About Us

Ensuring transparent governance and preventing corruption has become a policy priority for governments across the world. The world has seen the emergence of policy instruments like the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, advocacy for transparency and responsiveness by national and international civil society organisations, and the emergence of a strong media resulting in an increase in citizens’ ‘voice’ and participation in governance.

 

This means that addressing corruption and ensuring accountability in formulation of policies, implementing programmes and delivering services in a convenient, accessible and responsive manner is a non-negotiable priority for India as for other nations. The introduction of concepts like New Public Management, Good Governance and rights-based approach to development has indeed brought about paradigm shifts in the way Governments approach the delivery of public services.

The CGG team has supported governments at various levels and international agencies in piloting social accountability initiatives, consultation on national and sector-specific anti-corruption strategies and processes as well as evaluation of accountability institutions and mechanisms. Preparation of toolkits for social audits, enabling the formulation and review of citizen’s charters, evaluating the performance of accountability institutions like Lokayukta, and review of grievance redress mechanisms have been some key areas of CGG’s work in this domain.

The CGG team extensively works in the realm of public service delivery with Governments at all levels to ensure that people have a strong voice in the governance of the state and local bodies. Key areas of work include citizen’s charters, community swp-content cards, right to public services bill, right to information, capacity building of officials engaged in public service delivery and the evaluation of existing and new mechanisms of public service delivery.

In an increasingly uncertain and competitive global and local environment, change management and organizational transformation has become imperative for States to enable policy reforms and ensure responsiveness to public demands. The prevailing administrative culture and the attendant values, priorities, structures, and above all, mindsets in public organizations comes under pressure during reforms and managing them becomes key to the success of reform initiatives.

 

CGG works with government departments and public sector organizations primarily in the States and at the Centre to understand the strengths and capabilities of organizations, experimenting new approaches and influencing organization culture and practices to help manage change and enable organization development for successful reforms. Some key areas include implementation of quality standards like Sevottam, analysis of staffing patterns, review human resource management practices and management of organizational restructuring efforts.

It is better understood now than before that economic growth is sustainable only if the population is meaningfully engaged to take benefits from the same. Conceptually and metaphorically, human deprivation and well-being have come to the fore by distinguishing economic progress from mere material attainments, to their outcomes – actual and desirable – for the people. Human development attains significance because of its decisive role in supporting better opportunities and quality of life for people.

 

In keeping with this thinking, international proponents of development like the United Nations and the member countries followed by their national governments have begun a focus on holistic development with the introduction of Human Development Indices (HDI) to measure them. Human Development Reports (HRDs) have been prepared and presented to demonstrate the multi-dimensional facet of development. It is hence realised that the level of literacy of the population, status of its health, empowerment of the disadvantaged and marginalized groups and inclusive policy-making are integral parts of transparent and accountable governance practices, especially in democracies.

CGG with its vision for people-centric inclusive growth and development has its team working in the areas of labour, employment and livelihoods, poverty, food security, education, health, and welfare. It has worked closely with International Labour Organisation (ILO) and National Child Labour Programme (NCLP) in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as well as researched on wide-ranging topics in the areas mentioned. Besides knowledge generation, the team has also developed IT tools for the respective Departments.

Public Financial Management reforms aims to strengthen the link between public spending and poverty reduction and create an institutional framework for control, prioritization, accountability and efficiency in the management of public resources and delivery of services. Since economic liberalization of 1990s, Government of India has taken up Structural Adjustment Programmes and consequent fiscal reforms. Government of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were take up comprehensive PFM reforms and engage in the development of laws, organizations and systems to enable sustainable, efficient and transparent management of public finances.

 

CGG has played a key role in the PFM reforms of the Government of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Along with DfID, CGG conducted the State financial accountability Assessment and came out with detailed recommendations along with a manual on financial accountability. CGG is an active partner in the efforts of State government across the country to shift to an accrual based accounting system. CGG continues to assist the Governments in their efforts to improve planning, resource allocation monitoring management and accounting systems and access to information so that accountability is clear, spending is transparent and public expenditure is more effectively controlled and more productively targeted.

With close to 70% of its population living in rural areas, rural development is always a key priority for India. The 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments have helped the nation to make significant strides in taking the government closer to the people and making their voices heard in decision making process. Developing agriculture, generating employment, improving participation and addressing entrenched caste and class hierarchies of the rural society remain key concerns for the policy makers despite the creation of Panchyati Raj Institutions and provisions for safeguarding the rights of women and the scheduled castes and tribes.

 

CGG’s work on this domain spans across support to policy formulation, capacity building of local self governance representatives and officials on a range of subjects, and piloting of social accountability tools to evaluate the efficacy of large public expenditures in the country side. Some of the key projects include the Review of the National Capability Building Framework for PRI representatives, consortium initiative for social audits of Gram Panchayats and wage employment programme and capacity building in areas such as rural water supply, right to information, etc.

One of the key focus areas in the new millennium has been a major shift in the global demographics with increasing urbanization. Compounding this shift is the increasing correlation being established between economic success of a nation to that of the extent of its urbanization. This has seen a phenomenal impact in the developing world where urban areas are being increasingly termed as the engines of the economic growth. Such an impetus to the area necessitates policies and strategies addressing the ever-changing dynamics of the urbanization processes and the accompanying glitches of an emerging economy. Urban poverty alleviation, devolution processes, municipal administration, land management, governance, accountability, urban financial management and town planning processes are some of the areas that have seen focus in the urban sphere.

 

CGG has been working in this area since its inception and has played a key role in the implementation and techno-policy design of major urban programmes in India like JNNURM, RAY, SJSRY etc. In the state of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, CGG played a pivotal role in implementing municipal reforms and preparing guidelines and manuals for decoding national level policies for municipal officials. CGG works as a National Resource Centre for Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India and conducts several capacity building progammes and research studies across the country. It has also played a key role in policy formulation and strategy making in the urban sphere in the states of West Bengal, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

• Conceptualization, Design, Development and Maintenance: The e-Governance Division conceptualizes, designs, develops and maintains enterprise-grade IT solutions, mobile applications and GIS-based solutions for various departments of the Government of Telangana, other State Governments, and Ministries of the Government of India.
• Emerging Technologies: CGG has established an Emerging Technology (ET) Cell to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Analytics, Blockchain, Drones and other emerging technologies into ongoing and upcoming applications and solutions.
• Large-Scale Application Development: The Division develops and maintains 150+ IT applications annually, including mobile applications, catering to diverse governance and citizen-service requirements.
• Sectoral Coverage: The applications developed by CGG predominantly support the Welfare, Municipal Administration, Education, Labour and Employment, Agriculture, Industries, Governance, Regulatory, Finance, Irrigation and Environment sectors.
• Data Centre and Disaster Recovery Infrastructure: CGG operates its own Data Centre at Gachibowli and is supported by a highly available and scalable private-cloud platform. These facilities provide enhanced security, availability and resilience for IT applications developed and maintained by CGG.
• Testing and Quality Assurance: CGG has a dedicated Testing and Quality Assurance Wing to ensure the reliability, quality and robustness of its enterprise-grade solutions.
• Awards and Recognition: CGG has regularly received awards and recognition from the Government of India, Government of Telangana and other reputed organizations. Notable recognitions include the National e-Governance Award (2020–21) for Mana Isuka Vahanamu, the Digital India Platinum Award from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, for its work in the Local Bodies domain, CSI Awards for various projects, and the Telangana Democracy Award.
• Mode of Engagement: The e-Governance Division primarily undertakes projects on a nomination basis. The Government of Telangana issued G.O. Ms. No. 4 dated 25 June 2019 through the ITE&C Department in this regard.