The Idea Box: Mansukh Mandaviya’s idea of improvement at work

New Delhi: Since a change of guard at the Union Health Ministry, the newly installed 'Idea box' on each floor is catching the eyes of staff and visitors alike at the Nirman Bhawan here. These wooden boxes with 'Idea Box' inscribed on them have been installed after the new Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya took charge earlier this month after Dr Harsh Vardhan.

Soon after assuming charge, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a meeting of senior officers at the level of joint secretary and above, asking them to bring a change in the work culture, news agency PTI reported quoting official sources.

In the meeting, he talked about his style of working and shared how he tracked every issue, major projects with the timeline in the ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, they said.

He directed the health secretary that an 'Idea Box' be placed in each department where staff, as well as visitors, can drop their suggestions and ideas for better functioning of the ministry or the health sector.

He also shared that in the Shipping Ministry many ideas received this was were commercialised and employees were encouraged with monetary rewards. These Idea Boxes will serve as solutions for many challenges and issues of the department or ministry, sources added.

The minister even asked officials to set three departmental targets and try to achieve them within a specific timeline. He is following up on these suggestions very closely, the agency reported quoting another source.

"Some officials feel that they are being heard patiently and their suggestions are accepted. It is the breeze of fresh air in the Ministry of Health with the change at the helm," another official source said.

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