Government plans ‘before-after’ format booklets on reforms

New Delhi: In a new facet to its communication strategy, the government will be coming out with booklets on its major reform measures to present its case with facts and figures, and bring out clearly the “before and after situation” in India.

ET reviewed one such soon-to-be-released booklet on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and has learnt that more booklets are on their way on reforms in renewable energy, digital payments, growth of aviation, increase in the metro train network and housing revolution among other topics.

The Prime Minister’s Office is behind this exercise. It has asked ministries to focus on such communication which is high on credibility, brings out the “behind-the-scenes” developments in these reforms and act as documentation of the reforms for the benefit of academia and think tanks.


“The booklets will feature testimonials from actual beneficiaries and explain with facts and figures how the situation has changed since 2014 under the Narendra Modi government. The focus is on highlighting the sectoral reforms, act as a repository and this holistic exercise is completely in-house without the involvement of any consultants or advertisement agencies and at little cost,” a senior government functionary told ET, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The government had recently come out with e-booklets on agriculture reforms and PM Modi’s relationship with the Sikhs.

The 30-page booklet on GeM highlights how the earlier manual process of procurement for government departments, which accounts for roughly 20% of GDP, was rigged with many gaps, cartelisation among bidders and a cumbersome mechanism before the Modi government brought in GeM in 2016.