New Delhi: Sticking to his promise of streamlining the administrative structure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to discontinue cabinet committees on natural calamities, prices, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and said they will be overseen by the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA), which will be reconstituted soon.
Modi, who has dismantled a number of ministerial panels in order to improve governance and delivery, on Tuesday discontinued four cabinet standing committees, clarifying that their functions will be carried out by a new CCEA. An official statement also said: “The Prime Minister will be re-constituting the appointments committee of the cabinet, the CCEA, the cabinet committee on parliamentary affairs, the cabinet committee on political affairs and the cabinet committee on security.”
Modi, who led his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies to a landslide victory in the April-May national elections, had promised “minimum government and maximum governance” in his election campaign. He has recently abolished the practice of appointing groups of ministers (GoMs) and empowered groups of ministers (eGoMs), an idea conceived during the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to assist the council of ministers in resolving contentious issues.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government created 82 GoMs and 14 eGoMs during its decade-long rule and drew criticism for evading and delaying decisions. Modi has asked his ministers and civil servants to take decisions on pending matters without referring them to the cabinet. The move is expected to fast-track governance.
On Tuesday, the official note from the Prime Minister’ s Office said the cabinet committee on management of natural calamities will be discontinued and its functions will be handled by a committee under the cabinet secretary whenever calamities occur.
Similarly, the functions of the cabinet committee on prices, WTO and UIDAI will be handled by the CCEA. The matters related to the WTO can be brought before the full cabinet whenever necessary, the statement said, while major decisions on UIDAI “have already been taken and the remaining issues will be brought to the CCEA”.
The dismantling of the ministerial panels is seen as a move to streamline the administration, speed up decision making and improve efficiency and delivery.
In his first address to a joint session of Parliament after the new government took over, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday that the new government is “committed to providing a clean and efficient administration focused on delivery...efforts will be made to eliminate obsolete laws, regulations, administrative structures and practices. Rationalization and convergence among ministries, departments and other arms of the government will be ensured to have focused delivery”.
Liz Mathew
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