State Government Signs MoU with CEGIS to Strengthen Implementation of Social Sector Schemes

War Room to be Powered with Tech, Data, and Strategic Support for Better Governance

Mumbai: In a significant move to boost the effective implementation of social sector schemes in Maharashtra, the state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS). The MoU aims to enhance the operational efficiency of the government’s newly established War Room, which tracks and monitors various welfare programmes across the state.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence, Varsha, in Mumbai. Dr. Shrikar Pardeshi, Secretary to the Chief Minister, and CEGIS co-founder Karthik Muralidharan signed the MoU. Also present were Additional Chief Secretary Vikas Kharge, Principal Secretary Ashwini Bhide, CEGIS CEO Dr. Vijay Pingale, advisor Vinny Mahajan, strategic advisor Murugan Vasudevan, and senior program advisors Omkar Deshmukh and Tanvi Bramhe.

Speaking at the event, CM Fadnavis said, “A robust tracking system will play a vital role in improving the execution of social welfare schemes. This system will be integrated with the CM Dashboard to provide real-time insights. This partnership will help build strategic capacities, improve regional coordination, and deliver more accountable and effective citizen services.”

Under this MoU, CEGIS will collaborate with various social sector departments of the Maharashtra government over the next five years, offering technical, analytical, and policy support. A Decision Support System (DSS) will also be developed specifically for the Chief Minister’s Office, enabling data-driven decision-making within the War Room.

The DSS will assist in:

• Setting measurable outcomes based on national and international benchmarks.
• Identifying and correcting data inconsistencies.
• Enhancing the quality of citizen feedback and real-time supervision.

Dr. Vijay Pingale, CEO of CEGIS, presented an overview of the institution’s capabilities and shared that the partnership is a major step towards building a results-oriented and accountable governance model. He added that CEGIS is eager to work with the Maharashtra government to strengthen institutional capacity, improve data-based governance, and enhance service delivery.

On this occasion, Karthik Muralidharan also presented a copy of his book “Accelerating India’s Development” to Chief Minister Fadnavis.