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Govt Policies & Interventions

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November 06, 2017

Reform measures undertaken by the government will be meaningful only when concerted efforts at communicating it to the targeted beneficiaries are also made. Substantiate with suitable examples.

Refer – Live mint

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IAS Parliament 6 years

KEY POINTS

·         When the government launches a new scheme or policy, it reaches general public through notifications and press releases.

·         At the Centre, such information of new schemes are imparted through the Press Information Bureau (PIB) and at the state level; announcements are usually put up on websites of government departments.

·         These websites are mostly inaccessible by the rural people and illiterates.

·         Also, most of the information published is not in local languages which aggravate the issue further. 

·         This resulted in; schemes meant for the deserved does not reached the beneficiary.

Examples

·         The use of the single-window system is the most prominent example.

·         75% of state governments claim to have instituted the process, but across India, only 20% of new firms and 41% of experts had respectively used/were aware of the system.

·         The uptake of single-window systems among new firms was very low even in large and developed states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

·         Another example has to do with online maps being available on a state government website, providing details about available infrastructure like road, water and electricity.

·         Across 28 states surveyed, 15 have set up online maps, but in only two states did over 50% of firms claim to have found/used them.

·         Third example, skill development, vocational training, and entrepreneurship skill development schemes were less utilised by youths due to lack of information in rural areas.

Solutions

·         The primary sources of information for major public were newspapers (print and online), social media, and television.

·         Thus efforts must be made by states to ramp up outreach, ensuring that new policies are advertised through these mediums (including radio).

·         This will take information to the common public making them more likely to hear about it.

·         Additionally, state governments could set up an entity like the PIB at the state-level, where information about new reforms is published in local languages easily understandable by the common public.

·         Since much of the Indian population is now connected online, more direct mechanisms of reaching people through their smartphones (such as apps or messaging services) could be explored.

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