DoPT showcases 12 years of 'reform express engine', from recruitment overhaul to Mission Karmayogi

From ending interviews for lower-level government jobs and introducing self-attestation of documents to launching Mission Karmayogi and enacting a law against examination malpractices, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) highlighted what it described as a decade-long transformation of India's administrative architecture under the Narendra Modi government.

The achievements were showcased as part of the Centre's outreach marking 12 years of the Modi government.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, Jitendra Singh, said the department had evolved from being a largely procedural arm of the government into a driver of governance reforms with a wider social and economic impact.

"There was a time when people dreaded coming to this department and even officials avoided it because it was associated mainly with grievances and disciplinary matters. That is no longer the case," Singh said, describing the DoPT as a "reform express engine".

DoPT Secretary Rachna Shah outlined reforms spanning recruitment, civil service training, grievance redressal, transparency measures, pension administration, and digital governance.

Among the major reforms highlighted was the abolition of interviews for recruitment to Group C and non-gazetted Group B posts in 2016.

According to the DoPT, the move reduced discretion and favouritism in government recruitment while easing the burden on candidates travelling long distances for interviews. 24 states and eight Union Territories have since adopted similar practices.

Singh also cited the introduction of self-attestation of documents as an example of the government's effort to replace what he called the "dubious legacy of colonial rule". The reform ended the requirement for citizens to obtain attestations from gazetted officers for a range of official purposes.

"The idea was simple. Trust the citizen," he said, adding that the government had sought to move away from practices rooted in distrust of citizens.

The department said that the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, had created a legal framework to tackle paper leaks, organised cheating and other examination malpractices.

The law provides for stringent penalties against individuals and organised groups involved in compromising public examinations.

Recruitment agencies have also moved towards computer-based examinations, Aadhaar-enabled verification and digital processing systems.

According to figures presented by the department, more than 12 lakh appointment letters have been issued through various recruitment drives over the past few years, including through the Rozgar Mela initiative launched in 2022.

The Staff Selection Commission has reduced recruitment cycles from 12-15 months to 6-8 months through examination restructuring and digitisation, while the Union Public Service Commission has introduced a One-Time Registration system linked to Aadhaar and DigiLocker.

Shah also highlighted the launch of the UPSC's Pratibha Setu portal, which allows employers to access details of candidates who cleared various stages of recruitment examinations but were not finally selected. The department said hundreds of candidates had already received employment offers through the platform.

A major focus of the presentation was Mission Karmayogi, the government's flagship civil service capacity-building programme launched in 2020.

Singh said the initiative reflected a shift from "rule-based governance to role-based governance", with training increasingly tailored to the competencies required for specific responsibilities.

According to Shah, the iGOT Karmayogi platform now has more than 1.6 crore registered users and nearly 13 crore course completions.

The platform offers more than 5,000 courses and uses artificial intelligence tools for personalised learning, competency mapping and course recommendations.

The department also highlighted reforms in cadre management, reservation policies, grievance redressal systems and pension administration, alongside measures aimed at improving the work environment for government employees.

Singh said India's governance reforms were attracting international attention, with officials from countries such as South Africa, Mongolia and the Maldives studying aspects of the Indian administrative model.

Asked about lateral entry into senior government positions, Singh said no fresh appointments had been made since 2023, because issues relating to reservation remain unresolved.

"If somebody has a suggestion, we would like to hear it," he said.

Shah said that of the 63 specialists recruited through the lateral-entry scheme, introduced to bring domain experts into government, around two-thirds continue to serve in their positions.

The department presented the reforms as part of a broader effort to simplify citizen-government interactions, improve transparency in public administration, and build a more skilled and technology-enabled civil service.