Five-day tech summit for govt staff at Mantralaya
Tech Wari, a summit on technology, is being organised at Mantralaya from May 5-9 to inform govt employees about changing technologies, their applications and uses in govt.
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V Radha, additional chief secretary (general administration department) said since Nov, 5 lakh state employees have been enrolled on the Centre's
iGOT portal
so they can learn courses on different subjects to upgrade their knowledge and skills. Earlier, only 9,000 had enrolled for these courses. "This is the first time that a summit is being held where speakers from the central govt and the technology industry will be address the employees. It will be live-streamed so that district-level employees can also attend," said Radha.tnn
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News18
7 days ago
- News18
'PM Modi Pushed Us To Get Things Done': Adil Zainulbhai Steps Away After 4 Years As CBC Chief
Over four years at the Capacity Building Commission, he helped shape and scale Mission Karmayogi—an initiative aimed at transforming the capacity of over 25 million civil servants After completing two terms spread across four years as Chairman of the Capacity Building Commission, Adil Zainulbhai steps away from a key role in one of India's most ambitious public sector reform efforts. Also the former Chairman of the Quality Council of India, he brought years of experience at the intersection of governance and institution-building. Over four years at the CBC, he helped shape and scale Mission Karmayogi—an initiative aimed at transforming the capacity of over 25 million civil servants. From building the Commission from the ground up to expanding the iGOT platform and introducing AI-driven learning pathways, he worked across ministries, states, and institutions to embed capacity building into the heart of governance. He spoke with News18 in an exclusive interview, reflecting on the journey, the lessons, and the road ahead. Excerpts: I started working in an autonomous organisation, which is not quite government, which was the Quality Council of India (QCI), for six years. And then after that, the Prime Minister asked me to head what he set up and called the Capacity Building Commission, which is also known as Mission Karmayogi. So, that was a full government job. And so, I had the advantage. I had five to six years to prepare in an intermediate role. It was not quite government and not quite private sector. That mixed experience helped me understand things a lot better. But I think I found out that these things helped a lot because we are always used to working with companies and understanding their culture and how things happen in that environment. Each company has a different culture and way about how they work. So, in a sense, we have to understand, or I have to understand, how the government works, and the first thing you realise is there is no one single job in the government. There are many ministries, there are many individuals, and there are hundreds of organisations. Each one has their own way of working, expectation. As you understand that, you get to know people, and then you can make a difference. So I don't think the issue was different. The issue was about understanding how it is different and figuring out how to work in that environment. So, I would say this was something that helped me a lot in preparing to work in different environments, and this was a different environment. I learnt how to work with them. From dashboards to KPIs (key performance indicators), your work has brought a clear corporate-style precision to government training and reform. Have you seen civil servants embrace this shift towards data-backed, performance-driven governance—and where has the buy-in been most encouraging? There are different approaches to governance. The right goal was to try and dream at the end of the day. There are 82 million civil servants, and whatever it takes to train people, we took ideas from the public sector, private sector, other countries, other organisations, everywhere. When we first started, people didn't know whether this would actually mean anything or make a difference. But I think, over time, as we got a very, very powerful digital learning programme in place, it really started to take off. Just to give an idea, two and a half years ago, the learning platform had 200,000 users and 200 courses. Today, we have 12 million users and 300 courses. So, when we were very small, there was a lot of scepticism. But now it's the other way around—which is, I think, fascinating. Many people call us and ask why they can't take part in this, and they say that they too wish to avail the benefit of this. Before, we were trying to make sure that people took it. Now, they are banging on our doors and saying that they liked this and wanted to access the courses. So, I think the tide has really turned. As people see the benefit of it, they are really using it. They want to build their own skills. After four years of Mission Karmayogi and the Commission, what is the biggest myth about Indian civil services that you've broken? The first myth that has been broken is about the people inside the system. I now realise there are a lot of very well-meaning people in the system who are genuinely trying to do the right thing. Sometimes they have the skills and tools to do their jobs, sometimes they don't—but many are really trying very hard. From outside, it's easy to dismiss the government and say, 'It's useless." A lot of people say that. But having spent a lot of time within the system, I'm very comforted by the fact that many individuals are committed and working with genuine intent. And when the right things are done, the impact is massive. So that's one major myth we've broken. The second myth is that the government systems can't move fast. Today, we've built the largest training system in the world. Nobody can believe that we managed to do this in just two years. The scale of what we've accomplished is phenomenal. And I think a lot of that credit goes to the way Prime Minister Modi pushes us to deliver. The honourable Prime Minister is not interested in theory or PowerPoint presentations. He's focused on making a real difference on the ground. He pushed us hard to do something and get things done. That drive has really helped us move quickly. In fact, I believe we are executing faster than many public or private sector organisations. And that, to me, is a big myth-breaker: that the government can move fast, actually faster than people imagine. From stress management to AI training, from seamless access across devices to tailored courses for every level of the administration—what did it take to design such a comprehensive learning platform? So the first thing we did—which I think most people didn't expect from the government—was to simply ask: what do you need to do your job well? We didn't assume; we went to people across the civil service—from sachivalayas to the Cabinet Secretary—and asked them directly. And we were surprised at how clear they were. The first thing many officers said was about dealing with a lot of stress. They asked for courses on stress management. Others said that they sit in offices all day and asked for something that would be good for their health. So, interestingly, the two most popular courses, even among secretaries, are Yoga at the Workplace and Stress Management. At the other end of the spectrum, many wanted to understand new technologies that are changing the world and their work. Today, 1.3 million civil servants have taken a course on AI—no other country comes close. And that's simply because the content is accessible and easy to use. What this showed us is: if you give people what they truly need, they will learn. The second thing we did was, once we knew what courses were needed, we asked: who is the best person to build this? We turned first to Indian institutions. For yoga, we partnered with the Morarji Desai Institute of Yoga; for stress management, we worked with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's team. A lot of mid-level officers asked for basic training in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. They said, 'No one taught us this when we joined the service. Now we hire consultants for things we could do ourselves." Today, over a million officers have taken those practical courses. We've also responded quickly to changes. For example, when the new security laws came out last year, we released a course immediately. 700,000 people have already taken it. Earlier, it would take a year and a guidebook to explain such changes—now it's interactive and available on your phone via iGOT Karmayogi. We're also translating everything into 10 regional languages, making learning more inclusive. And now, we're piloting something revolutionary: AI-generated, on-demand courses. You can type a prompt like, 'I want a 30-minute course on crypto," and the AI will create a personalised course in real time. Once rolled out, it will be as advanced as any system in the world. What we've learnt is simple: the government can move fast. And if you give people the right tools, they will use them. Now, people are asking: 'Can this be made available to citizens, students, and retired officers?" That's a policy decision for later. Right now, our focus is on ensuring that every civil servant gets the competencies they need to do their job well. How were these courses conceptualised and built, especially with elements like Indic knowledge systems and citizen engagement included? The Prime Minister was very clear: we need to create high-quality courses on Indic knowledge. Thanks to the work we've done and the people involved in the Commission, we already know who the real experts are—professors across universities, scholars at various foundations—those who are deeply knowledgeable in this space. So we sit down with them and say, 'We'd like a course that covers these specific topics." Then, they create it for us. This isn't a mass-production process—every course takes serious thought, careful design, and deep intellectual input. It's not something you can just buy off the shelf by the hundreds. Each one is crafted with intention and expertise. You have been one of the most compelling examples of successfully bridging the corporate and government sectors. In your view, how can more senior corporate leaders be encouraged to engage with the government and help elevate public-private partnerships to a new level of impact and innovation? First of all, there are many more such examples now than there used to be. For instance, Pankaj Goenka is heading INSPACE-e. He previously led Mahindra & Mahindra. Malika Srinivasan, Chairperson of TAFE (Tractors and Farm Equipment), is now the Chairperson of the Public Enterprises Selection Board. So we are seeing more individuals from the corporate world stepping in to contribute to government institutions. To me, the good news is that many people in the corporate sector genuinely want to give back to the country. The challenge is often finding the right entry point. At iGOT, for example, we've brought in several distinguished fellows, including very senior leaders from the corporate world, who are contributing their expertise. I believe we should do much more of this. It benefits both sides. It's just a matter of figuring out the right structure, the appropriate level of engagement, and how to do it properly. But the idea of intermingling or giving corporate leaders exposure to government, and vice versa, is a strong one. We should absolutely pursue it further. With the rapid rise of AI, how do you see the Indian civil service, bureaucracy, and ground-level administration adapting and evolving to keep pace with this transformation? AI is a function that spans many parts of the government. For instance, the Ministry of Electronics and IT is making significant investments in large language models, purchasing chips, and building infrastructure. Our focus, however, is on how AI can be applied in day-to-day work. We believe that understanding how to use AI in your specific role is something every civil servant should think about. That's why we've been very keen to ensure that every civil servant gets exposure to AI—not just from a technical standpoint, but in terms of practical application in their own environment. Singapore recently announced that it plans to train every civil servant in AI. But even before that, in India, as I mentioned earlier, 1.3 million civil servants have already taken a course on AI. Our goal is for every single civil servant to be equipped to think about how AI can be useful in their context. Of course, no one can prescribe exactly how AI should be applied in every job, but if people are aware of its capabilities, they can begin to explore and apply it effectively. That's the approach we're taking through Mission Karmayogi—giving every civil servant sufficient knowledge and access so they can figure out for themselves how to use AI in their work. And the early results are promising, as over 1.3 million have already started. With Trump back on the global stage and imposing a 50% tariff, is this a return to a world where India must lean more on internal capacity building and less on global partnerships? Or does it signal an opportunity for India to lead differently? We are very clear about that. If we understand the power of technology and execute effectively, we can leapfrog development. We can accelerate progress in areas like healthcare, education, and public service delivery—not by waiting for solutions to trickle down to us years later, but by staying ahead of the curve. That's why our goal is to equip civil servants with the knowledge and tools to use emerging technologies and innovative approaches—not just to improve systems, but to leapfrog traditional stages of development. Just as India has led globally with Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) like Aadhaar and others, we want civil servants to think not in terms of catching up, but in terms of leading. Our focus is to build the capacity of the civil service so they can adopt and apply new technologies rapidly—and use them to drive faster, more inclusive development than anywhere else. As someone deeply involved in talent transformation, how do you see India's civil service officers gearing up for a more citizen-centric approach than ever before? When it comes to transforming the civil service, it's not just about building skills—we also want to shift the mindset. Historically, under the British Raj, the civil service was designed to rule. It created rules and enforced them. But today, the mindset we need is not of rulers, but of sevak—public servants dedicated to citizens. We want every civil servant to think: 'I am here to serve the citizens and improve their lives." That kind of shift requires more than just digital training. It needs deep behavioural transformation. We're now running programmes that connect personal purpose with public service, helping officers see how their work directly contributes to nation-building. We've already conducted 1-2 day behavioural training sessions for over a million civil servants and plan to reach 2-3 million this year. This includes frontline roles like police officers, ticket collectors, postmasters and anyone who directly interacts with citizens. top videos View all For example, we trained the Delhi Police before the G20 summit, and we're now doing similar programmes for the UP Police. The focus is on helping them engage with citizens in a spirit of seva—service. At its core, this is about making governance truly citizen-centric by training people to serve better, measuring whether they're doing so, and changing the culture of service across the system. Some of the stories we've already seen show just how powerful this shift can be. If we can scale it, it will significantly improve both the quality of governance and the lives of citizens and civil servants themselves. About the Author Madhuparna Das Madhuparna Das, Associate Editor (policy) at CNN News 18, has been in journalism for nearly 14 years. She has extensively been covering politics, policy, crime and internal security issues. She has covered More Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : ai Civil service Mission Karmayogi view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: August 07, 2025, 23:14 IST News india 'PM Modi Pushed Us To Get Things Done': Adil Zainulbhai Steps Away After 4 Years As CBC Chief | Interview Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
07-08-2025
- Time of India
Jewellery industry anxious over Donald Trump's proposed 50% tariff on Indian imports
Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian exports to the US, citing India's ongoing Russian oil purchases. MUMBAI: India's bullion and jewellery industry has expressed anxiety over US President Donald Trump's proposed imposition of 50% tariff on imports from India. No less than 85% of SEEPZ SEZ jewellery manufactured in Mumbai is exported to the USA. The United States is India's single largest market, accounting for over $10 billion in exports, nearly 30% of Indian industry's total global trade. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Rajesh Rokde, chairman, All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC), said, "The imposition of a 25% tariff on Indian gold jewellery exports already in effect and the additional 25% set to be enforced from Aug 27 represents a compounded blow to the sector. This steep escalation not only renders our products significantly less competitive in the US market, but more critically, it jeopardises the livelihoods of thousands of skilled artisans who depend on export demand for their survival. "These craftsmen, many from marginalised communities, are the backbone of India's jewellery ecosystem, preserving centuries-old techniques through small workshops and family-run enterprises," Rokde added. "A cumulative 50% tariff threatens widespread job losses, destabilises local economies, and risks eroding a rich cultural heritage. We urge the [Indian] govt to act swiftly and engage in trade negotiations that protect these livelihoods and uphold India's global leadership in handcrafted jewellery," Rokde added further. Avinash Gupta, vice chairman, GJC, said, "This tariff shock is also pressuring the Indian rupee, likely making gold costlier for domestic consumers and dampening demand within India, further straining the industry." Kirit Bhansali, chairman, GJEPC (Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council) said, "The US announcement of a sweeping 50% tariff on all Indian goods is a deeply concerning development. This move will have far-reaching repercussions across India's economy, disrupting critical supply chains, stalling exports, and threatening thousands of livelihoods. The Indian gem and jewellery sector, in particular, stands to be severely impacted. The United States is our single largest market, accounting for over $10 billion in exports, nearly 30% of our industry's total global trade. A blanket tariff of this magnitude is severely devastating for the sector." "There is significant dependency on the US market, as 85% of exports from SEEPZ SEZ, which provides 50,000 jobs, is directed there. For cut and polished diamonds, half of India's exports are US-bound. With revised tariff hike, the entire industry may come to a standstill, placing immense pressure on every part of the value chain, from small karigars (artisans) to large manufacturers." "What adds to the concern is that competing manufacturing hubs such as Turkey, Vietnam and Thailand continue to enjoy significantly lower tariffs of 15%, 20% and 19% respectively, making Indian products relatively less competitive in the US market. This imbalance, if unaddressed, could erode India's long-standing position as a key supplier to the US." "We are also concerned about the possibility of trade rerouting through low-tariff destinations such as Mexico, Canada, Turkey, UAE or Oman undermining the spirit of legitimate trade and impacting transparency."
Time of India
01-08-2025
- Time of India
Mumbai's zero-fuss maharaj is master of 30-minute meal; visits 12 homes daily, earns Rs 2 lakh, leaves without goodbyes
NEW DELHI: A social media post by a lawyer from Mumbai has stirred widespread debate after she disclosed that her private cook—fondly called 'maharaj'—earns an impressive Rs 2 lakh per month. The lawyer, Ayushi Doshi, shared that the cook works across 12 households, charging Rs 18,000 per client. He typically spends a maximum of 30 minutes at each home. He faces no payment delays and is offered free chai and meals at every house, with Doshi highlighting the efficiency of his work routine. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai 'My Maharaj (Cook) •Charges Rs 18k per house •Max 30 mins per house •10–12 houses daily •Free food & free chai everywhere •Gets paid on time or leaves without a goodbye,' Doshi posted on X. 'Meanwhile, I'm out here saying 'gentle reminder' with trembling hands with minimum salary, " Doshi added. The post quickly went viral, sparking a wave of reactions. While many admired the cook's entrepreneurial spirit and smart time management, others questioned the broader implications for income disparity and sustainability, especially in contrast to the often underpaid roles of other domestic workers. One users wrote, " Rs 18k for a 30 min job ? Is he using Ai." Another wrote, " Im sure, He is not maharaj, you have purchased a Robot. His mthly income is Rs 180000 to 216000. Yearly income 26 LPA." "Rs 18k for part time cook is exaggerated. Its 4-6 k even in Gurgaon, " one user wrote. The next day, she tweeted again, asking anyone who knows a cook who charges less to contact her. "On a serious note, if you have a cook who charges between Rs 6K to 12K a month, please DM me their contact. Thanks for all the comments , I now realise I might be overpaying mine. But honestly, he's worth it," Doshi tweeted.
