Successful Implementation of the 3rd Capacity Building Program on Public Policy and Governance for Civil Servants of Cambodia at NCGG, New Delhi

The National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), an apex-level autonomous institution of the Government of India, successfully completed the third capacity building programme on Public Policy and Governance for 38 Civil Servants of Cambodia. The two-week program was organized from January 8th, 2024 to January 19th, 2024.

NCGG’s efforts align with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, which emphasizes strengthening bilateral ties and fostering regional cooperation with neighboring countries. The valedictory session was chaired by Shri V. Srinivas, IAS Director General (DG, National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) & Secretary, Department of Administrative Reform and Public Grievances (DARPG), Government of India. In his address he said that DARPG has received Government approval for an MOU on collaboration between India and Cambodia in the domain of public administration and governance. He explained the Indian experience of digital transformation and the replication of the Indian experience in Cambodia under the MOU over the next 5 years.

Shri V.Srinivas highlighted the importance of çhintan shivir’ in enabling strong bonds through group discussions and deliberations. He also quoted Inida’s policy maxim of “minimum government, maximum governance” which is manifest by Digitally Empowered Citizens and Digitally Transformed Institutions.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Sreang Phanith, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Civil Service said that they are grateful to the Government of India and the Ministry of External Affairs for the opportunity provided. He also thanked Shri V. Srinivas as well NCGG team for conducting such a training programme for the Cambodian Civil Service officers. He elaborated how they learnt about a lot of best practices in the area of public policy and governance and how technology is being leveraged in India. He was of the opinion that they are looking forward to such exposure and this will lead the officers to give better services to the people of their country and ultimately help in achieving good governance.

The participants gave three elaborate and insightful presentations on “Digitally Tracking Performance of Civil Servants”, Improvement in Civil Service Recruitment Process in Cambodia” and “Promoting Digital Public Service Delivery and Increasing Citizen Satisfaction” as part of the learning outcomes they gained during the two week programme.

Dr. B.S Bisht, Associate Professor and Course Coordinator of the program gave a brief description of the course to the officers. The course includes Changing Paradigm of Governance, Public Policy and Implementation, Ethics in Administration, Leveraging Technology in Disaster Management, Climate Change and its Impact on Bio-Diversity, Performance Optimization in Health Sector, Smart and Sustainable Cities, Leadership and Communication, E-Governance and Digital India, Gender and Development, GeM: Bringing Transparency in Government Procurement, Emotional Intelligence for Administrations along with visits plan to Smart City Project and Information Technology Development Agency (ITDA) Dehradun along with Budha temple visit. The other visits include District Muzaffarnagar, AIIMS and Sanchar Bhawan in New Delhi and also a visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra.

The National Centre for Good Governance, established in 2014, is mandated to train civil servants from India and other countries. Over the years, the centre has successfully trained officers from various nations, including Bangladesh, Maldives, Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia, Gambia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Laos, Vietnam, Bhutan, and Myanmar.

The overall supervision and coordination of the 3rd Training Programme on Public Policy and Governance will be carried out by Dr. B. S. Bisht, course coordinator for Cambodia, along with Dr. Sanjeev Sharma, co-course coordinator, Sh. Brijesh Bisht, Training Assistant and the capacity building team of the NCGG.