Gujarat expands fellowship programme to boost governance

GANDHINAGAR coordination between The Gujarat government has expanded the Sardar Patel Good Governance Chief Minister’s Fellowship Programme, increasing the number of fellows from 41 to 47 and raising the number of projects from 20 to 45. The initiative aims to strengthen governance, improve administrative efficiency and enhance the implementation of government welfare schemes. According to an official release, the General Administration Department, functioning under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s leadership, issued a resolution approving the expansion. The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad) will serve as the programme’s knowledge partner, with a senior faculty member appointed for the initiative. The fellowship offers young professional’s opportunities to work with the state administration for one to two years, contributing to research, policy analysis, administrative coordination and evaluation of government schemes. Projects will cover education, healthcare, nutrition, agriculture, social development, urban administration, environmental protection and public administration. Several projects will focus on improving child development services, including Anganwadi facilities, nutrition, anaemia reduction, early childhood education and interconnected libraries. The programme will also examine the expansion of centralised kitchens to strengthen the PM POSHAN mid-day meal scheme and the Integrated Child Development Services. In healthcare, fellows will study challenges related to PMJAY-MA claims at government hospitals and the use of public health services. Agricultural projects will examine difficulties in implementing natural farming and ensuring farmers receive the benefits of government schemes. Urban initiatives will focus on improving civic services in Rajkot and promoting waste recycling and resource reuse in Bhavnagar. The expanded programme will also support evidence-based research and monitoring of development priorities under the state’s Viksit Gujarat@2047 vision. Artificial intelligence tools may be used to organise information and identify issues, but their outputs must be verified against original documents and data. The government expects the additional fellowships and projects to provide wider opportunities for young talent to contribute practical recommendations, improve departments and strengthen public service delivery across Gujarat.