Recognizing the important role played by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in effective implementation of government policies/schemes, NITI Aayog organized an interaction with the leading CSOs and key ministries of the Union Government in the national capital on Wednesday, March 01, 2017.
Over 17 leading voluntary organizations and 15 central ministries took part in the deliberations to take forward the social sector initiatives of the government. The voluntary organizations from all over the country, working across the spectrum of social sector services from education, health, geriatric care, women’s empowerment, rural development to handlooms, interacted with senior officials from Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Women and Child Development, FSSAI, Ministry of Minority Affairs, among others.
Highlighting the crucial role of CSOs in ensuring inclusive growth and development down to the last mile, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, Dr. Arvind Panagariya said, “An effective partnership between the government and the CSOs will go a long way in efficient utilization of government resources, especially in the social sector.”
Emphasizing the potential of a collaborative approach to create a lasting impact on the lives of all citizens, NITI Aayog CEO, Mr. Amitabh Kant said that innovative solutions to eliminate poverty, hunger and all other forms of deprivation can emerge through greater coordination between CSOs and the government. The meeting identified effective ways of strengthening partnership between CSOs and the government at the national, state/district and ground level for improving service delivery of major government schemes.
A range of issues pertaining to social sector service delivery from allocation of funds to monitoring and evaluation processes, including self-regulation of CSOs, were discussed at the roundtable. Elucidating the nature and impact of work performed by the organization, each CSO brought to the table specific sector-wise recommendations to collaborate with government ministries and departments. Suggestions were made by leading voluntary organizations including Pratham, Help Age India, Sulabh International, Pradhan, Akshaya Patra and Prayas for developing a sustainable partnership between voluntary organizations and the Government. Carrying forward the spirit of partnership, it has been decided that similar interactions to build strong partnerships for effective governance will take place at regular intervals.
