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