State PCS - Uttar Pradesh (UP PCS)

• 10 Jul 2025

35th Report on CPGRAMS

Why in News?  

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) released the 35th monthly report of the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) for States and Union Territories for June 2025.  

• The report provides an analysis of public grievance types and their redressal by States and UTs; in this edition, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of disposals (25,870 cases), followed by Gujarat (3,986 cases).

Key Points

• About CPGRAMS: 
  • CPGRAMS is a 24/7 online platform developed by the National Informatics Centre, for citizens to lodge grievances related to service delivery. 
  • It was launched by the DARPG under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions. 
  • It is a single portal connected to all the Ministries/Departments of the Government of India and States. 
  • CPGRAMS also provides an appeal facility to the citizens if they are not satisfied with the resolution by the Grievance Officer. 
  • Issues not addressed for redressal include Right to Information (RTI) matters, court-related or sub-judice matters, religious matters, and grievances of government employees related to their service issues. 

 

• Sevottam Guidelines for 2025–26: 
  • In collaboration with ASCI Hyderabad, the DARPG has developed the Sevottam Guidelines for 2025–26, accompanied by a comprehensive training curriculum.  
  • These guidelines aim to standardize grievance redressal processes across government departments and further improve the quality of public services.

Sevottam Model 

• About:  
  • The 2^nd Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), in its 12th report titled "Citizen-Centric Administration – The Heart of Governance", emphasized the need to make government institutions more transparent, accountable, and citizen-friendly. 
    • To implement this vision, the DARPG introduced the ‘Sevottam’ framework. 
  • The Sevottam Model serves as a structured framework to improve public service delivery in India. 
  • It promotes citizen-centric governance by fostering transparency, accountability, and continual enhancement of services in public institutions. 
• Key Components of the Sevottam Model: 
  • Citizen Charters: 
    • Public organisations publish Citizen Charters to declare the services they offer, the service delivery timelines, and citizens' entitlements. 
    • These charters empower citizens to demand better services and hold service providers accountable. 
  • Public Grievance Redressal: 
    • The model includes a strong grievance redressal system to resolve complaints effectively. 
    • It focuses on ensuring citizen satisfaction, regardless of the outcome of the grievance. 
  • Excellence in Service Delivery: 
    • This component ensures efficient service delivery through capacity building, performance management, and a culture of continuous improvement. 
• The 7-Step Sevottam Approach: 
  • Define Services: Public agencies must clearly identify and define the services offered by each department or unit. 
  • Set Standards: Authorities should lay down measurable and time-bound service standards for each identified service. 
  • Develop Capacity: Departments need to build institutional and human resource capacity to meet service delivery benchmarks. 
  • Perform: Internal systems and processes must ensure that individuals and departments consistently meet the prescribed standards. 
  • Monitor: Organisations must regularly track performance against defined benchmarks. 
  • Evaluate: Authorities should carry out periodic evaluations, incorporating citizen feedback to assess service quality. 
  • Continuous Improvement: Based on monitoring and evaluation, organisations should introduce improvements and reforms to enhance service delivery over time.

Uttar Pradesh Agritech Innovation Hub

Why in News? 

The Union Education Minister inaugurated the Uttar Pradesh Agritech Innovation Hub and the Agritech Startup and Technology Showcase at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology (SVPUAT), Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points 

• Integration of Technology and Natural Farming: 
  • The importance of chemical-free, natural farming was highlighted, with a call for technology to bridge the gap between the field and the market.  
  • This initiative seeks to enhance sustainability and precision farming through technology such as IoT-enabled sensors, smart irrigation, and automation technologies, which can significantly contribute to the agricultural economy, especially in North India. 
• Focus on Skill Development and Rural Youth Empowerment: 
  • The event also stressed that the Agritech Innovation Hub is a collaborative ecosystem where farmers, technologists, and startups can co-create solutions for the future.  
  • The hub aims to empower rural youth and farmers to embrace the agritech revolution. 
• Technological Collaboration: 
  • An MoU was signed between IIT Ropar and SVPUAT for collaboration in agritech research and innovation.  
  • The hub is equipped with advanced data analytics platforms and real-time monitoring systems to facilitate data-driven decision-making for farmers. 
• Training and Capacity Building Initiatives: 
  • The initiative will also focus on training and capacity building through workshops and sessions for farmers and rural youth.  
  • Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) will play an essential role in training the farming community, ensuring effective technology adoption and knowledge transfer. 

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) 

• KVK is an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS). 
• The mandate of KVK is technology assessment and demonstration for its application and capacity development. 
• It aims at assessment of location specific technology modules in agriculture and allied enterprises, through technology assessment, refinement and demonstrations. 
• KVKs also produce quality technological products (seed, planting material, bio-agents, livestock) and make it available to farmers. 
• The KVK scheme is 100% financed by the Government of India and the KVKs are sanctioned to Agricultural Universities, ICAR institutes, related Government Departments and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) working in Agriculture. 

Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs) 

• An FPO is a type of producer organisation (PO) with farmers as its members, and its promotion is supported by the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC).  
  • The FPOs were inspired by economist YK Alagh’s recommendation (2002) to amend the Companies Act, 1956.  
  • FPOs can be registered under the Companies Act, 2013, the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or as Public Trusts under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882.  
• A Producer Organisation is a group of producers, agricultural, non-farm, or artisan, that can take legal forms like producer companies or cooperatives, sharing profits among members.