Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Shri Narendra Modi

Honorable Chief Minister

Government of Gujarat

OPEN LETTER TO CHIEF MINISTER (CM) FROM COMMON MAN (CM) WITH REQUEST TO

PARTICIPATE IN YOUR VISION TO BUILD OUR VIBRANT GUJARAT 2050

Dear Sir,

First of all congratulations for an excellent event, the Vibrant Gujarat Summit

2011. All the citizen of our great nation and vibrant state are thankful to you and are

proud of this socio-economical marvel. As a citizen of our great state I also take

opportunity to thank yourself and Government for your progressive policies and

steps taken for “Sustainable All Inclusive Development”.

While we as a nation and especially Gujarat State have been on growth wave for past

decade there are still lots of areas in which we lag behind and can achieve if thinkers,

government, corporates and people can collaborate. To create better and vibrant

Gujarat of future, the Gujarat of your vision, the Gujarat as the center of global

prosperity and happiness we must embark on the path to Our Vibrant Gujarat

2050. Our thoughts are inclined to

1. Education for Knowledge and Opportunity

Still we are far away from global standards as well as with our fast paced growth

human resource is and will be a growth bottleneck. While Gujarat has and will always

welcome people and talent from across the country and the world, yet a strong

education infrastructure will be the key to extend benefits of economic growth to

people of the state across the society. Also as the gap between different sections of

society in terms of access to opportunities is wide, quality education focused

towards knowledge creation is the only tool to bridge such anomalies.

a. We need better and more innovative ways to deliver primary and secondary

education to enhance reach on one hand and increase receptiveness to

education on the other.

b. We need to revitalize our existing school system with focus on not just

reducing dropout rates but also enhancing the quality and absorption of

knowledge we deliver.

c. We need to create center of excellence for higher education rather than just

increase number of institutions delivering higher education, at the same

time making these center relevant to marketplace.

d. We need better equipped professional training institutions which delivers

more relevant and practical skills. Need is to connect professional training

to industry using win-win business models.

e. We need to create better environment to facilitate creation of better

academia as still quality education providers are scarce in state. US model

of higher education can be an excellent guiding model, but with

customization.

2. Healthcare which Transcend Boundaries and Leads to Happiness

While we are thankful for being amongst some of the best served in terms of primary

healthcare in the country, still the reach of affordable yet high quality and specialized

health services to majority is lacking. Economic and efficient delivery of quality super

specialized healthcare services are still a distant dream to a large section of the

society. Healthy and happy people are more productive. Happier people are

Healthier and Healthier people are Happier.

a. We need better spread of specialized and super-specialized health care

centers across the state.

b. We need more co-ordination amongst private, government and semi-

government healthcare providers.

c. We need to restructure governments spending on healthcare in an

innovative manner to make it more effective and efficient at the same time

delivering value to the people.

d. We need to create new research, training and education centers for better

service delivery to needy.

e. We need to identify newer threats due to change in socio-economic fabric

of the state and lifestyle of our people. Especially related to mental health,

sexual practices and restructured demography.

f. We need to emphasize more on creation of counseling centers and facilities

as mental makeup plays a key role in health.

3. Environment Activism for not just Protection but Reversing Climate

Change

This is one area in which, under your leadership, we are already world class and

doing better than anyone else not only in India but also globally. However seeing the

enormity of the issue and its impact on mankind we can undertake innovative steps

and become pioneers in leading sustainable growth.

a. We should focus not only on alternate energy but also in promoting recycle

and reuse of waste, as this will lead to reduction of far larger volume of Carbon

Emission.

b. We must identify collaborative community based projects for managing

industrial waste and create an environment-commerce win-win model.

c. We must work in identifying hazardous and toxic waste and create best

processes, practices and projects to manage such substances which have huge

impact on environment and people. While key is creation of structured policy

however it is important to take steps to avoid contamination and proliferation

of such waste to citizens.

d. We must promote use of recent technologies in alternate energy sector

especially latest solar energy and geo-thermal energy techniques.

4. Connected Governance with Human Touch and Friendly Face

While access to governance is extremely high in Gujarat as well as various innovative

programs of government has enabled people from both rural and urban areas to

connect with government, yet better use of collaborative tools like social media

can play a vital role in future face of government. As the penetration of

communication tools and hence social media is very high in Gujarat it makes a strong

case for Government and its departments to leverage Twitter, Facebook and similar

platforms to tap in youth of the state.

a. We must integrate Governance with masses using IT by not only

Computerizing, Web Enabling and Connecting people with administration but

also with Policy Makers.

b. We must create transparent collaborative platforms where people can connect

freely and easily in real time with Government Officials, Policy Makers and

each other.

c. Leap frog the connectivity bottleneck by creating state wide high speed

wireless broadband connectivity hence enabling rich content sharing amongst

all stake holders.

We believe a lot can be done if all of us work together and focus our energies in right

direction. To partner your vision to create Our Vibrant Gujarat 2050, we would be keen

to meet you and participate in your initiatives.

Warm Regards,

Deepak Pareek Social Technopreneur

deepak@deepakpareek.com +91 9898269489