1947
Secretariat Reorganisation Committee
G.S. Bajpai reviewed personnel shortages and improvements in work methods and introduced the system of posting officers from the states at the Centre.

1949
Reorganisation of the Machinery of Government
N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar recommended dividing central government departments into four bureaus: National Resources and Agriculture; Industry and Commerce; Transport and Communications; and Labour and Social Services

1951
A.D. Gorwala Committee
The Gorwala reports on Public Administration and Efficient Conduct of State Enterprises emphasised setting of priorities and recommended the delegation of financial powers to administrative ministries.

1953, 1956
The Appleby Reports
American public administration expert Paul Appleby reports focused on issues like work measurement, filing system, office management.

1954, 1962
Committee on Prevention of Corruption
K. Santhanam's recommendations led to the establishment of the Central Vigilance Commission

1964
Administrative Reforms Commission
The ARC submitted 20 reports over the next six years. It said the number of government departments should be cut from 47 to 20. It had also talked about fixing time-limits for disposal of applications and strengthening of the grievance redressal machinery.

1979
Police Commission
The Commission suggested setting up public security committees at the national, state and district levels; and a public committee for each police station to inspect lock-ups and look into citizen's grievances.

1983
Economic Administration Reforms Commission
L.K. Jha recommended the introduction of action plans in ministries, fixing levels for disposal of cases, streamlining the procedure for inter-ministerial consultations.

1996
Towards Effective and Responsive Administration
Focused on citizens' charters, speedier grievance redressal, punctuality in offices, charter of ethics, streamlining disciplinary procedures.

2001
Expenditure Reforms Commission
In ten reports, K.P. Geethakrishnan recommended the drastic downsizing and restructuring of 27 ministries and departments.

Five Landmarks In Governance

73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution, 1992
A brainchild of Rajiv Gandhi, the constitutional amendments making urban and rural local bodies constitutional entities were enacted in 1992. Each state has to enact its own Panchayati Raj Act setting up a three-tier local government structure.Seats are reserved for women and scheduled castes and tribes. The subjects that the local bodies will deal with have been specified. The local bodies are empowered to collect certain taxes, duties, tolls and fees.
-Seetha

Janmabhoomi, Andhra Pradesh, 1997
Instead of paying construction firms and contractors to build dams or schools, the state government uses local people instead. Formulated by chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the programme chips in with 70 per cent of the cost while the rest is borne by the local community, either in the form of financial donations or free labour. The technical and administrative powers to sanction works have been delegated to the community and procedures simplified.
-E. Kumar Sharma

Malappuram CBNP (community-based nutrition project and poverty alleviation programme), Kerala, 1994.
Winner of the 2000 International Innovations Awards Programme instituted by the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM), this micro-credit programme encourages women to start tea-shops or restaurants, get into soap-making and fishing.The groups have turned their attention to reproductive health issues and education.
-Nitya Varadarajan

Education Guarantee Scheme, Madhya Pradesh, 1997
A community that doesn't have a school within one km radius has to list 25 children (40 in non-tribal areas), arrange for a space for a school, identify a local resident to be the guruji or teacher and present demand a school from the sarpanch. Mission director Amita Sharma put together a programme whereby the state government guarantees a school within 90 days of the demand being raised. It provides the teacher's salary (Rs 500 a month), training and teaching materials.
-Seetha

Rogi Kalyan Samiti, Madhya Pradesh, 1995
Winner of the Global Development Network Award, 2000. Management of hospitals is handed over to a society of people's representatives called the Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS).These societies are empowered to levy user charges. The hospitals are now financially self-sufficient since the fees charged go straight into their accounts. Starting with one hospital in Indore in 1994-95, the programme is now operating in 604 hospitals and over 6,000 citizens are involved in hospital management.

-Seetha