Administrative Reforms Commission Uttarakhand 2007 - Key Learnings for 2026 and Onwards...

I often read through my late fathers rich compilation of his Works, Documents and Reports at Shraddha Kunj (SK), Vasant Vihar, Dehradun, the house where my parents lived since the year 2000. SK was constructed in the year 1979 by my late grand-father on a piece of land that was part of the Housing Co-operative Society here.

One such set of Documents/Reports is the ARC Report 2007 (almost 20 years ago) that I am currently reading. As I opened the hard copy Reports (5 Volumes), a news clip from the Pioneer came out (attached in my Blog) from 2007, that sums up the effort and how the then Governor of Uttarakhand Sri Sudarshan Agarwal ji responded to this monumental effort. Keen to share it in my blog with a larger audience along with few pics that came out of these Volumes. 

The ARC Report 2007 outcomes and recommendations are valid even today. Key points mentioned - ethics in governance, e-governance, effective district administration, empowerment of PRIs, etc. are more relevant this day than ever before. 

For a large country like India, the State Administration forms the framework on which the welfare state stands up, and must deliver to meet the needs of the last person in the remotest part of the country. Periodic self reflection and reforms are crucial to keep evolving in an organic manner to meet the current and future needs of the nation. 

As REACHA works with the current Uttarakhand Government - its Ministries, Departments and Policy institutions like SETU Aayog, this ARC Report compilation is a reminder to us on how Administrative Reforms were proposed 2 decades ago as the new State of Uttarakhand was formed (in the year 2000). The current dispensations in government and non-profits like REACHA must always study such efforts as part of constant endeavor to do good in a better and more efficient manner. 

With approx. INR 35,000 Crores spent through CSR in 2023-24 by more than 27,000 companies, I feel CSR has a key role to strengthen the administrative framework in our nation as we march towards Viksit Bharat