Cabinet Secretary puts grievance redressal on top; PMO-style oversight in works
The Union Cabinet Secretary is pushing ministries to revamp grievance redressal, mirroring the PMO's oversight by senior officers for more effective handling of public concerns. The Income Tax Department and CBIC are now under the Directorate of Public Grievances' purview, ensuring time-bound responses to unresolved issues.
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Placing public grievance redressal on 'high' priority, the Union Cabinet Secretary is learnt to have asked all ministries and departments to overhaul their grievance redressal mechanism and bring in the new PMO-like oversight by senior officers so that public concerns are not disposed off 'mechanically'.Alongside, grievances pertaining to the Income Tax Department and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) have this week been brought under the jurisdiction and oversight of the Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG), an entity within the Cabinet Secretariat.This brings a major institutional shift as the two departments impact millions of citizens, tax payers and businesses and are often flooded with complaints on delays, lack of transparency, procedural roadblocks and the like.The DPG oversight aims at obtaining responses to unresolved grievances on matters relating to identified Central government departments and organisations in a time-bound manner. The inclusion of CBIC and the I-T department was notified by the Cabinet Secretariat on June 16.The Cabinet Secretary, following the June 4 Council of Ministers meeting chaired by the prime minister, has sought "timely and qualitative disposal of citizen grievances" across departments, ET has learnt.PM Modi is learnt to have underlined the need for prioritised and qualitative improvement in public grievance redressal systems. He is learnt to have referred to the new template brought into the Prime Minister's Office.The recently-introduced PMO template now has its 30-odd senior officials tasked with examining and processing at least ten pending public grievances on a daily basis -- 300-plus every day by the PMO alone. With senior officials in charge, a dramatic difference is learnt to be seen in both the timeliness of redressal and quality of redressal. The PM is learnt to have suggested at the meeting that similar mechanisms be adopted across ministries involving senior officers of the department concerned.A mechanism will soon be brought in across ministries to directly involve senior officials for "effective disposal" so that grievances are treated with due seriousness. Designated a 'high' priority action point, the mechanism for a more effective grievance redressal system will be outlined by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAPRG).It is learnt that the Cabinet Secretary in a recent communication has outlined the same as an important to-do at the earliest. Instructions are expected to be sent out later this week by the DAPRG on the same and will involve the Grievance Redressal Cell already set up across departments.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
9 minutes ago
- Mint
With schemes and sops, India is powering up its ship engines
The monster shipyards of China, Korea and Japan have dominated the world's shipmaking for long. Now, India wants to muscle in. A series of measures to build, repair and finance ships in India are likely this year, two people aware of the plans said, as the country aims to become a global maritime hub. The government is working on nearly a dozen mission-mode measures to fire up the local shipping industry, including a maritime development fund, a revamped shipbuilding assistance scheme, and policies to strengthen domestic ships and ports, the people said on the condition of anonymity. Apart from shipbuilding, repairs and recycling, the new schemes will also cover financing, insurance, technical management, staffing-crewing and manning, and arbitration. 'The idea is to plug every critical gap in the value chain so that India is not just building ships, but also financing, insuring, managing, and resolving disputes, essentially offering end-to-end maritime solutions," one of the two people cited above said. Chinese dominance Japan, South Korea, and China jointly command 90% of global shipbuilding, with China alone accounting for nearly 50% of all new vessel orders. The Chinese dominance has alarmed the US, with president Donald Trump slapping port fees on Chinese-built ships and proposing tax sops for US-made vessels, terming it crucial for security, prosperity, and jobs. Also read | India plans its own shipping fleet; wants to provide assured demand for ships built in the country from state-run firms India is also courting shipbuilders and financiers from Korea and Japan to set up shop in India, the second person added. The goal is to get these companies to support and form Indian joint ventures offering leasing and financing options, with an aim to ensure ships built in India find buyers at home and abroad. India has also urged some of these companies to offer shipping finance in India, replicating the model in their home country, the people cited above said. Foreign tie-ups 'Korean and Japanese shipbuilders are in talks with Indian counterparts to form JVs. Cochin Shipyard, for instance, is exploring a partnership with Korean firms for shipbuilding in Kerala," the second person added. A shipping ministry spokesperson didn't respond to emailed queries. "With less than 1% share in the global shipbuilding market, India is launching a multi-pronged maritime strategy to break into the world's top 10 by 2030 and top five by 2047," the first person mentioned above said. "Alongside mega shipbuilding parks, the government will roll out missions for ship repair, recycling, financing, insurance, cruise infrastructure, and arbitration—all aimed at building a full-service maritime ecosystem," the first person said. Read this | Shipping industry likely to get ₹25,000-crore boost To be sure, recent MoUs signed during Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal's Norway visit reflect growing international interest. Private power Private shipbuilders are also joining in. Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers has signed deals with Germany's Carsten Rehder to make hybrid 7,500 deadweight tonnage (DWT) vessels, UAE's Aries Marine for offshore platforms, and a global engine manufacturer. Larsen & Toubro has also partnered with Norway's DNV to collaborate on shipbuilding and port infrastructure. "The recent developments are part of a larger push under India's new shipbuilding mission," the second person said. 'We are not just building ships; we are building the entire ecosystem. Alongside mega shipbuilding parks on both coasts, we are launching parallel missions for financing, insurance, staffing, and more to anchor India's maritime ambitions," the person added. In September, Mint reported on India's ambitious shipbuilding push, aiming to tap into a global market where traditional giants such as China, Korea and Japan, are overbooked, prompting buyers to seek alternative production hubs for modern vessels. Also read | For India's shipping industry, a new rule promises to be a game-changer "While we are seeing progress, the global market is still dominated by China, South Korea, and Japan. To bridge that gap, what is needed now is a clear push for foreign investment and technology transfer," Pushpank Kaushik, chief executive officer and head of business development (subcontinent, middle east and southeast Asia) at Jassper Shipping. "If policy can make space for that, it will not only attract global players but also strengthen our position in the international market. This would be a strong complement to the government's vision and help put India on the global shipbuilding map," Kaushik added. Maritime fund Existing initiatives to boost shipping include a ₹25,000 crore maritime development fund to raise investment in shipbuilding through blended finance and the development of mega shipbuilding parks on both coasts. The new complementary missions will cover ship repair, recycling, cruise infrastructure, financing, staffing, and insurance. Ship repair hubs are also being planned in Kochi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Vadinar, besides a centre of excellence and free trade depot for duty-free imports. India has also launched the Indian International Maritime Dispute Resolution Centre (IIMDRC) to localize arbitration and reduce reliance on global hubs like Singapore and Dubai. And read | Govt to hold talks with exporters as Iran-Israel conflict stalls shipments, drives up costs Meanwhile, a domestic maritime insurance entity, the India Club, is under consideration to offer protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance for coastal and inland shipping. Mega ports at Vadhavan in Maharashtra and Galathea Bay in Great Nicobar are also central to the plan, aiming to boost port capacity, attract transhipment cargo, and create over 1.2 million jobs.
Time of India
13 minutes ago
- Time of India
AI sacked us for reporting Dreamliner door glitch: 2 ex-staffers in letter to PM
Mumbai: Two senior Air India flight attendants have written to PM Modi, claiming they were terminated from service by the airline after they refused to change their statement about a technical problem with a Boeing 787 door last year. They alleged the Dreamliner's door had malfunctioned as the slide raft deployed, though the door was opened in the "manual mode". Slide rafts deploy when a door is opened in "armed" or "automatic mode". The incident, they claimed, occurred on May 14, 2024, after the Mumbai-London B787 (VT-ANQ) operating flight AI-129 docked at Heathrow and the passengers disembarked. The incident, they say, was initially corroborated in writing by the pilot and cabin-in-charge. "However, to our utter shock and surprise when we told (the AI management) the truth that the door was in manual position when opened, we were threatened with termination," the letter alleged on Wednesday. tnn The former senior AI flight attendants wrote to the PM that after refusing to revise their statements on the malfunctioning Dreamliner door, they were served show-cause notices and dismissed within 48 hours—exactly one year before the June 12 Ahmedabad crash which killed 272 people. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 임플란트, 지금 시작하세요 [자세히 보기] 임플란트 더 알아보기 Undo "We refused to change our statements despite considerable pressure exerted on us by higher authorities," the letter alleged, naming three officials. "However later the commander changed his statement by stating that he was not looking when the door was opened," it alleged. At Heathrow, AI crew disembark from a different door. Accordingly, the pilots and crew gathered at door L4 last year in May. The two flight attendants, responsible for door opening, carried out the checklist to confirm it was in the manual position, said the letter. But the slide raft deployed when the door was opened. The letter alleges Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suppressed the May 14, 2024, incident and other similar occurrences involving Dreamliners. The crew claim DGCA launched only an "informal inquiry" despite the gravity of safety issues raised, and no report has been shared since. They also allege key witnesses present during the slide deployment incident were deliberately excluded from the probe. Both crew members have served Air India for over two decades. Their complaint was filed with Central Vigilance Commission last year.
Hindustan Times
17 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
India will soon ditch GPS timekeeping for indigenous system: Pralhad Joshi
India will soon abandon GPS-based timekeeping in favour of an indigenous system to safeguard critical sectors from potential foreign disruptions, Union consumer affairs minister Prahlad Joshi announced on Wednesday. The move represents a significant step towards technological sovereignty as India prepares to rely on a domestically managed network of five atomic clocks rather than the US-controlled Global Positioning System for maintaining Indian Standard Time. 'Currently we depend on an external time source, which is GPS. GPS is owned by the US. India will source time from an indigenous system of five atomic clocks spread over different parts of the country to accurately keep the time, down to nanoseconds,' said Ashish Agarwal, principal scientist at the state-backed National Physical Laboratory. The decision stems partly from historical concerns about foreign dependency. Agarwal noted that 'during the Kargil War, the US had refused to share GPS coordinates with India for keeping time, which had created obstructions in the military operations.' The new system aims to protect sensitive sectors including navigation, defence and banking from potential foreign interference. Consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare explained that relying on foreign time sources creates 'very fine differences and varying time stamps, which can greatly impact sensitive operations, such as banking, equities and defence.' 'Often, different time stamps can lead to legal disputes,' Khare added. The minister said compliance with the indigenous system would be mandatory for commercial entities, banks and all establishments once operational. However, the change will not alter IST itself, which will maintain its offset of +05:30 relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The five highly calibrated atomic clocks are located in Guwahati, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Faridabad and Bhubaneswar. Officials said the clocks have been tested and trialled and the system is expected to become operational soon. GPS, owned by the US government and operated by the United States Air Force, currently provides timing accurately to 10 nanoseconds worldwide. The precision becomes critical in sensitive operations such as missile launches, where 'milliseconds or nanoseconds' can prove vital, Agarwal explained. India joins other major powers including Russia and China in developing autonomous timekeeping capabilities, reflecting broader global trends towards reducing dependency on foreign-controlled infrastructure for critical national functions. The indigenous system represents part of India's broader Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative aimed at achieving self-reliance in strategic technologies.
