Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh Tuesday said the government move to provide for self-certification of documents was a "revolutionary decision" and states were being taken on board.
Addressing an international symposium here and later interacting with the media, he said self-certification marks a departure from the established system of over 65 years.
Replacing the need for attestation by a gazetted officer with self-certification by a citizen was a major citizen-friendly initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the minister said.
He said the notification concerning self-certification will be made soon but the government has made known its intent. "We have not fixed a deadline. (Will) like to do it sooner than later."
The necessary circular has been sent to various departments and his ministry would welcome suggestions from states too.
Modi has been pushing for a shift to self-certification and minimum use of affidavits to benefit the common man, Jitendra Singh said.
The central government has asked all its departments as also state governments to make provision for self-certification of documents in place of affidavits.
Officials said under the self-certification method, original documents would have to be produced only at the final stage.
Individuals and families have to spend money and time in procuring affidavits for various works related to government. While it entails spending long hours in urban areas, the task of reaching a notary or an attesting authority is much more difficult in rural areas. Affidavits also add to piles of files as also to work load in offices.
Earlier, in his speech, Jitendra Singh said the government was seeking to improve governance at various levels.
Soon after taking over, Modi called for "maximum governance, minimum government", he said.
"We are already into e-governance. We have tried to evolve synergy in the working of the government," he added.
Cabinet secretary Ajit Kumar Seth said: "Change was in the air in India."
He said the prime minister has emphasised on bringing innovation, energy and drive.
"The biggest challenge is effective public delivery service," he said and added efforts have to be made that no section is deprived of fruits of economic growth.
Seth said public services need to be proactive rather than reactive.
N. Ravi Shankar, Secretary, Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, said that collaborative efforts between government, private sector and civil society were needed to sustain progress towards development goals.
Lise Grande, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, said: "India is a leader in governance reforms. The many innovative practices that will be shared over the next two days from India and other countries will help to promote governance excellence throughout the world."
The two-day symposium 'Excellence in Public Service and Public Administration' has been organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Delegates from 22 countries are taking part in the symposium whose themes include global best practices in public administration reforms, improving delivery of public services, advancing knowledge management in government, promoting gender responsive delivery of public services and improving transparency and accountability in public services.
Gujarat's online grievance redress mechanism or 'Swagat' is among 21 global innovations in public administration which are being showcased at the symposium.
'Swagat' enabled ordinary citizens to seek redressal of their grievances through an online platform by creating a direct interface between citizens and the chief Minister of Gujarat. The initiative received the prestigious United Nations Public Service Awards in 2010.
In addition to Gujarat, most of the other participating initiatives are recipients of either the United Nations public service awards or the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management Awards.
Countries presenting innovative reforms include Bangladesh, Brazil, Bahrain, Canada, Dubai, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Peru, Senegal, Singapore, Tanzania, Turkey, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.
