The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) and the Government of Meghalaya will organise a two-day National Conference on NextGen Administrative & e-Gov Reforms in Shillong on 13–14 July 2026.
The conference is expected to bring together more than 300 delegates from across India. Participants will include senior officers from the Central and State Governments, District Collectors, policymakers, domain experts, representatives of academic institutions and practitioners working in public administration.
According to the Press Information Bureau, the conference will focus on the future of public administration and digital governance. It will include sessions on award-winning governance initiatives, e-governance projects, public service delivery, cyber security, district development and initiatives from the North Eastern Region.
Who will address the inaugural session
Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, will address the inaugural session.
Shri Conrad K. Sangma, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, will also address the opening session. Other speakers listed for the inaugural session include Smt. Nivedita Shukla Verma, Secretary, DARPG, Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare and Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Government of India, and Dr. Shakil P. Ahammed, Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya.
Main themes of the conference
The programme will include presentations on Prime Minister’s Award-winning initiatives from 2023 and 2024, projects that won National Awards for e-Governance, best practices from the Government of Meghalaya, and DARPG-assisted State Collaborative Initiatives from the North Eastern Region.
The sessions will cover a wide set of governance areas. These include holistic development of districts, digital governance, cyber security, health, education, consumer protection, banking, urban governance, rural development and technology-enabled public service delivery.
Meghalaya’s governance practices
The conference will begin with a session focused on best practices of the Government of Meghalaya. This session will highlight governance initiatives and citizen-focused reforms taken up by the state to improve service delivery and administrative efficiency.
Meghalaya is also included in a separate session on DARPG and State Collaborative Initiative-assisted practices from the North Eastern Region. That part of the programme will feature projects from Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.
Prime Minister’s Award-winning initiatives
A dedicated session will present Prime Minister’s Award-winning initiatives from 2023 and 2024. The session is meant to show district-level innovations and governance models that have reported measurable impact in areas such as holistic development, education, rural livelihoods and the Aspirational District Programme.
The source material does not list the individual projects to be presented, but it says the focus will be on practical models that can inform governance work in other districts and states.
National Awards for e-Governance projects
The third session will be based on projects that won the National Awards for e-Governance, 2026. It will include digital governance initiatives from ministries, state governments, urban local bodies and public institutions.
These presentations will cover the use of emerging technologies in urban governance, healthcare, digital banking, pilgrimage management, Panchayati Raj, consumer protection and cyber security. The stated aim is to present models that may be replicated in other parts of the country.
Focus on the North Eastern Region
One session will focus on the development of the North Eastern Region. It will include initiatives led by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and the North Eastern Council (NEC).
The topics listed for this session include bamboo and agarwood value chains, tourism, regional infrastructure, project monitoring and inter-state collaboration for sustainable development.
The conference will also include a special session on best practices supported through DARPG and State Collaborative Initiatives in the North East. Projects from Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland will be presented under this segment. The themes include technology-enabled public service delivery, project monitoring systems, digital governance platforms, consumer grievance redressal mechanisms and public safety solutions.
Purpose of the conference
The stated purpose of the conference is to provide a national platform for sharing governance practices and encouraging cooperation among States and Union Territories. It also aims to promote the adoption of next-generation administrative reforms and support digital transformation in governance.
The conference is expected to discuss ways to strengthen citizen-centric public service delivery, encourage the replication of successful governance models and enable knowledge exchange on emerging technologies and administrative best practices.
The event will be held in Shillong, Meghalaya, over two days, on 13 and 14 July 2026.