The bureaucracy is taking a long long time to understand that it serves the
Constitution, and the Constitution serves the people. Sadly, we are blessed
with an administration that thinks it was created to rule. Even when it
reaches out (and we do applaud every effort to reach out), it does so from
the paternalistic heights of power.
The best response to such an announcement is to redouble efforts to push the
initiative discussed a long while back, on this list if I am not mistaken,
to put up wikipages that explain each and every government procedure and
rule.
On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 10:20 PM, Gautam John <gautam(a)prathambooks.org>wrote;wrote:
Not really a Wikipedia model, what?
Crying shame about the license.
Wondering if the Chapter and the Office can do anything?
Thank you.
Best,
Gautam
(handheld)
On Sep 2, 2011 10:00 PM, "Sohel Bohra" <sohelbohra(a)gmail.com> wrote:
http://www.livemint.com/articles/2011/08/29214955/Govt-starts-website-to-ex…
> *Govt starts website to explain
economic terms and concepts*
> Remya Nair
> The government has started
Arthapedia, a website designed on the lines of
> Wikipedia, that will act as a source of reference for economic terms and
> concepts used in the public policy domain in India.
> The website, an attempt by the
government to bridge the gap between
> policymakers and the general public, was inaugurated on Monday by
Planning
Commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh
Ahluwalia as a part of the
golden
jubilee celebrations of the Indian Economic
Service. It will cater to the
requirements of academicians, economists, policy practitioners,
journalists,
> students and other interested parties, both within India and abroad.
> “The objective of this portal is to
increase transparency in government
by
simplifying indigenous concepts or by introducing
domestic institutions
to
> support the professional development of public policy economists,” the
> website says. “It is meant to enrich and enhance citizen-friendly policy
> formulation through dialogue and collaborative action.”
> A finance ministry official involved
in the designing of the website said
> government officials may frequently use some terminologies unique to
India
such as *panchayati raj* and flagship programmes,
such as the Mahatma
Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, but
their exact scope and
meaning may not be well known to others. “The idea is to explain the
meaning
and relevance of the terms in the Indian context.
Also, some terms may
have
different meanings in different countries. It is
important that the
Indian
context is explained,” she said.
Besides explaining terms and concepts, the website will also offer
detailed
profiles of some of the key Indian policymakers.
To begin with, the
website
has uploaded five profiles—Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh; finance
minister
Pranab Mukherjee; C. Rangarajan, chairman of the
Economic Advisory
Council
> to the Prime Minister of India; Ahluwalia; and Reserve Bank of India
> governor D. Subbarao.
> Users willing to upgrade the text and
context of a particular word can
open
the text on a virtual mode and edit the same with
authentic references.
The
edited content is posted after being moderated by
the editorial board. In
the initial phase, however, only serving IES officers will be allowed to
write the content of this website and non-IES persons can only post
comments
> and queries for now.
> To be sure, the website has a
disclaimer that says the government of
India
does not monitor the entries and the views
expressed therein are not
necessarily those of the government. “The entries, therefore, must not be
treated as official statements of policy or definitions”.
It will, however, take some time for the website to become a one-stop
destination for all terms, concepts and profiles of eminent
personalities.
> “Going ahead, the challenge will be
to sustain the portal with constant
> upgradation,” Kaushik Basu, chief economic adviser in the finance
ministry,
> said.
> --
> Sohel Bohra
> Co-founder - WikifyIndia <http://www.wikifyindia.com/>
+91-95038 48386
sohel(a)wikifyindia.com
Twitter <http://twitter.com/#%21/WikifyIndia> |
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