Addressing the inaugural session of the 7th batch of capacity building programme in the field administration for senior officers of Jammu & Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, appealed them to be catalysts of Modi’s governance reforms and help their effective implementation in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and the unexplored North-Eastern Region (NER) have huge natural resources that would drive India’s future growth story during the Amrit Kaal towards attaining a Viksit Bharat @ 2047, he said.

Dr Jitendra Singh said the value addition to India’s growth is going to come from these unexplored regions during the next 25 years.

He said the success of Aroma Mission and Purple Revolution in Bhaderwah and Gulmarg regions of J&K has resulted in over 3,000 Startups engaged in Lavender cultivation alone. Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh have sent delegations to J&K to study the Lavender cultivation model and have evinced interest in emulating the Aroma Mission.

Dr Jitendra Singh, who represents Udhampur constituency of J&K in the Lok Sabha, said the discovery of Lithium in Reasi district may well turn out to be “India’s next big story”, giving a multifold boost to the country’s economy.

“Analysis suggests that the value of lithium deposits in Reasi may be higher than China,” he said, stating that lithium is a key component in rechargeable batteries and there is huge demand for lithium as the world turns to renewable energy.

Stating that an increasing number of items from J&K have been geo-tagged, Dr Jitendra Singh called upon the J&K Administration officers to promote sales of GI-tagged products from the UT to boost the local economy.

Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, he has made it a commitment to bring the neglected and remote regions of India including J&K, Ladakh, islands and the NER to the national mainstream.

PM Modi has “walked the talk”, said Dr Jitendra Singh, pointing out that J&K today has an express corridor, tallest rail bridge that would soon link the Kashmir Valley with the railway network and a number of projects of national importance have been fast-tracked, ensuring that development touches the lives of citizens of J&K.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, PM Modi has introduced several governance reforms towards socio-economic uplift of people. Public policy in our country is currently aimed at enhanced transparency and accountability in governance with focus on fiscal federalism, transforming rural India, and improving the quality of public service delivery, he said.

The Minister said, the Central Government grievance redressal system, CPGRAMS, has been made more responsive and relevant, achieving a disposal rate of 97%. J&K GRAMS portal has been integrated with the CPGRAMS for seamless grievance redressal between Central and UT Administration, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, V. Srinivas, Secretary, DARPG said that more than 280 J&K Administrative Service officers have visited NCGG. This Workshop is part of an MoU signed in 2019 between J&K administration and NCGG to train 500 J&K cadre officers in a 5-year period.

The 7th Capacity Building Programme is being conducted from 27th November, 2023 to 8th December, 2023 at NCGG, Mussoorie. The programme is being attended by 26 JKAS Officers working in the ranks of secretaries, special secretaries, additional secretaries, CEOs, directors, joint directors, development officers among others.

During this programme, civil servants of Jammu & Kashmir will interact with the domain experts on diverse topics, viz., communication strategies, poverty elimination, Rural Housing, Skill India, Artificial Intelligence in Government, Tourism & Culture, Jal Jeevan Mission, DIGITAL INDIA, approach to SDGs by 2030, Ayushman Bharat, anti-corruption strategies, vigilance administration, circular economy, rejuvenation of rivers, innovation & entrepreneurship, etc. among other important areas. The participants will also be taken on an exposure visit to the Parliament.

The capacity building programme is scientifically tailored to equip civil servants of Jammu & Kashmir to deliver robust and seamless services to the people. The cutting-edge knowledge and new skill set acquired during this programme will help these civil servants in efficient public service delivery to improve the lives of people. The aim of this programme is to reorient officers to work with single-mindedness to improve the quality of life and create opportunities for the people. The officers are given exposure to the Best Practices in Good Governance to emulate these practices of good governance, transparency and efficient service delivery in Jammu & Kashmir. The focus of the programme is on sharing the practical aspects of governance, to work with speed and scale, and be accountable to citizens and address their grievances proactively.