The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), in collaboration with the Government of Meghalaya, is organizing a two-day National Conference on the theme "NextGen Administrative & e-Gov Reforms" on July 13-14, 2026 in Shillong, Meghalaya. Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, and Shri Conrad K. Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, will address the inaugural session. Smt. Nivedita Shukla Verma, Secretary of DARPG, DoPPW & MDoNER, and Dr. Shakil P. Ahammed, Chief Secretary of Meghalaya, will also address the session.
Over 300 delegates including senior officers from Central and State Governments, District Collectors, policymakers, domain experts, academic representatives, and public administration practitioners are expected to participate. The conference will feature presentations on Prime Minister's Award-winning Initiatives from 2023 and 2024, National Awards for e-Governance-winning projects, Best Practices from the Government of Meghalaya, and DARPG-assisted State Collaborative Initiatives from the North Eastern Region.
The conference agenda includes diverse themes covering holistic development of districts, digital governance, cyber security, public service delivery, health, education, consumer protection, banking, urban governance, rural development, and technology-enabled governance. Specific sessions include Best Practices of the Government of Meghalaya showcasing innovative governance initiatives, Prime Minister's Award-winning Initiatives demonstrating district-level innovations in Holistic Development, Education, Rural Livelihoods and Aspirational District Programme, and National Awards for e-Governance 2026 winning projects from Ministries, State Governments, Urban Local Bodies and public institutions.
A dedicated session on Development of the North Eastern Region will focus on transformative initiatives by the Ministry of DoNER and North Eastern Council, highlighting interventions in bamboo and agarwood value chains, tourism, regional infrastructure, project monitoring and inter-state collaboration. Another session will feature DARPG/State Collaborative Initiative-assisted Best Practices from Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, showcasing technology-enabled public service delivery, project monitoring systems, digital governance platforms, consumer grievance redressal mechanisms and public safety solutions.
The conference aims to provide a national platform for sharing innovative governance practices, fostering collaboration among States and Union Territories, and promoting adoption of next-generation administrative reforms. Objectives include accelerating digital transformation in governance, strengthening citizen-centric public service delivery, encouraging replication of successful governance models, and facilitating knowledge exchange on emerging technologies for building transparent, efficient and responsive public administration.