Date: 2026-03-11Category: Press ReleaseState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh interacts with a delegation of women parliamentarians from Ethiopia; shares some of India's globally acknowledged best practices in governance
**Executive Summary**
This document reports on Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh's interaction with a delegation of 32 women parliamentarians from Ethiopia. The discussion focused on sharing India's governance best practices, including cooperative federalism, technology-driven governance, and women-led development. The interaction occurred during a special capacity-building program for Ethiopian women professionals organized by the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG).
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **India-Ethiopia Partnership:**
* Both countries share strong democratic traditions and are expanding cooperation in parliamentary exchanges, capacity building, trade, ICT, agriculture, and people-to-people relations.
* Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the Ethiopian Parliament in December 2025 highlighted India's commitment to Africa's development.
* The Prime Minister was awarded Ethiopia's highest civilian honor, the "Great Honour Nishan of Ethiopia."
* **Indian Governance Model:**
* India's governance framework operates on a federal structure with responsibilities distributed across Union, State, and Concurrent Lists, guided by cooperative federalism.
* The Aspirational Districts Programme is a data-driven initiative to accelerate development in selected districts, now being expanded through the Aspirational Blocks Programme.
* Technology-driven governance has enhanced transparency and efficiency, with many administrative processes and service delivery platforms functioning online. India's digital governance models are being studied internationally.
* **Women Empowerment:**
* Legislation providing one-third reservation for women in Parliament signifies progress in their decision-making representation.
* Women are increasingly taking leadership roles across science, entrepreneurship, and governance.
* India's start-up ecosystem, a significant proportion of which is led by women entrepreneurs, is among the largest globally.
* **Specific Governance Reforms:**
* Examples of reforms shared include Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), self-help group movements, AI-based governance, geospatial policy reforms, and infrastructure monitoring through the PM Gati Shakti platform.
* **Traditional Wellness Systems:**
* India's AYUSH framework, integrating Ayurveda, Yoga, and other traditional medical systems with modern healthcare, was highlighted.
* The International Day of Yoga has promoted awareness of holistic health practices globally.
* **National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG):**
* NCGG serves as a key platform for international cooperation in public administration, having trained over 6,000 civil servants from more than 50 countries.
**Impact Analysis**
* **Ethiopian Delegation**
* **Impact:** Participants are gaining insights into India's governance model, technology-driven reforms, and women's empowerment initiatives, which can inform their own leadership and governance capabilities.
* **Action Required:** To learn from and potentially adapt India's practices discussed during the program.
* **India**
* **Impact:** Strengthens diplomatic ties with Ethiopia, showcases India's governance achievements, and promotes its role in international cooperation and capacity building.
* **Action Required:** To continue engaging in such collaborative programs and foster deeper bilateral relationships.
* **National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG)**
* **Impact:** Reinforces its role as a facilitator of international knowledge exchange and capacity building in public administration.
* **Action Required:** To continue organizing and hosting such programs for international delegates.
Key Entities Referenced
Dr. Jitendra Singh: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, who interacted with the Ethiopian delegation and shared India's governance practices.
National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG): The institution that organized the capacity building program for Ethiopian women parliamentarians and is a platform for international cooperation in public administration.
Aspirational Districts Programme: A data-driven initiative by India designed to accelerate development in selected districts, shared as an example of governance.
Aspirational Blocks Programme: An expansion of the Aspirational Districts Programme, mentioned as part of India's development initiatives.
PM Gati Shakti platform: A platform used for infrastructure monitoring as part of India's governance reforms.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh interacts with a
delegation of women parliamentarians from
Ethiopia; shares some of India's globally
acknowledged best practices in governance
India’s model of cooperative federalism, technology-driven
governance and women-led development offers valuable
lessons for democracies: Dr. Jitendra Singh
Women entrepreneurs driving India’s start-up ecosystem as
technology platforms reduce delays and improve
transparency in governance: Dr Jitendra Singh
Technology-driven governance reforms strengthening unity in
India’s diverse democratic framework: Dr Jitendra Singh
Posted On: 11 MAR 2026 7:21PM by PIB Delhi
Interacting with a group of 32 women parliamentarians from Ethiopia here today, Union Minister of State
(Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and MoS PMO, Personnel, Public
Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space Dr. Jitendra Singh shared some of India's globally
acknowledged best practices in governance and discussed India’s governance model based on cooperative
federalism, digital administration, and women-led development, during an interaction with a visiting
Parliamentary delegation from Ethiopia at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) in New
Delhi.
The Minister was interacting with participants of the One-Week Special Capacity Building Programme on
“Leadership for 21st Century Women Professional” being organised by NCGG under the Department of
Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. The programme aims to strengthen leadership and
governance capabilities of women leaders and senior officials from Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian delegation was led by Ms. Lomi Bedo Kumbi, Deputy Speaker of the House of Peoples’
Representatives, accompanied by Ms. Meseret Haile Masresha, State Minister, Mr. Worksemu Mamo
Mekonnen, Member of the Standing Committee, along with Members of Parliament and senior
representatives from the Ethiopian Women Federation, Prosperity Party Women Wing and Regional
Women and Social Affairs Bureaus. In total, 32 senior dignitaries from Ethiopia are participating in the
programme.Referring to the long-standing partnership between India and Ethiopia, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the two
countries share strong democratic traditions and expanding cooperation in areas such as parliamentary
exchanges, capacity building, trade, ICT, agriculture, and people-to-people relations.
He recalled that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the Joint Session of the Ethiopian
Parliament in December 2025, reflecting India’s deep commitment to Africa’s development partnership.
During the visit, the Prime Minister was also conferred Ethiopia’s highest civilian honour, the “Great
Honour Nishan of Ethiopia”, symbolizing the mutual respect and warmth between the two nations.
Dr. Jitendra Singh explained India’s governance framework which operates through a federal structure of
28 States and 8 Union Territories, where responsibilities are distributed across the Union List, State List
and Concurrent List. This system, he said, ensures coordination between the Centre and the States and is
guided by the principle of cooperative federalism.
He also shared insights about the Aspirational Districts Programme, a data-driven initiative designed to
accelerate development in selected districts using measurable indicators such as health, nutrition,
education, water access, and infrastructure. The initiative has delivered encouraging outcomes and is now
being expanded further through the Aspirational Blocks Programme.
The Minister said that technology-driven governance has significantly improved transparency and
efficiency in India, with most administrative processes, grievance redressal systems and service delivery
platforms functioning online. He added that several countries are now studying India’s digital governance
models, including the public grievance portal and digital monitoring dashboards.
Highlighting India’s progress in women empowerment, Dr. Jitendra Singh referred to the legislation
providing one-third reservation for women in Parliament, describing it as a major step toward greater
representation of women in decision-making. He also noted that women are increasingly taking leadership
roles across sectors including science, entrepreneurship, and governance.
He spoke about India’s expanding start-up ecosystem, which now ranks among the largest in the world
with more than two lakh start-ups, a significant proportion of which are led by women entrepreneurs.
During the interaction, the Minister also shared examples of India’s governance reforms including Direct
Benefit Transfer (DBT), self-help group movements, AI-based governance initiatives, geospatial policy
reforms, and infrastructure monitoring through the PM Gati Shakti platform, all of which have contributed
to faster decision-making and improved coordination among departments.
Dr. Jitendra Singh also spoke about India’s traditional wellness systems under the AYUSH framework,
which integrates Ayurveda, Yoga, and other traditional medical systems with modern healthcare. He noted
that the International Day of Yoga, observed worldwide every year on June 21 following India’s initiative
at the United Nations, has helped spread awareness about holistic health practices across the globe.
Describing India as one of the world’s most diverse societies, the Minister said that despite linguistic,
cultural, and regional differences, a shared sense of identity and democratic values continue to bind the
country together.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the National Centre for Good Governance has emerged as a key platform for
international cooperation in public administration. The institution has so far trained more than 6,000 civil
servants from over 50 countries, contributing to global knowledge exchange in governance and
administrative reforms.
He expressed confidence that such programmes will further strengthen the India-Ethiopia partnership and
encourage deeper collaboration between the two countries in governance, public administration, and
leadership development.*****
NKR/AK
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