.New Delhi:A few months after assuming office, PM Narendra Modi asked officials to fix an urgent problem: a six-fold jump in grievance mail was choking the PMO's response system, leading to delays running into several weeks in processing complaints that ranged from operation of Jan Dhan accounts to stuck patents.Getting rid of truckloads of redundant material was a start. The PMO created space for a staff of 50, a digital system for web filing of complaints, online transfer of petitions to central departments and SMS alerts for complainants. Even at 3,000 petitions a day, processing time came down to days. But as grievance redressal improved, data analysis revealed policy and design glitches — some of which threatened to undermine the efficacy of the government's ambitious welfare schemes — leading to interventions and course corrections aimed at addressing root causes for the complaints to pile up in the first place.
A Jan Dhan account holder who deposited Rs 100 in a bank branch other than his
"home branch" found Rs 29 deducted as cash handling charge. Realising
that negative experiences could discredit the scheme itself, rules were
clarified to ensure such levies were not charged from beneficiaries of the
financial inclusion programme.
Feedback about problems in postal deliveries led to a review of tracking of parcels, speed post and money orders and the introduction of a post information mobile app and SMS-based messaging. Similarly, the railways' refund system was tweaked and changes made to income tax and excise procedures to reduce hassles.
Initially, a sharp rise in petitions took officials by surprise as the yearly average rose from 1.2 lakh complaints to close to 6 lakh between June 2014 and March 2015. The increase seemed driven by expectations generated by the Modi campaign's promise of "maximum governance" and perceptions of an empowered PMO.
"The motivation came from the top with the PM seeking improvements. This led to re-engineering of processes that boosted efficiency with the same staff strength. The PM's 'Pragati' governance reviews helped and resulted in a superior rate of disposal. We are encouraging states to seamlessly integrate with our system," said Anurag Jain, joint secretary in the PMO. The change has been significant as disposal rate of central departments went up from 42 per cent in July 2015 to the current average of over 85 per cent.
Feedback about problems in postal deliveries led to a review of tracking of parcels, speed post and money orders and the introduction of a post information mobile app and SMS-based messaging. Similarly, the railways' refund system was tweaked and changes made to income tax and excise procedures to reduce hassles.
Initially, a sharp rise in petitions took officials by surprise as the yearly average rose from 1.2 lakh complaints to close to 6 lakh between June 2014 and March 2015. The increase seemed driven by expectations generated by the Modi campaign's promise of "maximum governance" and perceptions of an empowered PMO.
"The motivation came from the top with the PM seeking improvements. This led to re-engineering of processes that boosted efficiency with the same staff strength. The PM's 'Pragati' governance reviews helped and resulted in a superior rate of disposal. We are encouraging states to seamlessly integrate with our system," said Anurag Jain, joint secretary in the PMO. The change has been significant as disposal rate of central departments went up from 42 per cent in July 2015 to the current average of over 85 per cent.
