Grievance redressal must go beyond disposal to ensure citizen’s satisfaction, Says Dr. Jitendra Singh

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology; Earth Sciences and Minister of State for PMO, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh today called for a fundamental shift in the way public grievances are handled, emphasizing that grievance redressal must go beyond disposal to ensure citizen’s satisfaction.

The Minister said, grievance redressal ought to be a tool for systemic reform and ease of living.

Addressing the National Workshop on “Effective Redressal of Public Grievances, NextGen CPGRAMS and Progress Review,” Dr. Jitendra Singh said the government must treat grievances as opportunities to identify flaws in policies and administrative rules.

Tracing the evolution of grievance redressal in India, the Minister recalled how, in 2014, only about two lakh grievances were filed annually, and many government websites created for this purpose remained unused. “Today, more than 26 lakh grievances are filed every year. This reflects a transformation in public trust and the system’s responsiveness,” he said, crediting the shift to the government’s push for citizen-centric digital governance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.

Dr. Jitendra Singh described grievance redressal as integral to the Prime Minister’s vision of “Maximum Governance, Minimum Government,” stressing that accountability, transparency, and timely feedback were key to achieving “ease of living” for citizens. Recounting personal interventions, he said he and senior officials had made random calls to citizens on Friday evenings to gauge satisfaction. “We tried to reconnect with people who had become disengaged from the system,” he said.

The Minister also highlighted innovative efforts like setting up a human interface after grievance disposal—where trained personnel call complainants to assess satisfaction levels—and the identification of recurring grievance patterns to flag deeper policy issues. “If a complaint is coming from different parts of the country, it is time to question the underlying rules or procedures,” he remarked, noting that over 1,600 obsolete rules had already been scrapped as part of a systemic clean-up.

Adding a broader institutional context to the workshop, Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Shri V. Srinivas, said the government had made major strides in technology adoption and procedural reforms through CPGRAMS 7.0. “Grievance redressal time is now down to 15 days, and citizen satisfaction levels have touched 62%. Over 1.15 crore grievances have been redressed between 2019 and 2025,” he said. The CPGRAMS platform, now linked with all Central Ministries, State Governments, and 23 Administrative Training Institutes, has also received international recognition from the Commonwealth Secretariat and the IBM Centre for Excellence.

Dr. Jitendra Singh reiterated that the goal of governance is to create a framework where citizens can seek happiness without harming other fellow citizens, and that public service delivery must reflect this principle. “You don’t have to define happiness, but governance must ensure it is possible without infringing on fellow citizens. That’s our job,” he said.

The Minister also acknowledged the growing global interest in India’s grievance redressal model, with countries like Bangladesh, Maldives, and South Africa sending delegations to study CPGRAMS and related initiatives such as the Digital Life Certificate system. He urged for more frequent engagements beyond the annual workshop, citing the availability of new digital meeting infrastructure.

The workshop, held at the Indian Institute of Public Administration’s iconic T N Chaturvedi Hall, was attended by senior bureaucrats from across India, including Secretaries, Chief Secretaries, training institute heads, and grievance officers. Organized by the DARPG, it marked a continued push to make governance more accountable, data-driven, and citizen-first.

The national workshop witnessed participation from several key officials and experts including Shri K. Padmanabhaiah, Chairman, ASCI; Professor Avanish Kumar, Dean, School of Public Policy & Governance; and senior administrators from Central Ministries and State Governments.

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