'Reforms Utsav': Centre plans 1,639 events to celebrate 1,300 reforms

Centre plans a three-month 'Reforms Utsav' from October 2 to showcase more than 1,300 reforms through over 1,600 nationwide outreach events

The central government is planning a ‘Reforms Utsav’, a mega nationwide drive to celebrate the reforms undertaken over the last 12 years, will focus on as many as 1,300 minor and major reforms that have simplified the lives of the common people. These reforms will be showcased through 1,639 events over a three-month period starting October 2. 

 

Sources said as per the final itinerary, the departments and ministries have planned targeted interventions and outreach programmes to reach the most vulnerable segments of the population — fishermen, street vendors, coal mine employees, pensioners and other individuals. They intend to explain how the reforms have simplified their lives.

 

Of the 1,639 events planned so far, around 20 will be conducted online and four have been planned for Indians settled abroad. States will conduct separate events to showcase the major reforms.

 

Citing an example, a senior official said meetings are being scheduled with homebuyers, residents welfare associations (RWAs) and even builders sometime next month by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in Gurugram, Noida and Mumbai cities to explain the benefits of reforms such as Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA) and how its enactment has brought a change in their lives.

 

For urban planners, developers, property owners in places such as Surat, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Chennai and Indore, programmes are being planned to highlight reforms such as the Online Building Permission System (OBPS), or Geographic Information System (GIS)-based master plans for urban planning.

 

Similarly, the Ministry of Coal has proposed outreach programmes for coal mine employees and pensioners in the cities of Ranchi, Raipur, Sambalpur and Bilaspur to explain reforms such as the National Coal Mines Safety Report portal and digital C-Cares portal.

 

For fishermen, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying has planned events in the capital city of Patna explaining some of the benefits of programmes such as the Prime Minister’s Matsya Sampada Yojana and the National Fishermen Digital Platforms (NFDP). In Odisha port town Paradip, programmes have been planned with marine fishers and vessel owners to explain the benefits of reforms such as the National Rollout Plan for Vessel Communication and Support System (VCSS).

 

Similarly, outreach programmes have been planned for street vendors in he cities of Surat, Varanasi, Bhopal, and Kolkata to explain how reforms such as digital payments, collateral-free loans, and incentives for timely loan repayment have simplified their lives.

 

“As many as 500 such beneficiary-specific events have been planned across the length and breadth of the country, even in its remotest corners,” the official explained.

 

He said around 454 events have been planned in October, and over 349 events have been planned in November.

 

There is a separate media in the works plan for the event. The three-month long outreach will be closely monitored  by senior government officials. An online platform is also being developed for ministries and departments to report progress of the outreach drive.