In an exclusive interview with iLouge Media, Vivek Meena, Deputy Director at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, sheds light on the fundamental principles of good governance and the challenges encountered in implementing digital citizen services. He emphasizes the importance of prioritizing citizen-centric approaches and the need for a balance between flexibility and accountability in governance systems. Furthermore, Vivek Meena discusses the evolving nature of his role amidst the ongoing transition from the MCA 21 portal to a new platform, underscoring the crucial focus on user grievance resolution and smooth operational transitions.
What is Good Governance? What are the Principals of the Good Governance?
In my view, good governance involves prioritizing the citizens throughout the entire process and application. From the initial application submission to the final service delivery, the citizen’s needs and concerns should remain the focal point of governance.
Hence, we require transparency, accountability, and a well-defined timeline for the completion of tasks. A robust mechanism for minimizing grievances is also essential and should operate with transparency. Additionally, we must enable service tracking for enhanced efficiency. In my understanding, good governance necessitates trackability, transparency, and individual accountability for the services being provided.
What are the main challenges in implementing Digital Citizen Services?
When designing a system, we examine the scenarios that need to be digitized or integrated into the system. However, in India, there are numerous practical challenges that we may not anticipate when developing a solution. Hence, it is crucial to have some level of flexibility incorporated into the system.
Especially in India, it is imperative to recognize the multitude of practical challenges that exist. Despite consultations with professional institutes and stakeholders and thorough consideration of various scenarios, certain complex situations may remain difficult to fully comprehend.
To ensure inclusivity, the system must embrace flexibility to accommodate diverse authentication methods, including Aadhaar-based authentication. For instance, if a daily wage worker encounters issues with fingerprint authentication; alternative methods like eye scanning should be readily accessible, allowing for seamless authentication.
The challenge of maintaining flexibility is something that we must consider during the system design process. Although our desire for transparency and accountability may push us towards a more stringent approach, we must strike a balance that allows for flexibility while maintaining transparency and accountability.
How has your role changed in last 12 months?
We are presently in the process of transitioning from our MCA 21 portal to a new portal. This migration has encountered several challenges and teething issues along the way.
So, now we primarily focus on addressing user grievances, tracking and resolving issues and bugs that have been reported. We ensure that these concerns are promptly addressed by our service providers and aim for a smooth transition phase. To achieve this, we engage in discussions with professional institutes, maintain constant communication with our service providers, and establish a robust grievance mechanism system. Given the ongoing transition phase, these efforts remain our current focal point.
