Inside The PMO: Modi Helpline

With a tech push, the prime minister revamps his  office's grievance redressal units. Petitions are up, relief too is now just a click away.

- Uday Mahurkar

While opinions may differ on the NDA government’s performance on the economy and social reforms front, one area where there has been a sea change is the citadel of power in South Block, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Led by tech-savvy Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s online push, the office is now more in touch with the common man, and more efficiently dealing with personal petitions, than ever before. The transformation is perhaps best reflected in the surge in representations to the PMO’s public grievance wing. Against an average of about one lakh petitions per year when the UPA was in power, it’s now up to nearly 6 lakh petitions annually over the last two years. The principal reason behind this: the public grievance wing is now only a few mouse-clicks away, connected to petitioners directly through both the internet and text messaging.

The PMO is also dealing with petitions much faster—with a 50-member team filing and handling each petition electronically, and responding within two days on SMS and through online status updates. Applicants can now track their petitions, lodge reminders, and even see the action report generated by the departments concerned.