Major Committees 2016: Ajay Shankar Committee and Prof. NR Madhava Menon Panel
Ajay Shankar Committee - Purpose: To review functioning of PPP Cell. Key Functions: Introduction of credible third-party certification in most areas of regulation to cut down on multiple permissions needed by investors.
- Adopting global best practices for emission norms in order to promote ease of doing business in the country.
- Need for a standing institutional mechanism within the government for an independent regulatory impact assessment.
- For start-ups: Steps like Greenfield development and earmarking of mixed land use redevelopment should be undertaken.
- Start-ups must be exempted from the requirement of seeking building plan approvals would give a boost to the ecosystem.
- Any inspection of a start-up in cases of actionable complaints should done only with the permission of an officer at a sufficiently higher level.
- Environmental Issues: Ministries of environmentally sensitive sectors should join with the Ministry of Environment and Forests to prepare a 20-year perspective geographical plan.
- This plan must indicate preferred locations in prioritized categories for their anticipated projects in order to minimize the negative impact of environment.
Prof. NR Madhava Menon Panel
Purpose: Reported guidelines for regulating expenditure and content of advertisement in government ads
Government Ads Must Not Display Following
- No glorification of political figure or party in power- especially on the eve of elections.
- Do not publish photos political leaders (except President⟋Prime Minister or Governor⟋Chief Minister)
- No political symbol⟋logo⟋flag.
- No website links to political parties or political leader.
- No attack on opposition parties.
Government Ads Should Cover Only Following
- Ads related to government responsibilities, public safety, awareness.
- Government ads shall maintain political neutrality. Display message in objective and fair manner.
- Prior to elections, display no Government ads, except following:
- Law and order related
- Public health, disaster precaution, safety advisories
- Job applications, tender-contract advertisements
- During Nehru, Gandhi or xyz anniversary, multiple ministries, departments and PSUs run separate advertisements, thus wasting public money. For such anniversaries⟋ commemorations, issue only single advertisement.
- Additionally: setup an Ombudsman to check violation of these guidelines.
✍Examrace Team at Aug 21, 2021