VP Radhakrishnan urges public administration reforms for Viksit Bharat 2047
Synopsis
At the IIPA's 72nd annual meet on Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan laid out a blueprint for the bureaucracy of 2047 — citizen-first, data-driven, and ethically AI-integrated. His call to measure governance by happiness and dignity, not just GDP, marks a notable shift in the official discourse on India's developmental ambitions.
Key Takeaways
Radhakrishnan addressed the 72nd Annual Meeting of the IIPA General Body in New Delhi on 31 October 2025 .
He called for transformative public administration reforms to achieve the Viksit Bharat@2047 vision.
Governance must be faster, citizen-centric, technology-enabled, data-driven and outcome-oriented, he said.
Radhakrishnan said the question is not whether to use AI , but how to deploy it responsibly, ethically and inclusively .
He cited 25 crore people lifted out of poverty over 12 years under PM Narendra Modi as a benchmark of inclusive governance.
The meeting coincided with Rashtriya Ekta Diwas and the 151st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel .
Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan on Saturday, 31 October 2025, called for sweeping, transformative reforms in public administration to realise the Viksit Bharat@2047 vision, stressing that governance must evolve to become faster, citizen-centric, technology-enabled, data-driven and outcome-oriented. He was addressing the 72nd Annual Meeting of the General Body of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) in New Delhi.
Key Reforms Demanded
Radhakrishnan called for good governance, stronger coordination across all levels of administration, and a balanced approach that reconciles economic growth with environmental sustainability. He urged the IIPA to actively prepare civil servants for the complex challenges that lie ahead on the road to 2047.
He emphasised that good governance should not be measured solely by economic output but equally by its tangible impact on people's happiness, living standards and overall well-being — a framing that departs from purely GDP-centric benchmarks.
On Artificial Intelligence in Governance
Addressing the growing role of technology in public administration, Radhakrishnan said the challenge before public institutions is no longer whether to adopt artificial intelligence, but how to use it responsibly, ethically, and inclusively. He indicated that AI integration must be guided by principles of fairness and public benefit, not efficiency alone.
Poverty Reduction and Modi's Track Record
Highlighting India's developmental progress, the Vice President stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the past 12 years, more than 25 crore people had been lifted out of poverty. He described the achievement as a reflection of sustained inclusive development and improved living standards, adding that the ultimate goal of governance must be to ensure economic progress translates into dignity, security and better opportunities for every citizen.
Rashtriya Ekta Diwas and Sardar Patel's Legacy
Noting that the meeting coincided with Rashtriya Ekta Diwas and the 151st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Radhakrishnan paid tribute to the Iron Man of India, describing him as the architect of India's political integration who united hundreds of princely states into a single nation. The convergence of the IIPA gathering with this occasion lent added symbolic weight to the call for administrative unity and coordinated governance.
Who Attended
Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who chairs the IIPA Executive Council, was present alongside Director General Surendra Kumar Bagde, members of the General Body and Executive Council, faculty, representatives of regional and local branches, and other distinguished guests.
As India's governance institutions face mounting expectations from a growing and increasingly digital citizenry, the Vice President's address signals a push to align bureaucratic capacity with the ambitions of the 2047 centenary vision — with the IIPA positioned as a key training and reform engine in that effort.
Point of View
But for a fundamental shift in how governance success is measured — away from GDP and toward well-being. That is a harder standard to meet and, crucially, harder to game. His AI governance remarks are also pointed: the ethical-and-inclusive qualifier is a quiet pushback against the efficiency-first technocracy that many reform proposals default to. Whether IIPA has the institutional bandwidth to translate these principles into civil service training content — rather than let them remain as conference-hall aspirations — is the question his audience should be asking itself.
NationPress
31 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan say at the IIPA meeting?
Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan called for transformative reforms in public administration to realise the Viksit Bharat@2047 vision, urging citizen-centric, data-driven and technology-enabled governance. He also stressed that good governance must be measured by people's happiness and well-being, not economic growth alone.
What is Viksit Bharat@2047?
Viksit Bharat@2047 is India's vision to become a fully developed nation by 2047, the centenary of its independence. It encompasses targets across economic growth, social development, governance quality and technological advancement.
What did the Vice President say about AI in public administration?
Radhakrishnan said the challenge for public institutions is no longer whether to use artificial intelligence, but how to use it responsibly, ethically and inclusively. He indicated that AI adoption in governance must be guided by principles of fairness and public benefit.
Why was the 72nd IIPA Annual Meeting significant?
The meeting coincided with Rashtriya Ekta Diwas and the 151st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on 31 October 2025, lending symbolic weight to the call for unified and coordinated governance. The Vice President paid tribute to Patel as the architect of India's political integration.
Who else attended the 72nd IIPA Annual General Body meeting?
Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who chairs the IIPA Executive Council, attended along with Director General Surendra Kumar Bagde, General Body and Executive Council members, faculty, and representatives from regional and local branches of the Institute.
