Three months ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon senior bureaucrats on Saturday to build upon the “momentum” and “positive atmosphere” generated in the first five months of the new government by shifting the emphasis of governance to measurable outcomes.
At an informal interaction over high tea at his residence, Mr. Modi encouraged the Secretary-rank officials to come up with new ideas and proposals for the forthcoming Union Budget to be presented in February next year based on the suggestions being received on the MyGov platform, according to an official release.
“Good things are starting to happen …We are one team. Let us bring openness in governance, come closer and work together,” the Prime Minister told the officials assuring them of zero political interference and asking them to work fearlessly in the interest of the nation.
New spending rules the Finance Ministry introduced a few weeks ago aim to address the issue of quality of government spending through the stipulation that all schemes and programmes be monitored and evaluated in terms of “measurably defined” outcomes, an improvement over the outcomes policy of the Manmohan Singh government.
The Prime Minister’s endorsement of outcomes-oriented spending is expected to begin to reflect in all new schemes and projects.
He suggested that all Secretaries visit the place of their first posting to get new insights.