New Delhi (26.04.2024): There are hundreds of civil servants who considers Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) of India as a ray of hope. The Commonwealth Secretariat has recognized Centralised CPGRAMS of India as a best practice in Commonwealth Secretaries of Public Service/ Secretaries to Cabinet meeting that took place from 22 to 24 April, 2024 in Marlborough House, London.  

In the outcome statement of Third Biennial Pan-Commonwealth Heads of Public Service Meeting issued on 24.04.2024, the commonwealth Secretariat Shared with member countries the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) of India, the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System (CVRS) and identity management systems of Namibia, Human Resource Management and E-Citizen models of Kenya as future-ready governance best practices from across the Commonwealth.

The Indian presentation on the CPGRAMS was made by V Srinivas (IAS: 1989: RJ), Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), on April 23, 2024 and received commendation from Commonwealth Member countries as a global best practice. The Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland KC said, "CPGRAMS is a state-of-the-art grievance redressal system and a best practice of SMART government. The Commonwealth’s remaining 1.2 billion citizens can benefit from the adoption of the technology platform in the same way India’s 1.4 billion citizens have benefited."

The theme of the meeting was ‘Institutionalisation of SMART Government to enhance public service delivery’ with focus on adopting AI in governance. The forum brought together Commonwealth Heads of Public Service, Secretaries to Cabinet, Senior Public Officials, industry champions, and eminent scholars.

The primary objectives of the meeting were to share contemporary knowledge, ideas and experiences on how technology could be leveraged to support provision of e-services for optimal service delivery and achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development across the Commonwealth. It also aimed at sharing select relevant case studies of some member countries and to identify opportunities for possible partnership and collaboration.

The meeting agreed and endorsed the following actions:

a) Creation of a community of practice for Commonwealth Heads of Public Service to enhance sharing of knowledge and experiences. Delegates welcomed the opportunity for continued dialogue on topics of good governance during the interregnum between biennial meetings.

b) Conducting a stocktaking exercise on the status of smart governance within the Commonwealth countries and to identify both the success stories as well as the gaps/demand for digital services.

c) Charting of a road map to facilitate implementation of agreed actions at country level. This includes, the establishment of a Smart Governance Working Group at the Commonwealth Secretariat, which would include representatives from champion countries, to spearhead work in the area of smart governance until the next biennial meeting scheduled for 2026.

d) Sharing the work being conducted by the Commonwealth AI Consortium amongst members and expanding the number of members currently being reached through its activities.

e) Sharing future-ready governance best practices from across the Commonwealth such as the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) of India, the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics System (CVRS) and identity management systems of Namibia, Human Resource Management and E-Citizen models of Kenya, shared at the meeting, amongst others, with member countries.

f) Continuing provision of technical assistance to support implementation of GAPP principles, including capacity building in government performance management.