Sevottam is an assessment - improvement model that has been developed with the objective of improving the quality of public service delivery in the country. The model was conceived by the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions in 2006.
The word "Sevottam" is a combination of two Hindi words: Seva (Service) and Uttam (Excellent). It means “Service Excellence”, emphasizing the idea of “Service”. It symbolizes the change in mindset within the Government, from administration and control to service and enablement.
The key components of Sevottam are captured with the following objectives:
The framework enables implementing organizations to undertake a systematic, credible and authenticated self-assessment (or ‘gap analysis’) for citizen-centric service delivery. Using this analysis, practical solutions are gradually and systematically incorporated into the organization’s day-to-day routine thereby ensuring sustainable results.
There are four broad ways in which the Sevottam model can be used:
Initially, Sevottam framework was undertaken from April 2009 to June 2010 in ten Departments of the Government having large public interface. These are, Department of Post, CBEC, CBDT, Railways, Passport office, Pensions, Food Processing, Corporate Affairs, Kendriya Vidyalaya Schools and EPFO.
Later, Sevottam has been launched as a certification scheme which provides for the award of the Sevottam symbol of excellence to public service organizations that implement and are able to show compliance to a set of management system requirements that have been specified in a specially created standard document. This standard, known as IS 15700:2005, was developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) based on the objectives of Sevottam. The standard takes into account unique conditions of service delivery by Public service organisations in India and the sectoral and regional variations in service delivery standards. It offers a systematic way to identify weaknesses in specific areas and rectify them through systemic changes and process reengineering. India is among the first countries in the world to have a Quality Standard for public service delivery.
In order to apply for Sevottam certification, an organization must initially undertake a self-assessment to ensure that it has complied with the requirements detailed in the IS 15700 standard. The standard specifies requirements to be met in terms of several dimensions including documentation requirements, management responsibilities, resource management, citizens' charter, service provision, complaint handling, monitoring, and continuous improvement. Once the required processes have been introduced, the organization can approach, if it so desires the certifying authority for assessment. If unsuccessful, the organization will have to re-assess its service standards and processes and repeat the above process to apply for certification. If successful, it will attain Sevottam certification, which will be valid for a period of three years, after which it has to renew the license after reassessment.
The framework has a total of 3 modules with 3 criteria and 11 elements in each. The first module is the Citizen‟s Charter that specifies the standards for service delivery, the second is the Grievance Redress Mechanism to get redress if service is not provided as per standards, and the third is the Capability Building for building the capability and capacity of the organization to deliver its services as per standards included in its Charter.
There are seven basic steps for implementation of Sevottam. These are as under:-
The seven principles are
Source : DARPG
Last Modified : 7/1/2024
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