The Civil society organisations (CSOs) are likely to play a greater role in implementation of government policies and programmes after an interaction organised between Central ministries and the CSOs by NITI Aayog.

NITI Aayog said on Wednesday a range of issues from allocation of funds to monitoring and evaluation of social sector schemes, as also
self-regulation by the CSOs, were discussed at the roundtable.

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Over 17 leading voluntary organisations and 15 Central Ministries took part in the deliberations on Wednesday.

Voluntary organisations from all over the country, working across the spectrum of education, health, geriatric care, women’s empowerment, rural development and handlooms interacted with senior officials from Ministries of Rural Development, Women and Child Development, Minority Affairs, and FSSAI, among others.

Highlighting the crucial role of CSOs in ensuring inclusive growth and development, down to the last mile, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, Dr. Arvind Panagariya said, “An effective partnership between the government and the CSOs will go a long way in efficient utilisation of government resources, especially in the social sector.”

Emphasising the potential of a collaborative approach for a lasting impact on the lives of all citizens, NITI Aayog CEO, Amitabh Kant, said that innovative solutions to eliminate poverty, hunger and all other forms of deprivation can emerge through greater coordination between CSOs and the government.

The meeting identified effective ways of strengthening partnership between CSOs and the government at the national, state, district and ground level for improving service delivery of major government schemes.

Elucidating the nature and impact of work performed by the organisations, each CSO brought to the table specific sector-wise recommendations to collaborate with government ministries and departments.

Suggestions were made by leading voluntary organisations,including Pratham, Help Age India, Sulabh International, Pradhan, Akshaya Patra and Prayas for developing a sustainable partnership between voluntary organisations and the government.

Carrying forward the spirit of partnership, it was decided that similar interactions to build strong partnerships for effective governance will take place at regular intervals.