Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan is a physician by training who went into the Indian Administrative Service in the aftermath of the Emergency and failure of the Janata Experiment. He was a topper in the IAS exam. During the 16 years of distinguished public service in various capacities, he acquired a formidable reputation in the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh.
Some of his major accomplishments while in government
As Joint Collector, he created full and permanent employment for 8000 youth from displaced families of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
As Collector of Prakasm District, he was instrumental in the creation of a record 2,00,000 acres of irrigation, the largest such program with direct participation of people.
As Collector of East Godavari District, he spearheaded the reconstruction of drainage and irrigation network in Krishna and Godavari deltas.
He served as Secretary to both Governor and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
He worked on strengthening of the credit cooperatives and making them independent of government control.
His other accomplishments include several major policy initiatives, including
Empowerment of parents in schools
Speedy justice through rural courts
Economic reform and restructuring of AP
Development of the Infocity in Hyderabad
The much-acclaimed law for self reliant cooperatives (1995)
Empowerment of local governments and stakeholders
In spite of an impressive personal achievement, Dr Narayan's experience in government convinced him that faulty governance process was the biggest hurdle to India and Indians achieving greater success. And what India needs today is a fundamental change in the rules of the game and not a periodic change of players.
In order to translate his vision into practical reality, he resigned from Service (IAS) in 1996, and worked with like-minded colleagues for the formation of Lok Satta. Lok Satta has now emerged as India is leading civil society initiative for governance reforms.
