Khandu cabinet gives nod for Viksit Arunachal, focus on 100% digitization of finance and planning

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 13, 2024

Hours after the swearing-in of the 11-member team led by chief minister Pema Khandu, the first meeting of the Arunachal Pradesh cabinet on Thursday gave its nod for building a ‘Viksit Arunachal’ in the state in the next five years.

Under this programme, top priority will be accorded to governance reforms with the decision to achieve 100% digitization of the finance and planning to enable all government payments only through digital mode.

“Bottom-up planning process will be initiated for effective development and preparation of district-level consultative Vision Plans. To improve last-mile service delivery, the offices of the divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners will be strengthened. Committee of secretaries will be set up to examine the existing compliances and recommend steps to enhance ease of living and ease of doing business including repeal of old and archaic laws,” an official release here said.

The cabinet also decided to build the foundations laid by the Khandu government in the past few years, to a transformative reform agenda for the next 5 years.

“As the first step of this journey, the Cabinet rolled out Reforms 3.0, identifying 24 citizen-centric initiatives as part of the transformative journey touching citizens lives and aspirations and directed all departments to implement these initiatives in letter and spirit,” the release said.

The Cabinet approved creating a Golden Repository of citizen data of the state to ensure pro-active scheme enrolment with no/minimal enrolment process for citizens. A policy think tank, the Institute for Transforming Arunachal (ITA) will be constituted to drive innovation in governance and enable socio-economic transformation. Further, an Administrative Reforms Commission will be notified to examine and provide recommendations for improved organizational structure, recruitment and staffing policies to build a lean, efficient and agile administrative structure with maximum adoption of technology.

“To provide enhanced quality of life to citizens, the Cabinet resolved to ensure 100% physical and digital connectivity to all unconnected villages and administrative headquarters for which a detailed action plan will be prepared. In line with the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 that envisions universal access to education, improve learning outcomes and pass percentages of students, develop 21st-century skills amongst students and improve efficiency and efficacy of teacher training, an implementation road map of the policy will be prepared,” the release also said.

The government will formulate a policy enabling top educational institutions to set up campuses in Arunachal Pradesh and also encourage the participation of community-based organizations, NGOs and other CSOs in the field of education. The Dulari Kanya Scheme will be revamped to provide incentives to every girl child from Arunachal Pradesh to encourage enrollment in graduation or professional courses.

“An action plan for 21,000 plus women to become Lakhpati Didis over the next five years, earning an annual income of more than Rs 1,00,000 and achieving a higher standard will be made. The government will formulate a new farm-to-fork Agricultural and Horticultural Policy to unlock the agri-allied sector potential of the state,” it said.

“The Cabinet also gave its approval for the revival of the Chief Minister Social Security Scheme (CMSSS) for wider coverage of beneficiaries and timely coverage of beneficiaries such as widows, elderly and Divyangsto ensure their dignity of life and improve their quality of life. The government will work towards 100% saturation of DBT for all schemes ensuring targeted and timely payments to beneficiaries,” the release further said.

“Digital Asset Inventory will be created for all public infrastructure, especially schools, hospitals (SHCs, PHCs, district hospitals), Anganwadi Kendras etc. for proper planning and utilisation of public assets,” it also said.

The Cabinet also decided to create a new master plan to make Itanagar-Naharlagun twin capital city future-ready and improve urban liveability.

To fulfil the aspirations of the youth, the government will identify and list vacancies in all departments for the preparation of annual recruitment calendars. The SEE Trinity (Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Employment) will be launched to completely reorient the entire ecosystem in the interest of youth and provide 25,000+ employment and self-employment opportunities to the youths in the next five years,” it further said.

Apart from launching the Arunachal Olympic Sports Mission enabling participation of sportspersons from Arunachal in 2028 and 2032 Olympic Games, the government will dedicate to the youth an innovative Youth Policy, focusing on youth aspirations, education, skilling, health including mental health, entrepreneurial aspirations, community involvement, participation in governance mechanisms etc.

To attract investment a new Arunachal Industrial Policy will be introduced by dovetailing with UNNATI Scheme launched by the Central government. Also on the cards is a notification of a new ‘Arunachal Pradesh Handloom and Handicrafts Policy’ and ‘One Tribe, One Weave Mission’ to protect and promote indigenous textiles, handicrafts which is expected to provide enhanced incomes for artisans, market linkages and enabling applications for Geographical Indication (GI) tags.

“A new tourism policy will also be launched that will include film, farm, wine and eco-tourism and homestay to provide holistic experiences to domestic and foreign tourists and attract investments and provide employment opportunities for the youths,” the release added.

The Cabinet recommended for appointment of a pro-tem speaker. The council of ministers also recommended for the commencement of the first assembly session of the 8th Legislative Assembly on June 14 for administrating oaths to MLAs of Arunachal Pradesh and election of speaker and deputy speaker.