Press
Information Bureau
Government
of India
Prime
Minister’s Office
01-August-2014
16:36 IST
PM encourages self-certification in
place of affidavits and attestations to benefit the common man
·
All Union Ministries and State
Governments asked to make provision for self-certification and abolition of
affidavits, not required by law
·
PM steps in to reform the public
service delivery system, bridge governance deficit
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra
Modi, has sought minimum use of affidavits and shift to self-certification, so
as to benefit the common man.
In a citizen-friendly initiative,
all Ministries and Departments of the Union Government, and all State
Governments, have been asked to make provision for self-certification of
documents in place of affidavits.
The requirement of attestation by
Gazetted Officer is also sought to be replaced by self-certification by the
citizen.
Under the self-certification method,
the original documents are required to be produced at the final stage.
The Prime Minister, during his
meeting with all Union Secretaries on June 4th, 2014, had spoken of reforming
the public service delivery system, and bridging the governance deficit. This
measure is a start in that direction. It is expected to benefit the people
immensely, as all affidavits not required by law shall eventually be done away
with.
In communications addressed to all
Secretaries of the Union Government as well as the Chief Secretaries of
States/Administrators of Union Territories, the Department of Administrative Reforms
and Public Grievances has noted that “obtaining either an attested copy or
affidavit not only costs money to the poor citizen but also involves wastage of
time of the citizens as well as of the Government officials.” The Department
has called for a review of the existing requirement of affidavits and
attestation by Gazetted Officers, and replacement by self-certification.
In case of false self-certification, relevant provisions
under the Indian Penal Code would apply.
Source : PIB