Centre asks Ministries to identify reforms for ease of living, business; launches PMRef portal module
New Delhi, July 28
The Centre on Tuesday directed all Ministries and Departments to identify and implement reforms aimed at improving ease of living and ease of doing business, while launching a dedicated online platform to monitor the progress of these initiatives across the government.
As part of the exercise, the government has operationalised a new 'Reform' module on the PMRef portal, which became functional on Tuesday.
The platform will act as a central repository for Ministries and Departments to upload details of policy reforms, administrative measures and governance initiatives being undertaken in their respective sectors.
Under the government's directions, Ministries have been asked to identify reforms that simplify procedures, improve public service delivery and strengthen the overall business environment.
The proposed measures may be based on recommendations of the High-Level Committee (HLC), suggestions made by the Informal Group of Ministers (IGoM), or reforms identified internally by individual Ministries.
The Centre has made it mandatory for Ministries and Departments to upload details of all such initiatives on the PMRef portal and regularly update their progress.
To ensure continuous monitoring and accountability, every Ministry has been instructed to submit weekly updates on the portal every Friday by 12 pm, starting this week.
The initiative is aimed at institutionalising the reform process through a structured framework that captures, monitors and reviews policy and administrative reforms being implemented across the government.
It is also expected to improve coordination among Ministries and accelerate the execution of reform measures.
The PMRef (Prime Minister's References/Reforms) portal is a secure digital governance platform used by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), central ministries and government departments to monitor policy reforms, administrative initiatives and key infrastructure projects.
It also integrates with platforms such as PRAGATI to improve coordination, implementation and accountability across government.
The portal tracks milestones, action points and targets arising from high-level review meetings, while serving as a central repository for ministries to upload and monitor reforms aimed at improving Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business.
It also facilitates inter-ministerial coordination by tracking references, directives and decisions issued by the PMO and other senior administrative authorities.
— IANS
Reader Comments
More paperwork for government babus? 🙄 I get the intent is good, but we've seen so many portals and dashboards launched that end up gathering dust. What we really need is implementation on ground, not just weekly updates on a screen. Also, would've been great if this portal was open for public feedback or at least had a grievance mechanism. Still, fingers crossed!
Ease of living and ease of doing business—both are long overdue. As a small shop owner in Delhi, I deal with municipal, GST, and labour department all the time. If the government can simplify even one procedure, like getting a trade license online without visiting the office, I'd be happy. Let's hope this reform module delivers instead of just tracking pending files. 🇮🇳
I work in a startup that helps foreign companies set up in India. This sounds promising on paper. The weekly updates and integration with PRAGATI could help cut red tape. But my worry is that ministries might just upload "safe" reforms that don't actually change anything. Need transparency—like making the portal visible to the public so we can track which ministry is dragging its feet.
"Institutionalising reform process" sounds fancy, but let's be honest—India has no shortage of committees and portals. HLC, IGoM, now PMRef—it's alphabet soup! The real test will be whether these reforms actually reach the citizen. I want to see a day when I don't have to bribe a clerk to get my property papers cleared. Until then, I'll stay cautiously optimistic.
S Swati Y