Central govt’s cash transfer scheme model of good governance: Pitroda

Prime Minister's Advisor on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations, Sam Pitroda, on Thursday termed the Centre's recent initiative to transfer subsidies directly into accounts of beneficiaries as the "best model"' of innovation in governance.

"The UPA governments schemes like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Unique Identification Number (UID) are the models of best innovation in governance," he said.

Talking to The Indian Express here, Pitroda also called upon the need for employing more patent examiners to reduce the time to clear the patents in the country. Emphasising that UPA government is keen on building an ecosystem for innovations in the country, the Prime Minister's Advisor said that the time to grant the approval for patents can be reduced by "employing more patent examiners." He added that the government was building a robust platform in the country to drive innovations.

Pitroda also said that the Central government is providing broad band connectivity at nearly 2.5 lakh panchayats to ensure that people make use of better technology platforms to avail government services. " The Central government is taking many initiatives to create a climate for innovations in the country. The government is not only funding new innovative business models but awards and scholarships are also being given to the people to ensure that innovation drives in. The Centre will start broad band facilities in near 2.5 lakh panchayats by the end of this year for which some 58 trials have already been done."

Pitroda said that many of the start-ups have made use of innovative business models to increase revenue manifold. " The innovations are happening in different sectors in the country. At a start-up village in Kerala, companies have not only got venture capital funds but have earned significant revenue," he said.

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