website that opens in a new window) - The National Population Policy, 2000 affirms the commitment of government towards voluntary and informed choice and consent of citizens while availing of reproductive health care services and continuation of the target free approach in administering family planning services. National Rural Health Mission (File referring to external site opens in a new window) - The National Rural Health Mission (2005-12) seeks to provide effective healthcare to rural population throughout the country with special focus on 18 states, which have weak public health indicators and/or weak infrastructure. The mission aims at effective integration of health concerns with determinants of health like sanitation and hygiene, nutrition and safe drinking water through a District Plan for Health.

Urban Family Welfare Schemes (External website that opens in a new window) - This Scheme was introduced following the recommendation of the Krishnan Committee in 1983. The main focus was to provide services through setting up of Health Posts mainly in slum areas. The services provided are mainly outreach of RCH services, preventive services, First Aid and referral services including distribution of contraceptives. Sterilization Beds Scheme (External website that opens in a new window) - A Scheme for reservation of Sterilization beds in Hospital sun by Government, Local Bodies and Voluntary Organisations was introduced as early as in the year 1964 in order to provide immediate facilities for tubectomy operations in hospitals where such cases could not be admitted due to lack of beds etc. But later with the introduction of the Post Partum Programme some of the beds were transferred to Post Partum Programme and thereafter the beds were only sanctioned to hospitals sun by Local Bodies and Voluntary Organisations. Reproductive and Child Health Programme (External website that opens in a new window) - The Reproductive and Child Health Programme was launched in October 1997 incorporating new approach to population and development issues, as exposed in the International Conference in Population and Development held at Cairo in 1994.The programme integrated and strengthened in services/interventions under the Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme and Family Planning Services and added to the basket of services, new areas on Reproductive Tract/Sexually Transmitted infections (RTI/STI).

Elementary Education
Education has been a thrust sector ever since India attained Independence. The year 2010 was a landmark year for education in the country.The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, (External website that opens in a new window) representing the consequential legislation to the Constitutional (86th Amendment) Act, 2002, was enforced with effect from 1st April, 2010.The RTE Act secures the right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school. The government introduced the District Primary Education Programme in November 1994 to regulate the elementary education system in India. The programme aims at operationalising the strategies for achieving UEE through district specific planning and disaggregate target setting. There are other programmes for compulsory elementary education, especially for girls. The Kasturba Gandhi Shiksha Yojana aims at establishing residential schools for girls in all districts, which have a particularly low female literacy rate. Institutes like National Bal Bhavan (External website that opens in a new window) encourage children to pursue activities as per their liking, and thus enhance their creative potential. Other programmes such as the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (External website that opens in a new window) and the Mid-Day Meal Scheme (External website that opens in a new window) have been introduced with the intention of attracting more children (and parents) towards literacy. The RTE Act, 2009 (External website that opens in a new window) lays down norms and standards relating to pupil teacher ratios, buildings and infrastructure, school working days and teacher working hours.

Higher Education
Since ancient times, India has been a centre of excellence in the field of higher education. Nalanda, Vikramashila and Takshashila were few of the oldest universities in the world and were the most renowned seats of higher education during their time. Students' from far off countries came to study in these universities. Today India has one of the largest higher education systems in the world and also some world-class institutions for higher education. The present system of higher education dates back to Mountstuart Elphinstone's minutes of 1823, which stressed on the need for establishing schools for teaching English and the European sciences. Subsequently, the universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were set up in 1857, followed by the university of Allahabad in 1887. The first attempt to formulate a national system of education in India came in 1944, with the Report of the Central Advisory Board of Education on Post War Educational Development in India, which recommended the formation of a University Grants Committee, which was formed in 1945 to oversee the work of the three Central Universities of Aligarh, Banaras and Delhi. After independence, a full-fledged Ministry of Education was established on 29th August 1947. In 1952, the Union Government decided that all cases pertaining to the allocation of grants-in-aid from public funds to the Central Universities and other Universities and Institutions of higher learning might be referred to the University Grants Commission (UGC). The UGC was formally established in November 1956 as a statutory body of the Government of India through an Act of Parliament for the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education in India. In order to ensure effective region-wise coverage throughout the country, the UGC has decentralised its operations by setting up six regional centres at Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Guwahati and Bangalore. The head office of the UGC is located in New Delhi.

Organisations involved in the higher education system of the country

University Grants Commission (UGC) (External website that opens in a new window) has the unique distinction of being the only grant-giving agency in the country which has been vested with two responsibilities: that of providing funds and that of coordination, determination and maintenance of standards in institutions of higher education. Some of the statutory professional councils include:

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) (External website that opens in a new window) Distance Courses Institutes (External website that opens in a new window) Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) (External website that opens in a new window) Bar Council of India (BCI) (External website that opens in a new window) National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) (External website that opens in a new window) Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) (External website that opens in a new window) Medical Council of India (MCI) (External website that opens in a new window) Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) (External website that opens in a new window)

Dental Council of India (DCI) (External website that opens in a new window) Central Council of Homeopathy (CCH) (External website that opens in a new window) Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) (External website that opens in a new window)

Department of Education (External website that opens in a new window) under the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development is responsible for improving the overall education scenario of the country as well as planning and implementing various programmes and policies of the government related to education.

Provisions of the Constitution of India having a bearing on Education (External website that opens in a new window) Autonomous Organisations of Department of Higher Education

Communication and IT
Electronics and Information Technology is the fastest growing segment of the Indian Industry both in terms of production and export. Today, the electronics industry is completely de-licensed with the exception of aerospace and defence electronics. Along with the liberalization in foreign investment and export-import policies of the entire economy, this sector is attracting considerable interest not only as a vast market but also as a potential production base by/for international companies. In recent times, 'Software Development and IT Enabled Services' have emerged as a niche opportunity for India in the global context. The Government is taking all necessary steps to make India, a global information technology superpower and a front-runner in the age of information revolution. The Government has announced promotion of Information Technology as one of the top five priorities of the country and has constituted a National Task Force on Information Technology and Software Development.

E-Governance
National e-Governance Plan
The Government of India has approved the NeGP in May 2006 with the vision: "Make all Government services accessible to the common man in his locality, throughout common service delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency & reliability of such services at affordable costs to realize the basic needs of the common man". The NeGP currently consists of 27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) and 8 Support Components to be implemented at the Central, State and Local Government levels. These include Projects such as Income Tax, Customs & Excise & Passports at the Central Level, Land Records, Agriculture and e-District at the State Level and Panchayats and Municipalities at the Local Level. There are also a number of Integrated MMPs like e-Procurement, Service Delivery

Gateway and EDI which are integrated MMPs where delivery of services envisaged in the project entail coordinated implementation across multiple Departments of Government.

The Service Delivery Infrastructure

While the mission Mode Projects would enable the backend computerization of various departments, thereby e-enabling them for any time anywhere service delivery, to achieve the vision of providing government services at the doorstep of the citizen, a common service delivery platform is being created. The three important elements that form the basis of this effective service delivery framework are, State Wide Area networks (SWANs), the front-end outlets for the service delivery i.e. Common Service Centres (CSCs) and the State Data Centres (SDCs), as detailed below:

State Wide Area Network (SWANs)

Government has approved the scheme for establishing State Wide Area Networks (SWANs) in 29 States and 6 UTs across the country at a total cost of Rs.3334 crore. This scheme envisages establishment of an intra-government network with a minimum of 2 Mbps connectivity from the State Headquarters to Block Headquarters through District Headquarters. The SWAN project provides the connectivity to facilitate the rolling out of citizen centric services under various Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) under NeGP. The scheme has two implementation options PPP Model: The first option is to call for a bid from private entities, which would set up and operate this SWAN in the State for a period of five years. The payments to the successful bidder would begin only after the infrastructure has been set up. The contract signed with the private party provides for strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and there is a provision of penalties to be imposed on the party should it fail to meet those service levels. o NIC Model: In the second model the State has the option for going directly to the NIC and the NIC would set up and maintain the SWAN for the State for a period of 5 years. Common Services Centres (CSCs)
o

Government of India has approved the scheme of establishing Common Service Centres (CSCs) across the country. The CSC scheme envisages the establishment of 100,000 broadband Internet - enabled kiosks in rural areas, which would deliver government and private services at the doorstep of the citizens. An additional 10,000 CSCs would be set up in the semi-urban/urban areas. Visualizing a honeycomb pattern with one village surrounded by 6 villages, this implies that each village would have a CSC either within its own area or in an adjoining village. The CSC scheme would be a bottom-up model for delivery of content and services like e-governance, education, entrepreneur driven, Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. Under the scheme, the Government is again not required to incur any capital expenditure up front. The State Government would call for bids from private parties called Service Centre Agencies (SCAs). The bidding parameter is the quantum of support that the SCAs would need for setting up and operating and running these centres over 4 years. The CSCs are also expected to be operational in most States

by end 2008. Currently, the bid process for selection of the Service Centres has been completed for a total of 92560 CSCs in 19 States. Out of this, the work has been actually awarded in 11 States covering 61491 CSCs.
Connectivity for the Last Mile: The CSC scheme requires broadband connectivity infrastructure in rural areas reaching up to the village level. Towards this end the DIT and the Department of Telecom (DOT) are in the process of implementing a connectivity plan dovetailed with the roll-out of the CSC scheme, which would not only provide connectivity for these CSCs, but would make broadband connections available in those areas for any other agency, whether government or private, should it so require. Thus while being the end user of broadband; the CSCs have also to act as a catalyst in ushering in broadband into rural areas. The connectivity infrastructure is being created through three distinct initiatives. the first two seek to use the infrastructure already created by the BSNL for last mile connectivity, and the third seeks to use the resources available under the USOF. o Leveraging BSNL rural exchanges: Existing BSNL rural OFC- exchanges (approximately 20,000) are being upgraded to allow them to provide broadband (512 Kbps) connectivity to about 25,000 CSCs, with partial funding support from DIT. These exchanges once upgraded would also be able to provide connections within a radius of 4-5 kms to other users as well. o Wireless Connectivity from BSNL: In those areas where there is no other existing telecom service providers (TSPs), BSNL towers are being used to provide wireless broadband connectivity with partial funding support from DIT. It is expected that a further 25,000 CSCs would be able to be connected in this manner. o Last mile connectivity through USOF: The USOF will be inviting existing TSPs to provide last mile connectivity with funding provided by the USOF. This initiative would provide connectivity to the remaining 50,000 CSCs. State Data Centres (SDCs)
o

State Data Centres are proposed to be established across 29 States & 6 UTs in the country along with Disaster Recovery (DR) in order to provide shared, secured and managed infrastructure for consolidating and securely hosting State level data and applications. SDC would provide better operations and management control and minimize overall cost of Data Management, IT management, deployment etc. SDCs would ordinarily be located at the State Headquarters and help the State Government, State Line Ministries and Departments in providing central repository (database consolidation), application consolidation, State Intranet/Internet portal. State messaging infrastructure, remote management, business continuity site etc. needed for their G2G, G2C and G2B services. The various Mission Mode Projects (MMPs), both at the Central level, State level and also the integrated services of the NeGP are expected to use SDCs to deliver their services. The SDC scheme was approved by the Government in January 2008 at a total cost of Rs.1633 crore. DIT has sanctioned SDC proposals of 23 States at a total cost of 1077 crore.

Capacity Buliding

In order to implement NeGP pervasively and vigorously there is a felt need to build capacities to conceptualise and develop e-Governance initiatives and thereafter monitor and supervise its time bound implementation. Specialized skills are required at the State/UTs as well as at the Central level to provide technical support to the policy & decision-making process as well as to manage implementation and oversee the transformation. The skill sets that are typically needed are in the areas of Programme Management, Developing Business and Financial Models, Technology, Enterprise Architecture, Business Process Re-engineering and Change Management. Except certain technical competencies, these skills typically are largely missing within the government. In this context, Capacity Building has been included in the 'implementation approach and methodology' of NeGP and addresses the 'Human Resource Development' and 'Training' Components of NeGP. Government of India has in January 2008 approved a Capacity Building Scheme for setting up State e-Mission Teams (SeMT) at a total cost of Rs.313 crore. The objectives of the Scheme are:
o

o o

Establishing of institutional Framework for State Level Strategic decision making including setting-up of State e-Governance Mission Team (SeMT), initial handholding for State MMPs etc. Imparting specialized training for SeMTs & decision makers & knowledge sharing. Strengthening of Training Institutions in States.

e-District

e-District has been selected as a National MMP under the NeGP and is to be implemented by the DIT. The objective of the MMP is to undertake the backend computerization of a number of high volume citizen services, which are being provided at the District level, by the District Administration to enable the delivery of these services through the CSCs. A core set of 6 category of services have been identified at the national level which have to be implemented across all Districts and the States can make their own choice of another set of 4 services which are the States' own priority for implementation. The guidelines for e-District have been circulated and currently DIT has sanctioned pilots in 12 States. Once the pilots are implemented, the lessons learnt from these pilots would be taken into account and a Scheme would be formatted for implementation of the MMP across the country.

India Portal

India Portal is a Mission Mode Project in the integrated service category under the NeGP being implemented by NIC. The MMP is to create a Unified portal providing 'single window access' to information and G2C services to be electronically delivered from all state sector institutions and organizations. The First version of Portal is operational now and was released by Hon'ble MCIT on 10th Nov'05 and the portal address is http://india.gov.in. The main sections of Portal include Government corner, Citizen Business, Overseas, Know India, Government services. Content repositories (Forms, Documents, Maps), sectors, Tenders etc. National Portal Coordinators (NPCs) have been identified from 35 States/UT who are responsible for the content development, compilation and maintenance. A web based Content Management System (CMS)

interface has been developed to facilitate the contribution of government information & services on to the national Portal by (NPCs). The Hindi version of the India Portal is ready for the launch and other languages would follow subsequently. There has been an attempt by the National Portal to bring together all online services offered by the Central and State Government under a single umbrella for different categories of services like G2G, G2E, G2C and G2B. Around 303 new services offered by different State Governments have been added. About 372 new rules and 767 Acts of different States have been contributed to the National Portal and 1654 forms are published on the portal.

Standards

An apex Body under Chairmanship of Secretary, DIT has been constituted with senior representatives from Government, NASSCOM, BIS with a mandate to approve, notify & enforce Standards formulated by Working Groups. Working Groups with members from DIT, Associations, Industry, Academia, Central & State Government have been constituted with the approval of DIT. Working Groups have been constituted in the area of open standards, technical standards, metadata and data standards, conformity assessment framework network and information security and localization and language technology standards.

National Service Delivery Gateway

The National e-Governance Service Delivery Gateway (NSDG), a MMP under the NeGP is a standards-based messaging switch providing seamless interoperability and exchange of data. It aims to achieve a high order of interoperability among autonomous and heterogeneous entities of the Government (in the Centre, State or Local bodies), based on a framework of e-Governance Standards. NSDG as a messaging middleware acts as an intelligent hub and routes services requests from a Service Seeker (Service Access Provider) to a Service Provider (typically a backend Government department that puts up its service for electronic delivery) and in return sends the response back to the Service Seeker through the Gateway. The gateway achieves integration amongst diverse set of applications built on varying platforms through compliance with a set of e-Governance Specifications interoperability Interface Protocol and interoperability Interface Specifications (IIP/IIS) that are based on open standards such as the W3C, XML and SOAP specifications.

UID for Residents

The Planning Commission requested the DIT to provide Unique ID to BPL population to monitor Poverty Alleviation Programmes & EGS. A pilot Scheme for Rs.46.7 crores was approved by DIT in January 2006. The objective of the scheme was to create a Central Database & generate UID for residents primarily for effective reach of social sector benefits. Currently, a central database of 68.77 crore records has been created and work is going on for a Proof of Concept to look at integrating the National Population Register and the UID. An Empowered

Group of Ministers (EGOM) was also constituted to go into the modalities of collating the two Schemes, which had a number of commonalities, namely the UID Scheme of DIT and the MNIC Project of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The EGOM in its last meeting approved the proposed strategy for collation of the UID and NPR and also approved the creation of a UID Authority under the aegis of the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission is currently working on obtaining financial approvals for the creation of the UID Authority.

Assessment
As part of its mandate under the NeGP, the DIT is also undertaking independent assessment of eGovernance Projects in the country. During the first phase of assessment of 3 Projects under the State MMp category and 3 Projects under the Central MMp category were taken up for the assessment. The Projects undertaken for assessment in the State category were Land Records, Registration and Transport. The assessment of these projects was done in 13 States. The Central Projects assessed were MCA21, Income Tax and Passport. The assessment was done by 11 empanelled agencies on defined parameters through in person survey methodology. The highlights of the findings of the State MMP assessment are given below:

Number of trips to office reduced significantly Waiting Time reduced significantly in Property Registration and marginally in Transport and Land Records. Reduction in corruption seen in Computerization of Land Records. Property Registration shows marginal impact on corruption across all States. In Transport, corruption reduction is negligible except in one state where it has been virtually eliminated. Citizens show overwhelming preference for computerized systems in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttrakhand and Tamil Nadu.

Postal Mechanisation, Modernisation and Computerisation

Computerisation and Networking of Post Offices:
By the end of March 2009, the Department of Posts (External website that opens in a new window) supplied computer and its peripherals like printers, scanner weighing scales, modems, etc. along with requisite power equipment like Gensets, UPS, etc. to all Head Post Offices and a large number of sub post offices. A Total of 9939 post offices have been computerised by March 2009. The National Information Centre (NIC) is also implementing a WAN (Wide Area Network) connecting all the Head Post Offices, Administrative Offices, Major Speed Post Centres and Accounts Offices. Till March 2009, 1274 offices have been linked through this network. National Data Centre has also been set up at New Delhi and Mysore and this Data Centre has been connected in the WAN.

Computerisation of Registration Sorting:

As a part of the modernization programme, computerisation of the registration sorting work in major mail offices has been undertaken. A beginning in this regard was made during the financial year 1995-96 by computerising registration-sorting work at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai. Up to 31 March 2006, registration-sorting work in 103 mail offices has been computerised.

Computerisation of Transit Mail Offices: Another area identified for computerisation is the Transit Mail Offices (TMOs). The TMOs have a vital role in the smooth handling and transmission of closed mail bags. Two TMOs, namely, Delhi Airport TMO and Bombay Airport TMO, were computerized during the financial year 1996-97. Twenty-eight TMOs were computerised till 31 March 2006. Computerisation of Head Record Offices (HROs): As a part of modernization programme, computerisation of the Head Record Office (HRO) for proper maintenance of valuable records their prompt retrieval and efficient office management has been undertaken. A beginning in this regard was made during the financial year 1997-98 by computerising HRO, Hyderabad Sorting Division. 70 HROs were computerised up to 31 March 2006. Transmission of Money Orders through the VSAT Satellite Network: To cut down the transmission time for sending money order across the country, Money Order are now transmitted through a VSAT Satellite network of 150 VSAT stations and 1485 Extended Satellite Money Order (ESMOs) stations. This has resulted in faster delivery of money orders to the customers. Automatic Mail Processing Centre (AMPC): Automatic Mail Processing Centre help to sort mails faster leading to quicker delivery. Two AMPC were set up in Mumbai and Chennai in 1993 and 1996 respectively. Two more AMPC at Delhi & Kolkata have now been approved for installation during the 10 Five- Year Plan. The AMPC will have high speed sorting machines, which can sort 30,000 letters per hour. Modernisation of Operative Offices (Improving Ergonomics): To enable modernisation of post offices through improving ergonomics in the Tenth Plan there is a target to modernise 811 Post Offices. Upto 2005-06, 552 Post Offices have been modernised and the remaining post offices will be modernized during 2006-07. Modernisation of Mail Offices: To improve the ergonomics and ambience of the Mail offices these are being modernised with better operational equipments and improved furniture. The project was started during the financial year 1995-96, when 22 Mail Offices were modernised. By 31 March 2006, 269 Mail Offices were modernised.

General Overview
Foreign trade has played a crucial role in India's economy growth. The composition and direction of India's foreign trade has undergone substantial changes, particularly, after the liberalization process which began in the early 1990s. Our major exports now includes manufacturing goods such as Engineering Goods, Petroleum Products, Chemicals & Related Products, Gems & Jewellery, Textiles, Electronic Goods, etc. which constitute over 80 per cent of our export basket. On the other hand, major import items constitute capital goods and intermediates which not only support the manufacturing sector but also supply raw-materials for the export oriented units. Over the years, India's trade with countries of Asia & ASEAN and Africa has gone up substantially. Apart from that, India

is now a major player in global trading system and all the major sectors of Indian economy are linked to world outside either directly or indirectly through international trade.

PRODUCTIVITY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

CONCEPTS OF PUBLIC SECTOR PRODUCTIVITY

There is no precise definition of public sector productivity, and so the report set out from the emerging consensus that public sector productivity involves effectiveness (in terms of outcomes) as well as efficiency (in terms of the ratio of outputs to inputs). The literature shows wide agreement with that general proposition, but there is less agreement beyond that, even on the meaning of terms such as output, outcome, objectives, performance indicators and so on. Two questions really show why public sector productivity is such a contentious issue: Are citizens being provided with what they need? How could the services citizens need be provided more cost-effectively? In the private sector, where goods and services are provided for the market, productivity is defined simply as the ratio of outputs to inputs; that is, how does a measurable volume of what is produced compare to the volume of resources that goes into producing it? But, even in the private sector, there are many different benchmarks, and the choice between them depends not only on the purpose of the productivity measurement but also on the availability of data. The issue is further complicated by the fact that, in reality, the productivity with which a company or an individual worker operates is determined by many factors, some of which are independent of the company or worker. It gets more complex still in the public sector, where the mission is not to respond to what the market wants but to provide what society and citizens want, as expressed through their choice of government and the decisions made by that government. But the results of what the public sector does are influenced by not only what governments do but also how those actions and their results interact with other factors. Think of education, where the outcomes for any particular child are determined partly by what their school does, but also by other factors, such as their home life, their genetic inheritance and their familys income and wealth. So the outcomes of the public sector are the product of more than its outputs, and its effectiveness cannot be reduced to its efficiency, although both are important. Efficiency has both qualitative and quantitative characteristics, which include the volume and cost of services, response times, error rates, accessibility, citizen satisfaction and so on. Effectiveness is a matter of whether or not services are provided in accordance with the priorities and objectives of government, and produce the expected or desired impacts. This is similar to the distinction made in economic theory between allocative efficiency (i.e. whether the right things are being produced) and technical efficiency (i.e. whether they are produced in the right way). However, the public sector doesnt just aim to maximise the satisfaction of customers but must deliver for society as a whole, while also fulfilling the particular rights, needs and wishes of minority groups and individuals.

One way to look at the particular role of the public sector is to think of it as creating public value, which has three interconnected components: services, outcomes and trust. The public value of services is expressed not only in user satisfaction but also in the ethos and culture expressed in their delivery. Outcomes are produced in part by services directly, but also by the effects of those services interacting with other social and cultural activities and forces. Trust is more difficult to pin down but is arguably the most important. It is at the heart of the relationship between citizens and government, and even if formal service and outcome targets are met, a failure of trust will effectively undermine public value.

HistoricalPerspective

The question of public sector productivity can also be explored by looking at the historical debates about what the public sector is for, how it should operate and how it should be evaluated. The report describes the history of public sector productivity in terms of the various phases of public management models over the last century. In short, it began in the early 1900s when the approach to efficiency in public administration drew heavily on the scientific management theories of the time, which held that there was one best way to produce a defined product. There was later, from around the 1940s to the 1970s, a shift of focus to control of expenditure, and this was followed, from the 1980s, by a new approach, often referred to as new public management (NPM). This was ideologically motivated and advocated that public services should be delivered by the private sector or, at least, in ways characteristic of the private sector. A further phase may now be emerging, one that corresponds to the public value approach to public governance and management. This emerging phase does not do away with the need to measure outputs and outcomes, but complements it by evaluating also the relationships involved in governance and management, seeing these as indicative of capacity to improve services and outcomes.

2.3 Measurement
Like the definition of public sector productivity, its measurement is dependent on what the public sector is expected to do and how it is expected to do it. Finding the causal links between outcomes and inputs is fraught with difficulty, and, as it is easier to measure outputs, they are often measured instead. But judging the public sector and its employees by output targets may not only fail to measure the effectiveness with which they contribute to desired outcomes. It may also affect their behaviour so that they aim to meet their targets, even if doing so is not the best way, in particular circumstances, to achieve a desired outcome. Yet governments must be accountable, and this continually recreates this drive to produce what can be most easily measured. Just as productivity in the public sector began with the orthodox definition of measuring outputs against inputs, as in private sector production, so public sector productivity measurement systems began by measuring quantity of output and quantity of input. But because this left quality out of the equation, measurement systems were refined to include indicators such as timeliness and accessibility, and further complicated by attaching various quantified weights and measures to different qualities. While understandable from a public accountability point of view, because citizens are able to judge governments against measurable targets, the result can be disastrous from a public value point of view, because it can

lead to perverse incentives, producing wrong decisions, financial loss and demotivated staff.

TheImpactofMeasurementonProductivityItself

As the measurement of productivity impacts on service delivery and public management practice, it follows that it impacts on productivity itself. The more productivity is defined in terms of standardised outputs, the more it tends to lead to homogenisation of services, particularly where staff are judged and rewarded against their performance in meeting output targets. This collides with the public value approach in which a critical element of service quality is meeting the socially and culturally diverse needs of citizens. In order to serve diverse needs equally well and for services to be available to everybody, public services in diverse societies must offer far greater flexibility to meet personal needs, while keeping the ability to connect resources and activities across entire systems of governance.

In addition, the specification of performance standards often narrows the scope for organisational innovation. This is partly because it encourages risk aversion and establishes rigid parameters of organisation and formal responsibility, limiting the gains that can be made from collaboration across service boundaries. What, then, is the way out of this conundrum? The answer is not to abandon measurement, targets and standards, but to see them as tools to be used carefully and owned by the participants, rather than as an instrument of top-down control. In that way, accountability can be achieved at the same time as continually adjusting organisational and individual employee behaviour in accordance with what is required to produce quality services and desired outcomes. That, in turn, builds trust between governments, their employees and citizens and therefore creates public value. Such observations are well supported in the literature, which offers considerable evidence that government performance measurement systems do not generally provide a reliable means of assessing how well public services (and the people who deliver them) contribute to the broader objectives of government. One suggestion noted in the literature, to ensure that a measurement system will be accepted and used appropriately, is to include as many viewpoints as possible in its development. The importance of involving frontline employees, in particular, is noted. Workers know the operations most intimately and are the ones in most immediate contact with users. They are the natural source of feedback, ideas and insights into the specifics of operations. Although such ideas are well supported in the literature, however, governments evidently find it difficult to accommodate them in the way services are organised and productivity evaluated. This may be due to the limited timescale of accountability within the political cycle, which does not fit well with the longer-term and complex nature of organisational development and transformation. The importance of adaptability in successful productivity measurement is also suggested in the literature, along with the important role staff can play in ensuring that their organisations do adapt to changing and diverse demands on them. This requires systematic feedback mechanisms that allow professionals and other employees to learn from the system and find ways to make improvements. This means keeping it simple at first and letting the measurement system and productivity improvements grow together. Provided that is done transparently, it need not undermine accountability arrangements, but can enrich them