Rajya Sabha secretariat to conduct study to improve functionality, efficiency

The Rajya Sabha Secretariat is embarking on a study in the new year to improve its functioning, equip its officials for higher leadership positions and make Parliamentary committee reports more comprehensible so that it attracts more space in the media.

A brainchild of Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, sources said, the study will examine process redesign and leadership promotion with an "imaginative and interpretative approach".

Advisor in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat Dr P P K Ramacharyulu, who was Secretary-General till recently, has been assigned to examine in detail 10 aspects of the functioning of the Secretariat and suggest a framework for redesigning the systems for better performance on a sustainable basis.

The study will focus on improving the functional systems in the Secretariat that enable evidence-based interpretation of the functioning of Rajya Sabha.

Sources said the study will seek to integrate various initiatives taken during the last four years under Naidu for better monitoring of output and service delivery. It will also examine in detail the inadequacies in the functioning of the Secretariat.

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With Naidu taking a personal interest in the functioning of the Parliamentary committees under Rajya Sabha, sources said Naidu is keen that there is an amplification of the content and recommendations contained in the reports.

Concerned over the "sub-optimal media coverage" in this regard, he has specifically said that the study should examine the structure of preparation of reports by the Committees. The reports should be easily comprehensible and there could be a briefing of the media on major reports, he has suggested.

For preparing the report, Ramacharyulu will look into process re-engineering, quantification of output/services to be delivered by 12 divisions measures to improve the functioning of the Committees of Rajya Sabha and leadership promotion by equipping Secretariat officials for higher positions through a holistic understanding of various aspects and nuances of the functioning of the House.

He would also look at the aspects of promotion of team spirit and a sense of involvement and coordinated effort for better communication outreach through media on various aspects of the functioning of the House.

Sources said Naidu felt that various divisions need to function in a more integrated manner and since the assumption of office, he has emphasised the need for quantification of various aspects of the functioning of Rajya Sabha for effective monitoring of the performance of the Secretariat and the House.

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