Friday, February 25 2005 13:09 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Model Code of Good Governance for public servants is being drawn up as part of a comprehensive reform of administration and administrative procedures, President A P J Abdul Kalam said today (Feb 25, 2005).

The Government will set up an Administrative Reforms Commission to prepare a blueprint for revamping the public administration system, he told a joint sitting of Parliament on the opening day of the Budget Session.

"My Government is committed to reform of Government and to making it more transparent, responsive and efficient," he said outlining the Centre's key policies for coming fiscal.

Kalam said that the enactment of the Right to Information Act would empower citizens and oblige authorities to be more transparent.

"As part of the Government's efforts to enhance the quality of governance, a number of new initiatives are proposed to be taken to ensure that Government functionaries, at all levels, are properly trained to discharge their responsibilities and citizens have an effective mechanism for grievance redressal," the President said.

UPA Govt committed to caring polity

President Kalam also said that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government has been able to create an environment of social and political stability based on a commitment to the welfare of weaker sections and was committed to an "inclusive society, a caring polity and a sharing economy".

"The UPA's vital contribution to the nation has been the return of the polity to mainstream political values of pluralism, inclusiveness, secularism and economic growth with equity and social justice," he said in his.

Kalam said in a span of just nine months in office, the Government has already devoted considerable time and energy to the implementation of the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP).

He said that the Government has sustained the process of economic growth with due regard to equity and social justice. It has ensured communal harmony and imparted a new sense of hope to minorities and weaker sections of society.

"My Government has infused a sense of belonging among various disaffected groups, especially in North-Eastern States and among tribal communities across the country," the President said.

He noted that the handing over of the historic Kangla Fort to the people of Manipur was not just a glorious moment in the history of the Manipuri people, "it also symbolized my Government's commitment to all segments of society that they have a right to live a life of dignity and self-respect".

He said that it was with this same message that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Jammu and Kashmir to empathise with people living in the Kashmir valley and migrant Kashmiri pandits in Jammu.