Administrative Reforms Commission stresses e-governance

September 4th, 2009 KOLKATA - Minister for Corporate Affairs Salman Khurshid will inaugurate an International Conference on Convergence of Corporate Governance Norms here on Saturday. The two-day Conference is being organized by IIT Kharagpur in association with National Foundation of Corporate Governance (NFCG) - which is a not-for-profit Trust under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

August 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - A conference of Secretaries of Administrative Reforms will be held here today. It will be inaugurated by Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

August 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A conference of Secretaries of Administrative Reforms will be held here tomorrow. It will be inaugurated by Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

August 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Yashwant S. Bhave Saturday took over as the first chairperson of the newly constituted Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), a watchdog that will look at issues such as the tariff for various ground operations and landing fees for airlines.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will set up an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) to look into the recommendations by the Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday. "We are contemplating to set up an EGoM to implement the voluminous document of the ARC," the prime minister told a news channel.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said the government would go in for disinvestment of public sector undertakings, pointing out that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had expressed this commitment in his budget. In an interview to the CNN-IBN news channel after Mukherjee presented his budget in parliament, Manmohan Singh said: "The finance minister has committed our government to increase disinvestment while maintaining the public sector character of public enterprises." Without dwelling upon the details and the time frame, the prime minister said: "I haven't done any detailed calculations.

June 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Focusing on reforms in governance, the Manmohan Singh government has made it mandatory for every proposal that comes before the cabinet to include explanation of how it furthers the cause of equity and inclusiveness. "As part of process reform, all proposals to the cabinet will have to report on how the proposal under consideration will enhance the goals of equity or inclusion, innovation and public accountability," President Pratibha Patil told a joint session of parliament Thursday.

May 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari on Wednesday released a book titled "GovernMint in India-An Inside View" authored by T.S.R Subramanian here. Addressing delegates at the function, Ansari highlighted the basic theme of the book which focuses particularly on the questions of governance.

April 2nd, 2009 BANGALORE - Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister, M Veerappa Moily, today filed his nomination for Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate from Chikballapur constituency. Earlier in the day, he resigned as the Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC).

March 10th, 2009 BANGALORE - IT-savvy Karnataka ranks 15th among India's 28 states in complying with the Right to Information (RTI) Act with a below average performance. Nagaland and Delhi score high in providing information, an assessment report by the city-based Public Affairs Centre (PAC) says.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005 has made public servants more accountable than before, acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday. 'The enactment of the Right to Information Act 2005 at the centre and in many states has bridged a critical gap in the public decision making process and ushered in greater accountability of public servants,' Mukherjee said while presenting the Interim Budget 2009-2010 in the Lok Sabha.

February 6th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The Punjab government Saturday announced the setting up of a commission of eminent personalities, including academics and retired bureaucrats, to help reform the state. Setting up the Social Development and Governance Reforms Commission, the Punjab government hopes to bring in reforms in its existing system to put the state back on the path to progress, officials said here.

January 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The union cabinet Thursday approved the setting of a National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management that will develop technologies to combat droughts, extreme temperatures, floods and salinity - which threaten agriculture. To be located in Malegaon in Maharashtra, the institute's mandate will be to pioneer research and ensure that these technologies when put in practice will lead to adaptation of crops, livestock, horticulture and fisheries to such stresses, said a cabinet note.

January 20th, 2009 AMRITSAR - Within hours of being sworn in as deputy chief minister of Punjab, Sukhbir Singh Badal outlined his vision for the future of the state and said those who did not perform 'would have to face the consequences'. 'We have given the government machinery two years to adjust to our new vision and our pace of task accomplishment.

January 6th, 2009 KOCHI - There has been a mixed response in Kerala to the suggestions made by the law reforms commission, which will submit its report later this month. Among other reforms, the commission has asked for a change in the marriage customs practiced by the Muslim community and appointment of non-Brahmins as temple priests.