Plenary Speaker 6

Hon. Dr. Thiaga Rajan Palanivel

Minister for Finance and Human Resources
Tamil Nadu, India

Topic: Human factors application to the design and delivery of public goods and services by the Government

Abstract

In a functional Democracy, the Government should strive to ensure the quality of life of all citizens through the provision of safe, efficient, and reliable Public Goods and Services. Such provisions should be accessible uniformly throughout Society, irrespective of economic status or differences in ability. Though many Governments create laws to enshrine the right to such access (e.g., the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 in India), they are usually focused on the provision of basic services only (e.g., Wheelchair ramps). The application of Human Factors in the Design and Engineering of Public Goods and Services can meaningfully improve the user-experience for all citizens, and thereby the participation-quality of a Democratic system. Such consideration is increasingly important as an ever-increasing proportion of delivery is shifted to Virtual/Online modes, as the penetration of digital access tends towards universality with economic development. Furthermore, enhanced Security Protocols increasingly call for Identity-verification as the key to access most services, often including the use of Biometrics (fingerprints and/or retina scans in India’s Aadhaar system). This talk will focus on the few areas where such considerations have already been applied – at least in some parts of the world (e.g., Road Safety & Signage) – and the many where they need to be greatly enhanced (e.g., Online services in non-English speaking developing economies). This keynote will focus on examples from India and around the world to illustrate HFE applications.

About speaker

Hon. Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PhD, SUNY Buffalo, USA) is the Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services in the Government of Tamil Nadu, India. Prior to this portfolio, he was the Minister of Finance and Human Resources Management.

Dr Rajan previously worked as an International Investment Banker for many years, in several trading, market sales, and management roles at Lehman Brothers (largely in New York), and Standard Chartered Bank (mostly based in Singapore) – where he last served as Senior Managing Director, Financial Markets, overseeing the sales of several fixed-income products globally.

Before banking, his career spanned Academia, Agriculture, Consulting, Manufacturing, and Research. Because of his global career and deep curiosity, Dr Rajan has travelled to about 60 countries across the major continents. His political and policy views are significantly shaped by his observation of both the diversity of cultures around the world and the universality of human values.

"His political and policy views are significantly shaped by his observation of both the diversity of cultures around the world and the universality of human values."

Conference speakers

David caple

Professor David C. Caple

La Trobe University
Melbourne, Australia

Professor Arto Reiman

University of Oulu
Finland

wortley

David J. Wortley

ISDM
United Kingdom

sidney2

Professor Sidney W.A. Dekker

Griffith University
Brisbane, Australia

Thatcher

Professor Andrew Thatcher

University of the Witwatersrand
South Africa

Hon. Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan

Minister for Finance and Human Resources
Tamil Nadu, India

Sarita

Dr. Sarita Dara

Civil Aviation Authority
New Zealand

Pawan

Dr. Pawan Vora

SUNY Buffalo
USA

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